In the final quarter, Heisman Trophy winner Billy Cannon caught a short toss from Blanda and went for an 88-yard touchdown scamper.
With a third-and-five at the San Diego 35, Blanda rolled to his right and found Billy Cannon open at the 17.
Houston, coached by Frank "Pop" Ivy featured a host of offensive talent with veteran George Blanda, Charlie Tolar, the fleet-footed but ill-fated4 Billy Cannon, Charley Hennigan, and unheralded Willard Dewveall.
Eight games into his rookie season, he was a reserve linebacker alternating with Anthony Dickerson, when an existing congenital spinal condition was complicated after he tackled New Orleans Saints running back Wayne Wilson.
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Then baseball commissioner Bowie Kuhn vetoed the contract, forfeited the Yankees draft pick and called for a special draft to be held for his rights.
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As an 18 year old senior with ability and a marquee name, he was a probable first-round draft choice in the 1980 Major League Baseball Draft as a shortstop/outfielder.
Honorary pallbearers included former Baton Rouge Mayor-President Woodrow Wilson Dumas and Billy Cannon, a Baton Rouge dentist and a former star football player at Louisiana State University.
That decision proved more popular for Christian because Billy Cannon scored an 89-yard touchdown to keep the Tigers undefeated and to win a Heisman Trophy, the only LSU player ever so honored.
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Then, after the movie was released, simply because the film had been relocated to Louisiana, there were rumors that Deford had based Gavin Grey on LSU's All-American running back, Billy Cannon.
LSU concluded the season with a 21–0 loss to Ole Miss in the Sugar Bowl, two months after the top-ranked Tigers beat the third-ranked Rebels 7–3 in Tiger Stadium on Billy Cannon's 89-yard punt return, a play that helped win Cannon the Heisman Trophy.