Warren Bankston
New Orleans Sports Hall of Fame
Football, 1966-78
Tulane University/NFL
Inducted: 1997
Photo Courtesy of the Oakland Raiders.
A four-sport letterman at Hammond High School in football, baseball, track, and basketball, Warren Bankston became an All-American candidate in football at Tulane University and then went on to a 10-year NFL career.
After this standout Hammond career as a quarterback, Bankston was pursued by many schools and chose Tulane, where his father played (1929-32), over Ole Miss, Florida State, Dartmouth, and Georgia Tech, among others.
At Tulane, Bankston played at quarterback on the freshman team), then served as a backup to starter Bobby Duhon as a sophomore for the Green Wave.
"Bobby Duhon was a helluva competitor. He made All State in 3 sports (at Abbeville High)", Warren recalled. "If there was a way to win a game (Duhon) could do it. A tremendous athlete."
The following season, Tulane coach Jim Pittman wanted to get the 6-4, 225-pound Bankston on the field so he moved him to fullback. He ran for 100 yards on 20 carries against Tennessee and 89 yards against a strong Georgia Tech team.
Following his graduation, he was selected for the 1968 Blue-Gray All-Star game and was slotted as a tight end.
He was selected in the second round of the 1969 NFL Draft by the Pittsburgh Steelers. He played four seasons with the Steelers (1969-72), joining the team at the same time as new head coach Chuck Noll who would build the Steelers dynasty. Bankston played with multiple Hall of Famers during his time including Terry Bradshaw, Franco Harris, and Jack Ham.
A chance fill-in at tight end during a preseason game would lead to Bankston being traded to the Oakland Raiders.
"I played TE against the Vikings. I had a good game. The Raiders saw me, had a need for a TE and traded for me. After the last preseason game, Chuck Noll calls me in to tell me that I was traded. I was hoping that it would be anywhere but the West Coast. It was the Oakland Raiders."
Despite initial trepidation, his time in Oakland was memorable. "I was elected team captain by my teammates, which meant a lot."
He played six years with the Raiders (1973-78). In 1976, they were 13-1, beating the Steelers enroute to a victory in Super Bowl XI.
"We beat the Steelers (24-7), and I had a touchdown catch."
Bankston was the good luck charm during that Super Bowl season. As team captain, he called the coin flip correctly for every game that season except the Denver Broncos game. The Broncos won.
Warren has fond memories of the trip to Pasadena for the Super Bowl.
"I bought 47 tickets at $20 a piece. Weather was perfect, 103,424 fans in attendance. My dad had played there 45 years earlier (in the Rose Bowl with Tulane). We knew that we could beat the Vikings. They had the Purple People Eaters. They were tremendous in the red zone. We concentrated on red zone offense. Clarence Davis had 128 yards rushing (then a Super Bowl record). Fred Biletnikoff had 4 catches for 79 yards and was named game MVP. I called the coin flip correctly (tails) which was a good indicator."
Bankston retired following the 1978 season. He played in 114 career games and rushed for 684 yards with three touchdowns.
