Garland Boyette, who played middle linebacker for the Houston Oilers for seven seasons (1966-72), died in Houston on Tuesday. Boyette, along with the Kansas City Chiefs’ Willie Lanier, was the first Black player to start at middle linebacker in professional football.
Boyette grew up in Orange and starred at Orange’s Wallace High School. He went to Northwestern to play football, but eventually transferred to Grambling where he played alongside his nephew Ernie Ladd.
Boyette went undrafted out of college but still made the St. Louis Cardinals team, where he played for two seasons before leaving to play in the Canadian Football League.