No.1 Alabama Crimson Tide faced No.4 Oklahoma in a jam-packed (72,000 spectators) Miami’s Orange Bowl in 1963. But in the stands was also the former US President J.F. Kennedy, sitting, watching the game, making it a national spectacle. It was on that very field that Lee Roy Jordan, Alabama’s legendary linebacker, announced himself to the world as he ran riot in Miami. Decades later, that legacy remains vivid, as the news of Jordan’s passing reminds us of the life and impact of one of college football’s greats.

Jordan, in that Orange Bowl game, recorded 31 tackles, a record that still goes strong at Bama. Despite that performance, the legend always remained humble and even refused to take credit after beating Oklahoma. “I probably got credit for more tackles than I made, but I didn’t turn

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