Billy Cannon, 80; winner of 1959 Heisman Trophy

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Billy Cannon, the gifted running back who won the Heisman Trophy for LSU in 1959 with a memorable Halloween night punt return touchdown against Mississippi, died Sunday. He was 80.

LSU said Cannon, the school’s only Heisman winner, died at his home in St. Francisville. The cause of death was not immediately known.

Cannon led the Tigers to a national championship in 1958 and won the Heisman the following year, highlighted by his tackle-breaking 89-yard punt return that beat Ole Miss 7-3 and is still regularly shown on the video board at Tiger Stadium during LSU games.

“Nearly 60 years later, Louisianans still talk about that Halloween night,” Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards said. “Billy’s legacy at LSU will live on for generations, and every time we enter Tiger Stadium, we’ll remember the impact he left on the players and fans who came after him.

“To put it simply, he was one of a kind.”

Cannon went on to a successful pro career with the Houston Oilers, Oakland Raiders and Kansas City Chiefs, and became a dentist after retiring from football. But life after football was far from smooth. He served 2 1/2 years in federal prison for counterfeiting in the mid-1980s after a series of bad investments and debts left him broke.

He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2008, though it came on the second time he was voted in. The first time was in 1983, but the honor was rescinded because of his legal issues.