Billy Truax, a tight end who helped the Dallas Cowboys win Super Bowl VI at the apex of a 10-year NFL career, died Wednesday. He was 82.
A native of Gulfport, Louisiana, Truax was a first team All-American at Louisiana State University. In 2020, he was inducted into the Sugar Bowl’s Greater New Orleans Sports Hall of Fame.
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After being selected in the second round of the 1964 NFL Draft by the Cleveland Browns, Truax missed his first professional season due to injury and was traded to the Los Angeles Rams.
In seven seasons with the Rams (1964-70), Truax flourished as both a blocker and a receiver. By 1967, he was a full-time starter under head coach George Allen. That season he caught 37 passes for 487 yards, both career-highs, and also caught four touchdown passes. The Rams went 11-1 and lost to the eventual Super Bowl champion Green Bay Packers in the playoffs.
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In 1968, Truax suffered a broken wrist that hampered him for seven weeks. He nonetheless led the team with 35 receptions.
In 1969, Truax caught a career-high five touchdown passes for the Rams and matched his career high with 37 catches for 431 yards. He caught an additional five passes for the Rams in their only playoff game, a 23-20 loss to the Minnesota Vikings.
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After his final season in Los Angeles, Truax was traded to the Cowboys in May 1971. In Dallas, Truax finished his first season with 15 receptions for 232 yards and one touchdown.
The season also afforded Truax his first Super Bowl appearance, in which the Cowboys defeated the Miami Dolphins 24-3 for the championship.
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“Super Bowl VI meant even more to me because it was in Tulane Stadium in New Orleans in front of friends and family,” Truax told the Greater New Orleans Sports Awards Committee. “I had played every game that season with the injury and I wasn’t going to miss the Super Bowl in my New Orleans.”
Injuries forced Truax into retirement in 1973 after a seven-year career in which he caught 199 passes for 2,458 yards and 17 touchdowns.
Truax is also a member of the Holy Cross School Hall of Fame and the LSU Athletics Hall of Fame.
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