Hall of Fame

Garland D. Boyette

  • Class
  • Induction
    2016
  • Sport(s)
    Football
  • Grambling State
  • Garland D. Boyette (born March 22, 1940, in Rayville, Louisiana; died April 19, 2022, in Houston, Texas) was an American football pioneer and dual-sport collegiate athlete who made significant contributions to the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC).
  • He attended Grambling State University, where he starred in both football and track & field—earning All-American honors multiple times and helping Grambling capture its first SWAC football championship in 1960.
  • After going undrafted in 1962, Boyette went on to a distinguished 13-year professional career in the NFL, AFL, CFL and WFL, and was among the first Black middle-linebackers to start in pro football (with the Houston Oilers in 1967).
  • In recognition of his SWAC-era excellence, he was inducted into the SWAC Hall of Fame in 2016.