Ron Billingsley is a retired American football player.http://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/B/BillRo20.htm He attended high school at Gadsden High School in Gadsden, Alabama

Gadsden, Alabama

The city of Gadsden is the county seat of Etowah County in the U.S. state of Alabama, and it is located about 65 miles northeast of Birmingham, Alabama. It is the primary city of the Gadsden Metropolitan Statistical Area, which has a population of 103,459. Gadsden is closely associated with the...

 from 1959 to 1962. He attended the University of Wyoming

University of Wyoming

The University of Wyoming is a land-grant university located in Laramie, Wyoming, situated on Wyoming's high Laramie Plains, at an elevation of 7,200 feet , between the Laramie and Snowy Range mountains. It is known as UW to people close to the university...

 in Laramie from 1963 to 1966, where he played on defense and special teams for the Cowboys football team under Coach Lloyd Eaton

Lloyd Eaton

Lloyd W. Eaton was an American football player, coach, and executive. He served as the head coach at Alma College , Northern Michigan University , and the University of Wyoming , compiling a career college football record of 104–53–4...

. He received notice from AFL

American Football League

The American Football League was a major American Professional Football league that operated from 1960 until 1969, when the established National Football League merged with it. The upstart AFL operated in direct competition with the more established NFL throughout its existence...

 scouts during his senior season, when the 1966 Cowboys went 10-1, including winning the WAC

Western Athletic Conference

The Western Athletic Conference is an American collegiate athletic conference, which was formed on July 27, 1962, making it the sixth oldest of the 11 college athletic conferences currently participating in the NCAA's Division I FBS...

 championship and defeating Florida State

Florida State University

The Florida State University is a space-grant and sea-grant public university located in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a comprehensive doctoral research university with medical programs and significant research activity as determined by the Carnegie Foundation...

 in the Sun Bowl

Sun Bowl

The Sun Bowl is an annual U.S. college football bowl game that is usually played at the end of December in El Paso, Texas. The Sun Bowl, along with the Sugar Bowl and the Orange Bowl are the second-oldest bowl games in the country, behind the Rose Bowl...

 28-20. He was selected to the All-WAC team as a senior.

The San Diego Chargers

San Diego Chargers

The San Diego Chargers are a professional American football team based in San Diego, California. they were members of the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...

 of the AFL selected him as the 14th pick of the 1967 NFL Draft

1967 NFL Draft

The 1967 National Football League Draft was part of the Common Draft in the first year in which the NFL and AFL held a joint draft of college players on March 14–15.-Player selections:-Round one:-Round two:-Round three:-Round four:...

, the first year that the AFL and NFL held a joint draft after their merger. He played for the Chargers for four seasons as a defensive starter. At the end of the 1970 season, he was traded to the Houston Oilers of the NFL. After another complete season as a starter at Houston, Billingsley experienced problems with injury and only played in four games during the 1972 season. At the end of the 1972 season, he and Kent Nix

Kent Nix

Alvin Kent Nix is a former professional American football quarterback in the National Football League. Nix played football collegiately at Texas Christian University . He is the son of Emery Nix, New York Giants quarterback who played for the New York Giants in 1943 and 1946...

 were traded to the New Orleans Saints

New Orleans Saints

The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans, Louisiana. They are members of the South Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League ....

 for Dave Parks

Dave Parks

David Wayne Parks is a former American football wide receiver in the NFL. He was the first overall selection in the 1964 NFL Draft out of Texas Technological College . Parks was selected to three Pro Bowls...

, Tom Stincic

Tom Stincic

Thomas D. Stincic is a former American football player. A native of Cleveland, Ohio, he attended John Marshall High School. He then enrolled at the University of Michigan where he played college football, principally as a linebacker, from 1966 to 1968. He was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys in...

, and Ed Hargett. However, because of the continued problems with injury, he never played a game with the Saints and retired in 1973. During his NFL career, the 6'8" Billingsley was known for being one of the tallest players in the league.

In the news

On June 15, 2007, Billingsley rescued two fellow residents of his apartment complex in Glencoe, Alabama

Glencoe, Alabama

Glencoe is a city in Calhoun and Etowah Counties in the U.S. state of Alabama. It is part of the Gadsden Metropolitan Statistical Area. At the 2000 census the population was 5,152.-Geography:...

after one of the units caught fire.http://www.gadsdentimes.com/article/20070721/NEWS/707210337