Happy 70th birthday to Sylvester Croom! Today’s card of the day is Croom’s 1972 University of Alabama playing card. He also appeared on a 1973 Alabama playing card. In Croom’s three seasons with Alabama, 1972 to 1974, the Crimson Tide won three SEC championships and one national championship. Croom was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2022.
Croom, a center, went on to play one game professionally, with the New Orleans Saints in 1975. He is featured on the Gallery’s Cups of Coffee page.
Following his short NFL career, Croom coached for 41 years in college and the NFL. He was the running backs coach for the San Diego Chargers when they played the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl XXIX. In 2004, he became the first Black head coach at Mississippi State University. He held that position for five seasons, and he was named SEC Coach of the Year in 2007.
