Jerry Latin, who played running back for the St. Louis Football Cardinals from 1975-1978, passed away this morning at the age of 71.
One of the greatest football players to come out of Rockford, Illinois, Latin starred at Rockford East High School and played college ball at Northern Illinois University.
After an injury-plagued senior season in DeKalb, the Cardinals selected Latin with their eleventh round pick in the 1975 NFL Draft.
“I was the last pick by the Cardinals,” Latin said in a 2020 interview in the Rockford Register Star. “I look at a guy like Jim Germany. He was the second-round pick out of New Mexico State,” Latin said. “If I hadn’t gotten hurt, could I have been a second-round pick?”
“I just went there to see what it was all about,” he said of his first training camp. “Then I got on the field and I saw that I hit just as hard as they did. I ran just as fast. I was just as good.”
Latin backed up Pro Bowl running back Terry Metcalf during his stay in St. Louis. But, he got his chance to shine in the 1975 season finale against the Detroit Lions and made the most of it.
“My biggest moment in the NFL came in the last game of my rookie year,” Latin said. “They finally let me play against Detroit and I had 112 yards rushing and a 57-yard touchdown run.”
Latin was traded to the Los Angeles Rams two games into the 1978 season where he played sparingly the rest of the year before retiring.
He rushed for 560 yards and had 152 receiving yards during his four-year NFL career. He scored four touchdowns.
After retiring, Latin returned to Rockford where he played a couple of seasons of minor league football, coached some youth football, and worked for the city. He also played a lot of golf.
Former Big Red wide receiver Mel Gray remembered his friend as a “pretty good golfer” and a “good guy.”
Former Cardinals tight end Jerry Holloway also starred at Rockford East High School a few years after Latin and said his friend was a “quiet kind of guy.”
“We called him one of the smoothest running backs that ever came out of northern Illinois,” said Holloway.
Condolences go out to Jerry’s family, friends, and former teammates.
THE BIG RED ZONE 
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Sorry to hear that Jerry Latin has passed away. He was right about saying what might have been if not for the injuries he suffered his senior year. From what I’ve read he was very active in the community and a great role model.
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After that big game by Jerry Latin against the Lions in 1975, Lions linebacker Paul Naumoff told the Detroit Free Press, “This is undoubtedly the best offensive team we’ve played against. They have good blocking schemes.”
Lions head coach Rick Forzano told the newspaper, “Their offensive line just handled us … They were controlling our stunts. They blocked us very well.”
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