A former Auburn football star’s shotgun slaying...

A former Auburn football star’s shotgun slaying of his sister’s ex-boyfriend nearly 31 years ago was self-defense, the defendant’s attorney told a packed courtroom in Chattanooga, Tenn.

Defense lawyer Bobby Lee Cook said that Bobby Hoppe killed Don Hudson, 24, only after Hudson had drove up beside Hoppe’s car and pointed a .38-caliber revolver at him.

Hoppe, 53, is charged with first-degree murder in the death of Hudson, who was slain in his car as he drove along a North Chattanooga street during the early morning of July 20, 1957.

At the time, Hoppe was a 22-year-old college student who had just finished his junior year at Auburn. The next fall, Hoppe, a star halfback, helped the Tigers to a 10-0 record and a tie for the only national football championship in the school’s history.