HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — On Thursday night, President Donald Trump announced that five former National Football League players with criminal records will receive pardons, including one late former Houston Oilers player.
Before he was drafted into the NFL, Billy Cannon was a standout tight end at Louisiana State University, where he won the coveted Heisman Trophy in 1959.
Cannon joined the Bud Adams-owned Houston Oilers under new head coach Lou Rymkus, the same calendar year he won the Heisman, shortly after a contract dispute with the Los Angeles Rams.
The All-Pro set a record in first season for all-purpose yards and helped the Oilers to an AFL Championship.
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His later seasons with the team were marred by injuries and back problems, and he successfully requested a release from the team in 1964 before signing with the Oakland Raiders, then ending his NFL career with the Kansas City Chiefs.
Cannon continued on and eventually became a dentist after his career. According to a report from ESPN, Cannon later admitted to counterfeiting in the 1980s after a series of bad investments and debts left him penniless.
He served two years in a Texarkana prison. He later died in 2018 in Louisiana.
Other players pardoned included Joe Klecko, Jamal Lewis, Travis Henry, and Nate Newton of the Dallas Cowboys.
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