'They changed the game': Sooners unveil statue honoring Selmon brothers
Sep. 25—It was time to unveil the statue.
Brothers Dewey and Lucious Selmon, joined by several members of their family, gathered around and grabbed onto the sheet that covered it. Toby Rowland started the countdown from seven, the number of OU national championships, and the family members pulled away the sheet as confetti rained down.
It was the official unveiling of the Selmon brothers statue just outside Oklahoma Memorial Stadium Saturday afternoon, honoring former Sooner players Dewey, Lucious and their brother Lee Roy. They're the first Oklahoma defensive players to ever have a statue erected in their honor.
The statue, which features 7,000 pounds of bronze, depicts the three brothers standing together in their OU uniforms. The ceremony was attended by many members of the Selmon family and OU alumni, including former teammates and former coaches Barry Switzer and Bob Stoops.
Lee Roy, who died in 2011, was represented at the ceremony by his son, Lee Roy Jr.
"The three men that we are going to immortalize today transcend their performance and their impact on the field," OU athletic director Joe Castligione said. "Make no mistake about it — they changed the game."
The Eufaula, Oklahoma natives made college football history in 1973 when all three started a game on the defensive line, becoming the first trio of brothers to ever start a college football game. The brothers still hold that honor today.
Their impact went even deeper than that.
Lucious played at OU from 1971-73, while Dewey and Lucious joined him in '72. As a trio, they combined for 96 career starts, 915 tackles, 96 tackles for loss and 16 fumble recoveries.
From 1971-75, Lee Roy and Dewey's final season, the Sooners posted a 54-3-1 record, winning four Big Eight titles and two national championships. Lucious received All-America honors in '73, while Lee Roy and Dewey earned the honor their junior and senior seasons.
"I want you to know, everyone here, [that there's] love from the bottom of our hearts [and] that we're moved by your presence and your commitment and your love," Dewey said. "We turn it back to you."
Switzer, who helped recruit all three brothers to Oklahoma and served as their head coach from 1973-75, called them "three of the greatest players to ever play college football."
"We were 54-3-1 when a Selmon played at Oklahoma," Switzer said. "That says it all."
The three brothers had success after graduating, too. Lucious was selected by New England in the 1974 NFL Draft before serving as an OU assistant coach from 1976-94. Lee Roy was selected with the No. 1 overall pick by Tampa Bay in 1976, and the Buccaneers also drafted Dewey in the second round.
Lee Roy was a five-time NFL All-Pro selection and made six consecutive Pro Bowls, earning the 1979 NFL Defensive Player of the Year award. Dewey played in the NFL for seven seasons was an All-Pro in 1979.
But they always come back to their time in Norman.
"This statue means so much to me and so much to my uncles," Lee Roy Jr. said. "I'm so proud of them and the accomplishments that they have made... I'm just so happy today."
For Lucious, the hope is that the statue will help influence future generations of Sooner athletes.
"The main thing that I hope people get out of this is when they come and look at this statue, I hope for the next generation of athletes that come around, that it will serve as an inspiration to them to take a chance," Lucious said.
Jesse Crittenden is the sports editor of The Transcript and covers OU athletics. Reach him at jesse@normantranscript.com or at 405-366-3580
