Jacksonville native Pete Lammons passed away Thursday. He played for the Texas Longhorns and New York Jets. (New York Jets/Courtesy)

Pete Lammons’ national collegiate football championship and Super Bowl rings will be presented to the Jacksonville ISD on Friday, Grace Traylor, JISD Communication Director, announced.

Lammons, a 1961 graduate of Jacksonville High School, won a national championship while playing for the University of Texas in 1963 and a Super Bowl III championship while playing for the New York Jets.

The presentation is scheduled for 11 a.m. at Historic Tomato Bowl (200 Austin St.) in Jacksonville.

There will also be a donation presentation to the Jacksonville Education Foundation for the continuation of the Pete Lammons Sr. Scholarship.

As a Jacksonville High School freshman, Lammons played for future Houston Oilers and New Orleans Saints head coach Bum Phillips.

In 1960, playing for Dick Sheffield, Lammons helped the Indians win the district championship with an 11-1-1 record.

After Jacksonville, he played for Darrell Royal at the University of Texas where he helped the Longhorns win the 1963 national championship, defeating Navy and Roger Staubach in the Cotton Bowl.

Lammons played from 1963 to 1965 for the Longhorns, helping Texas win the 1965 Orange Bowl over future pro teammate Joe Namath and No. 1 Alabama.

Playing end for UT, he led the Longhorns in receptions in 1964 and 1965.

Texas’ leading receiver in 1964 (13 receptions, 204 yards) and ‘65 (27-405), Lammons earned consensus first-team All-Southwest Conference honors in 1965. He caught seven passes for 97 yards in 1963 as he helped UT to an 11-0 record and the Longhorns’ first national championship.

In 1964, Texas went 10-1 and finished ranked No. 5 nationally, while Lammons and the Longhorns capped that season with a 21-17 upset of top-ranked Alabama in the 1965 Orange Bowl.

Inducted into the Texas Athletics Hall of Honor in 2002, Lammons played at both tight end and defensive end for the Longhorns. He caught 47 passes for 706 yards and five touchdowns in his three varsity seasons. Those numbers still rank among the top 10 in the Longhorn all-time receiving records by a tight end, while his three touchdown catches versus Baylor in 1965 remain tied for the UT all-time best by a tight end.

After his days in Austin, Lammons was drafted by the Cleveland Browns of the NFL and the New York Jets of the AFL. He chose to play in the Big Apple.

In Super Bowl III, he was teammates with Namath when the New York Jets upset the Baltimore Colts, 16-7, as an 18-point underdog. In the Super Bowl he had two receptions, including a key 11-yarder that set up a field goal by Jim Turner that gave the Jets a 13-0 lead.

Lammons caught a TD pass in the AFL championship game in 1968 against the Oakland Raiders, a 27-23 win by the Jets.

Lammons played six seasons (1966-71) with the Jets before finishing his playing days with the Green Bay Packers in 1972. In seven NFL seasons, he played in 95 games, starting 83, and had 185 receptions for 2,364 yards and 14 touchdowns.

Lammons played in the 1967 American Football League All-Star Game. That season he caught 45 passes for 515 yards and two touchdowns.

After retirement, Lammons resided in the Houston area. He worked in real estate and partnered with former Longhorn teammate Jim Hudson for 20 years in the thoroughbred horse racing business.

Ever the competitor, Lammons competed in 57 Major League Fishing events.

He passed away in 2021 at age 77.