Billy Truax obit

Hall of Fame tight end Billy Truax dies at 82 

 He was not on the list.

Former Holy Cross, LSU and NFL tight end Billy Truax, a member of three halls of fame, died Wednesday. He was 82.

Truax was born in Gulfport but attended high school at Holy Cross. He graduated in 1960 after earning all-prep, all-state and All-America honors.

He earned All-America and All-Southeastern Conference honors in Baton Rouge before a 10-year NFL career with the Los Angeles Rams and Dallas Cowboys.

Truax was a four-sport athlete at Holy Cross, but at 6-foot-5 and 240 pounds, his future was in football.

In three seasons with LSU, Truax caught just 18 passes for 324 yards and two touchdowns, but was voted first-team All-SEC as a senior. In an era where two-way players were still prevalent, he also played defense, intercepting two passes and recovering three fumbles.

Truax was part of teams that defeated Texas in the Cotton Bowl and Colorado in the Orange Bowl.

In an era where the NFL and AFL had not yet merged, Truax was drafted by both leagues. The Houston Oilers made him a first-round pick and the Cleveland Browns selected Truax in the second round of the 1964 NFL Draft.

Truax chose the NFL route, but he never played in Cleveland. After missing his rookie season because of injury, Truax was traded to the Rams, where he played for seven years before finishing his career with three seasons in Dallas.

In 114 regular-season NFL games, Truax caught 199 passes for 2,458 yards – a 12.4-yard average per reception – and 17 touchdowns.

While playing on five playoff teams in his NFL career, Truax’s biggest highlight was winning Super Bowl VI for the Cowboys in his hometown. Dallas defeated the Miami Dolphins 24-3 at Tulane Stadium.

Along the way, Truax’s teams compiled records of 18-8-2 at Holy Cross, 26-6-1 at LSU and 89-45-6 in the NFL.

Truax was inducted into the New Orleans Sports Hall of Fame in 2019, the Holy Cross Hall of Fame in 2015 and the LSU Athletics Hall of Fame in 2021.

Funeral arrangements are pending.

Career history

Cleveland Browns (1964)*

Los Angeles Rams (1964–1970)

Dallas Cowboys (1971–1973)

New York Giants (1974)*

* Offseason and/or practice squad member only

Awards and highlights

Super Bowl champion (VI)

Second-team All-SEC (1963)