Les Strayhorn, MSW, attended East Carolina University from 1969 to 1973. The son of a sharecropper, Les was among the first in his county to integrate public schools. He was the first in his family to attend college. On the final draft round, Les became the first black player from ECU to be drafted into the NFL by the Dallas Cowboys. Having been released by the Cowboys in 1975, he landed in the Canadian Football League, first with the Hamilton Tigercats, then with the Montréal Alouettes. When football came to an end, and after a brief stint in mortgage banking, he spent the rest of his working life as a Child Protective Services worker and an HIV Education Specialist. Les met and married his wife, Maryann, shortly after his football days were over. They have two children, Jennifer, a genetic research scientist who lives in Raleigh, NC and Regina, a singer, who lives in New York. Now retired, Les and Maryann spend their days exploring Brooklyn, New York. On occasion, Les still hears “I remember you” from a former football fan.