{"id":11558622,"date":"2025-07-15T08:00:15","date_gmt":"2025-07-15T12:00:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.baltimoresun.com\/?p=11558622"},"modified":"2025-07-15T13:03:31","modified_gmt":"2025-07-15T17:03:31","slug":"maryland-nfl-offensive-tackle-roger-shoals-dies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.baltimoresun.com\/2025\/07\/15\/maryland-nfl-offensive-tackle-roger-shoals-dies\/","title":{"rendered":"Former Maryland and NFL offensive tackle Roger R. Shoals dies at 86"},"content":{"rendered":"

As a child, Mike Shoals enjoyed enviable access to NFL locker rooms and facilities because of his father, Roger R. Shoals, who lined up as an offensive tackle for nine seasons with three professional franchises. Three of his closest friends were the children of Alex Karras, a Hall of Fame defensive tackle and actor famous for his roles in the films \u201cBlazing Saddles\u201d and \u201cVictor\/Victoria\u201d and the television sitcom \u201cWebster.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mike Shoals appreciated the life provided by his father.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe might not have made the Pro Bowl in his career, but as a father, he\u2019s in the Hall of Fame,\u201d he said from his home in Loveland, Ohio. \u201cI mean, he\u2019s the best.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mr. Shoals, who played football at the University of Maryland, died of pneumonia on June 30 at Lankenau Medical Center in Penn Wynne, Pennsylvania. He was 86.<\/p>\n

Mr. Shoals\u2019 influence wasn\u2019t limited to his family. Alex Stamateris had known Mr. Shoals for the past 35 years and described him as one of the most important people in his life.<\/p>\n

\u201cI got a lot from my father, but what my father didn\u2019t teach me, I got from Roger Shoals,\u201d Stamateris said. \u201cI couldn\u2019t have had two better mentors in my life than my own father and Roger. Meeting Roger Shoals was a wonderful experience.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mr. Shoals was the first of four children born to and raised by Ruth, a homemaker, and Roger Shoals, a salesman for an adhesive manufacturer. Mr. Shoals was born in Baltimore, but the family moved to Norwalk, Connecticut.<\/p>\n

Mr. Shoals played football at Norwalk High School, and his prowess caught the attention of the family\u2019s dentist, who was a Maryland graduate.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe had a great love for the University of Maryland, and he did whatever he could to help them,\u201d Mike Shoals said. \u201cI know that he was involved in recruiting various players from that area in Connecticut to go to the University of Maryland, and I think my dad was very thankful to him. He was a strong recruiter, and he really influenced my dad to go there.\u201d<\/p>\n

At 6 feet 4 and 240 pounds, Mr. Shoals developed into a powerful offensive lineman for the Terps and contributed to three winning seasons, including victories in 1961 over Syracuse (ranked No. 7 nationally at the time) and Penn State. He also wrestled, earning an Atlantic Coast Conference title in the heavyweight division in 1961.<\/p>\n

Mr. Shoals was selected by the Cleveland Browns in the 16th round of the 1961 NFL draft, but remained in College Park and was rewarded by being named a member of the All-ACC second team later that season. The following year, he was chosen by the Dallas Texans in the 34th round of the AFL draft, but played for Cleveland.<\/p>\n

Mr. Shoals played in 104 games with 70 starts primarily at offensive tackle for the Browns (1963-1964), Detroit Lions (1965-1970) and Denver Broncos (1971). He opened running lanes for Hall of Fame running back Jim Brown, returned a fumble for his only touchdown against the Philadelphia Eagles in 1964, and helped Cleveland capture the NFL championship later that year.<\/p>\n

At a time when NFL contracts were not as lucrative as they are today, Mr. Shoals worked full time as a paper salesman. The company he worked for made arrangements with the Lions for Mr. Shoals to skip flights from road games to Detroit in favor of flights to New York City so that he could spend Mondays at the office before returning that night to make it to Lions practice the next day.<\/p>\n

Mike Shoals said his father also used his NFL ties to advance his career in sales.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf they were going to play the Eagles, he would purchase the tickets from the players who didn\u2019t want those tickets and send them all to the [paper company’s] Philadelphia office and say, \u2018Here\u2019s 30 tickets for the game. Get the best customers there,\u2019\u201d he said. \u201cAnd then he would identify who the best customers were and say, \u2018Let\u2019s get them into the locker room, and get them a T-shirt or something.\u2019 You couldn\u2019t go to the store and buy a Detroit Lions T-shirt because they weren\u2019t available. So something as simple as a T-shirt was valued because no one else had it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Torn ligaments in his knee cut short Mr. Shoals\u2019 season in 1967 after just four games. The aches and pains continued to pile up until he retired after his one season with the Broncos.<\/p>\n