Charles "Cotton" Speyrer graduated from Thomas Jefferson High School in Port Arthur in 1967. 

 

He was a two-time All-American at the University of Texas with 65 career receptions, including touchdowns of 78 and 79 yards against Tennessee in the 1969 Cotton Bowl. His diving catch of a fourth-down pass at the 2-yard line set up the winning touchdown as the Longhorns defeated Notre Dame, 21-17 in the 1970 Cotton Bowl. He is the only player ever named to the Cotton Bowl All-Decade in two different decades.

 

Speyrer was a second-round draft pick of the Redskins in 1971 and was traded later that year to the Baltimore Colts, along with a first-round draft pick, for wide receiver Roy Jefferson.

 

A spindly but sure-handed receiver, Speyrer was sidelined by injuries in 1971 (a broken arm) and 1972 (a pulled hamstring) but showed flashes of his old brilliance the following two seasons. He returned a kickoff 101 yards for a touchdown in 1973 against Buffalo and ranked third in the NFL in kickoff returns with a 29.2 yard average that year.

 

He also threw a 54-yard touchdown pass to Glen Doughty against the New York Jets. In 2½ seasons with the Colts, he caught 34 passes for 545 yards and five touchdowns. Speyrer was traded in January of 1975 to the Redskins and was acquired by the Miami Dolphins in August of that year after being cut by Washington.

 

He was picked up by the Miami Dolphins and was a special teams player. Speyrer retired in 1976 and is an avid golfer.