The countdown to college football kickoff rolls on as we approach 86 days. Less than three months away from football returning to our lives Longhorns Wire remembers the greatest players in Texas history. Check out the entire series.
Countdown to Texas Football: Best to wear No. 88-89 https://t.co/yvLno3nrWG
— Longhorns Wire (@LonghornsWire) June 10, 2020
Related: Countdown to Texas Football: Best to wear No. 87
Next in line is number 86 for the Longhorns. There isn’t a current Longhorn who currently wears the number. As for the best? Well we have to go back to 1959-60 to find him. Monte Lee wore number 86 and was a two-way end for the Texas Longhorns. He was All-SWC in both seasons.
Lee was a two-way end who rose from obscure reserve to starter in the 1957 Oklahoma game after a Monday scrimmage. He was noted mainly for blocking and defense, but caught short TD passes against OU. He missed the 1958 season, but was all-Southwest Conference twice, as an end in 1957 and an offensive guard/linebacker in 1960. He caught only three passes in 1959, one of which was a 51-yard catch to set-up a TD against SMU. He made many tackles in an era were defensive stats were not kept. He played in the NFL with the St. Louis Cardinals (1961), Detroit Lions (1963-64) and the Baltimore Colts (1965). He coached two six-man state runner-up teams at Cotton Center while principal and superintendent. Lee is currently retired and farming in Calvert. – via TexasSports.com
According to his sports-reference page, Lee was listed as a wide receiver for the 1957 and 1959 seasons. He caught six passes for 119 yards and one touchdown in 12 combined games. Of course this was long before the evolution of the passing game.
He was inducted into the Texas Longhorns Hall of Honor in 2005.