Six great Bucs players of the ‘creamsicle’ era
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are bringing out their throwback “creamsicle” uniforms on Sunday, and they’ll be looking to win in a uniform that doesn’t have a whole lot of history of seeing many.
The orange and white era of Bucs history is far more often dire than not, but that doesn’t mean that every player on those teams was bad. There were actually quite a few contributors who donned a helmet with Bucco Bruce on the side, with some of them earning a spot in the Bucs’ Ring of Honor and beyond to the Hall of Fame.
In honor of the Bucs wearing those uniforms against the Lions on Sunday, we compiled (in no particular order) six great Buccaneers players from the “creamsicle” era of Tampa Bay football:
DE Lee Roy Selmon
What could be said about Lee Roy Selmon that hasn’t already been said by everyone else?
A three-time First Team All-Pro player and a member of the 1980s All-Decade Team, Selmon was Tampa Bay’s first Hall of Fame player and was for many years the only good thing about the Bucs in its initial stint. Selmon ended his career with 78.5 sacks and was Tampa Bay’s first-ever induction into the Ring of Honor, making him the original superstar Buccaneer in many ways.
RB James Wilder
James Wilder was unfortunately ran into the ground by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but he was a thousand-yard rusher two times in a row from 1984-85 and managed almost 4 yards per carry on a comical 407 attempts in 1984 (and 365 the next year!). Wilder also caught 85 passes in 1984 and caught 40 or more seven times across his career. A very good player in his own right, Wilder was the very definition of a workhorse back — maybe far too much of a workhorse back.
QB Doug Williams
Making a solid argument for being Tampa Bay’s best quarterback in franchise history before Jameis Winston and then, of course, Tom Brady, Williams helped lead the Bucs to an NFC Championship game in 1979 and their first winning season in the same year — Tampa Bay made the playoffs in three of his five seasons as starter. A financial dispute over his salary led Williams to leave the team in 1982, but he helped give Bucs fans their first taste of greatness when he was at the helm.
TE Jimmie Giles
Another Ring of Honor inductee, tight end Jimmie Jiles was four-time NFL Pro Bowler during his tenure with the Bucs. Although Giles was controversially used as a blocker for a good chunk of his snaps during the time he played for Tampa Bay, he was still able to produce for tight ends of the time, with his best season coming in 1981 where he caught 45 passes for 786 yards and six touchdowns. He also had an eight-touchdown season in 1985 that earned him a Pro Bowl nod.
OLB Hugh Green
A name perhaps not as oft-touted as others in the creamsicle era, Hugh Green only played for five years in Tampa but was a First Team All-Pro nod in two of those years and made two Pro Bowls in the same frame from 1982-83. His 1983 campaign was particularly memorable, as it featured two interceptions that both went back for pick sixes. Green netted five picks during his tenure with the Bucs.
LB Hardy Nickerson
Nickerson’s inclusion is perhaps a little cheating since he ended up playing in Tampa Bay’s current color scheme from 1997 onwards, but while other Bucs legends like Warren Sapp, Derrick Brooks and Mike Alstott had done that, Nickerson had some of his best years in the creamsicle colorway. Two of Nickerson’s four All-Pro nods came during the creamsicle era, as did two of his Pro Bowls, and he remains perhaps one of the best players to not be in Tampa Bay’s Ring of Honor at Raymond James Stadium.
