GENE "BUDDY" COCKRELL - INDUCTEE #150
hall of fame fast fact:
Gene "Buddy" Cockrell was the 330th pick in the 1957 NFL draft when he was drafted by the Cleveland Browns.
Gene "Buddy" Cockrell
Buddy Cockrell endured a lifetime of sports: rodeo, football, basketball, track, and boxing. Result, he has two titanium shoulders and two titanium knees.
At Pampa High School, Cockrell played football and basketball. He was a four-year letterman at tackle and was defensive player of the year in his senior season. He made the Fort Worth Star-Telegram’s all-state team. He was named the All-Around State Champion Cowboy. He played football at the University of Oklahoma before Hardin-Simmons University offered him a chance to rodeo and play football.
At Hardin-Simmons, Cockrell went to he National College Rodeo Finals in calf roping and steer wrestling in 1956 and 1957. After he graduated, he played a year for the Saskatchewan Rough Riders in the Canadian Football League before moving to the Cleveland Browns of the NFL. He later played for the New York Titans (who later became the Jets) for three years.
After he retired from football, Cockrell returned to farming and ranching, specializing in training horses for steer wrestling and steer tipping.
