Pete Lammons

Who is Pete Lammons?

Peter Spencer Lammons, Jr. is a former professional American football player who played tight end for the American Football League's New York Jets, winning the AFL Championship with them in 1968, and playing in their victory over the National Football League champion Baltimore Colts in the third AFL-NFL World Championship game. He also played for the NFL's Green Bay Packers.

As a high school freshman, Lammons played briefly under NFL coaching legend Bum Phillips during his tenure as head coach at Jacksonville High School in Jacksonville, Texas, located approximately 30 miles south of Tyler, Texas at the intersection of US 69 and US 79. Lammons fondly recalls Phillips' habit of spitting tobacco into a tin soup can as well as his colorful tirades condemning the shortcomings of the Jacksonville Indians' offense. They would meet again briefly in January 1968 on the sidelines of the 1967 AFL All Star Game. Lammons, playing in his first and only All Star Game, greeted Phillips, who was an assistant with the San Diego Chargers organization, after the game with a question: "Bum, does this mean I can claim you as a coach?" Phillips allegedly responded "You can claim me as your'n if I can claim you as mine, Pete!"