Tragedy struck Sooner Nation early Monday morning when former All-American linebacker Jimbo Elrod was killed in a one-car accident along the Turner Turnpike.
An Oklahoma Highway Patrol spokesperson said (via KWTV) that Elrod, who wasn’t wearing a seat belt, was killed at about 3:45 a.m. when his vehicle hit a guardrail, overturned and ejected him through the sunroof.
Elrod was a member of the 1974 and 1975 national championship football teams at Oklahoma, and was a consensus All-American for the `75 season where he recorded 20 tackles for loss. A talented athlete, Elrod was also a member of Oklahoma’s 1974 national championship wrestling team.
Selected by the Kansas City Chiefs in the fifth round of the 1976 NFL draft, Elrod played three seasons in Kansas City before being traded to Houston where he played just one more season. At the time he left Oklahoma he was the career leader in tackles for loss with 44.
Elrod’s wife Dianna was also injured in the wreck and taken to the hospital in serious condition. Jimbo Elrod was 62 years old.