Roland Owen (Ron) McDole (born September 9, 1939) is an American former professional football player who was a defensive end in the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Nebraska Cornhuskers.
Early life
McDole was born in Chester, Ohio on September 9, 1939, to Burt and Ruth McDole. He played fullback, tackle and defensive end at DeVilbiss High School in Toledo, Ohio. He was also first baseman on the baseball team.
McDole had an opportunity to play baseball in the Detroit Tigers system, but chose instead to accept a scholarship to attend the University of Nebraska, where he would play football from 1957 to 1960. He played offensive end, right tackle, and defensive tackle on the football team. He was 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m), and started out at 192 pounds (87.1 kg), but eventually weighed 232 pounds (105.2 kg) at Nebraska.
Professional football career
In 1961, McDole was drafted in the fourth round by the St. Louis Cardinals in the NFL draft, and also in the fourth round of the AFL draft by the Denver Broncos of the new American Football League. He was also drafted by the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League.
Cardinals head coach Frank "Pop" Ivy left the Cardinals to coach the AFL Houston Oilers in 1962, and traded for the rights to McDole with Denver.
McDole played in 12 games for the Bills in 1963, but did not start any. In 1964 he became the Bills starting left defensive end and held that position for the Bills from 1964 to 1970.
The Bills finished tied with the Boston Patriots for the AFL's Eastern Division title in 1963, losing the playoff game to the Patriots 26 to 8. They would win the division for the next three years,
The Associated Press (AP) named McDole first-team All-AFL in 1966 and second-team in 1967 and 1968; United Press International (UPI) named McDole first-team All-AFL in 1965 and second-team in 1966 and 1967;
He was a roommate of quarterback and future U.S. Congressman and presidential candidate Jack Kemp.
In 1985, McDole was named to the Bills Silver Anniversary Team.
Washington Redskins
He was traded to Washington on May 11, 1971, becoming part of group of older players who came to be known as the Over-the-Hill Gang, including his old Nebraska teammate Pat Fischer. and, in his final year, under head coach Jack Pardee. He had 9.5 sacks in 1976, a career high, and six in 1977, but would have none in 1978. They limited the Cowboys to 3 points, 96 rushing yards on 21 carries, and, despite Hall of Fame player Roger Staubach as their quarterback, to 73 net passing yards. Staubach was under a heavy pass rush all game, and was sacked three times.
On Washington's 70th anniversary in the NFL, McDole was named among the team's 80 greatest players. He played in 240 games, with 208 starts. As of 2022, only three defensive ends had more games and only six more starts. He identified Hall of Fame tackles Ron Mix and Rayfield Wright as the top offensive tackles he faced during his long career. In 2018, McDole authored a book, The Dancing Bear: My Eighteen Years in the Trenches of the AFL and NFL.
See also
- List of American Football League players