Jerry LeVias

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Jerry LeVias
Date of birth	September 5, 1946
Place of birth	Beaumont, Texas
Position(s)	Wide Receiver
College	Southern Methodist
Common Draft	1969 / Round 2 / Pick 40
Jersey Number	23
Career highlights
AFL All-Star	1969
Stats
Statistics	Pro Football Reference DatabaseFootball
Teams
1969 1970 1971-1974	AFL Houston Oilers NFL Houston Oilers NFL San Diego Chargers
College Football Hall of Fame

Jerry LeVias was the first African-American scholarship athlete and football player in the Southwest Conference.

Born in Beaumont, Texas, LeVias played quarterback for Hebert High School. LeVias was small, only 5'9" and 177 pounds, but made up for it with great speed.

He was recruited to the Southern Methodist University in the spring of 1965 by Coach Hayden Fry. Levias made his varsity debut in 1966, and quickly became one of the most exciting players on the conference-champion Mustangs.

Levias was three times consensus All-SWC, 1966-68, and All-America as a senior. He twice led the league in receiving and held every career record when his three varsity seasons ended.

Levias played his first season (1969 with the American Football League's Houston Oilers, where he was selected to the 1969 AFL All-Star Team, then was with the NFL Oilers (1970) and with the NFL San Diego Chargers (1971-1974).

He was inducted into the Texas Sports Hall of Fame in 1995, and to the National College Football Hall of Fame in 2003.