- Jul 20, 2014
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Dr. Billy Cannon, LSU's only Heisman Trophy winner regarded as the school's greatest ever football player, died in his sleep Sunday morning at the age of 80.
Playing on both sides of the ball as most players did in the 1950s, Cannon led the Tigers in his junior year to its first national championship in 1958 and he won the Heisman as a senior in 1959.
Cannon was a rare athlete, even by today's standards, combining sprinter speed with brute strength. He could consistently run a 9.4 in the 100-yard dash and, at 6-foot-1, 210 pounds, he had the size to overpower his opponents as well as outrun them.
Playing on both sides of the ball as most players did in the 1950s, Cannon led the Tigers in his junior year to its first national championship in 1958 and he won the Heisman as a senior in 1959.
Cannon was a rare athlete, even by today's standards, combining sprinter speed with brute strength. He could consistently run a 9.4 in the 100-yard dash and, at 6-foot-1, 210 pounds, he had the size to overpower his opponents as well as outrun them.