[1] He lettered in football and track and field, participating in the power sports of shot put and discus.
[1] In 1960, he was selected to the All Southwest Conference Team (the first Texas Tech player so honored[10]), was 10th in Heisman Trophy voting,[1] and played in the East-West Shrine Game,[4] where he was named outstanding lineman.
[10][11] He was the first player in Texas Tech football history to have his jersey number (55) retired, which occurred after his senior season.
[7] In 2011, he was inducted into the Lubbock Independent School District Athletics Hall of Honor.
[11] In 2012, he was inducted into the inaugural class of the Texas Tech Football Ring of Honor.
[17] Holub began his professional career as a two-way player, playing center on offense and linebacker on defense — a rarity during the two platoon era.
Holub had begun professional play one year before Chuck Bednarik retired in 1962, who was the last full-time two-way player in the National Football League.
[20] In 1967, he played in only 6 games[19] after being placed on the injured reserve list on November 2, with an injury that was reported as a pulled leg muscle.
In the early years he played both at linebacker and long snapper (on extra points or field goals) until his knee injuries and a torn hamstring forced him to switch to center in 1968, replacing the recently retired Jon Gilliam.
[21] Holub was simply not able to run with the necessary speed to play linebacker after repeated surgeries.
He would spend hours in the training room, watching blood and liquid drain from his knee, then go out to the field and perform as though he was suffering from no physical problem.
[9] His scarred knees have been described as belonging to "the annals of athletic injury", along with the likes of Joe Namath, Willis Reed, Bobby Orr and Gale Sayers.
[23] With his knees wearing out, the Chiefs selected his eventual successor, Jack Rudnay, in the 1969 NFL/AFL draft.
[2] After retiring, Holub was a rancher, and later became an advocate for Texas Tech by working for the Red Raider Club to raise scholarship funds.