Johnson made the squad as a kickoff returner, with his speed and quickness becoming an occasional part of the offense. As a rookie, he began celebrating touchdowns with a dance known as the “Funky Chicken”, a dance based on a song from soul singer Rufus Thomas.^[3] It was one of the first touchdown celebrations in league history.^[3] The dances, along with his footwear, made Johnson popular among Oilers fans.

As a kick returner, Johnson returned five punts for touchdowns, along with two kickoffs, in his first four years with the Oilers, and added 12 more touchdowns on offense. He was selected to the Pro Bowl as a kick returner in 1975, and was named MVP of the game, during which he returned a punt 90 yards for a touchdown. He made another Pro Bowl appearance in 1977. In 1979, he suffered a knee injury that caused him to miss most of the next two seasons and lingered with him for the rest of his career. When he returned in 1980, he was no longer the kick returner, serving only as a backup wide receiver.

CFL and the Atlanta Falcons[edit]

Johnson played the 1981 season in the Canadian Football League with the Montreal Alouettes, where he was a star on a team that went 3-13; he caught 65 passes for 1,060 yards and five touchdowns, and returned 59 punts for 597 yards (fellow NFL players Tom Cousineau, Vince Ferragamo, Keith Gary, James Scott, David Overstreet and future professional wrestler Lex Luger were teammates). He returned to the NFL with the Atlanta Falcons in 1982. In 1983, he doubled as a full-time kick returner, where he scored his sixth career touchdown on a punt return, and starting wide receiver, leading the team in receptions. Johnson earned his third Pro Bowl berth that season but his most memorable moment came on November 20 when he caught a deflected Hail Mary pass and weaved his way to the end zone to give the Falcons a last-second victory over the San Francisco 49ers. He missed most of 1984 due to injury, and was benched as a return man in 1985. Johnson was also forced to curtail his end zone dances after the NFL instituted a rule against “excessive and premeditated celebration”.^[4]

• NFL Comeback Player of the Year (1983)
• 3× First-team All-Pro (1975, 1977, 1983)
• 3× Pro Bowl (1975, 1977, 1983)
• NFL 1970s All-Decade Team
• NFL 1980s All-Decade Team
• NFL 75th Anniversary All-Time Team
• NFL 100th Anniversary All-Time Team
• 2× First-team Little All-American (1972, 1973)

Benjamin Terrence Coates, Jr. (born August 16, 1969) is an American former professional football player who was a tight end in the National Football League (NFL) for 10 seasons, primarily with the New England Patriots. He played college football at Livingstone and was selected by the Patriots in the fifth round of the 1991 NFL Draft, where spent all but one season of his professional career. In his final season, he was a member of the Baltimore Ravens.

During his nine seasons with the Patriots, Coates was a five-time Pro Bowler and two-time first-team All-Pro. He also made one Super Bowl appearance in Super Bowl XXXI. After being released by the Patriots, Coates signed with the Ravens and was part of the team that won Super Bowl XXXV. Coates pursued a coaching career following his retirement, serving as the head coach at his alma mater Livingstone and the tight ends coach for the Cleveland Browns. He was named to the second NFL 1990s All-Decade Team in 2000 and inducted to the New England Patriots Hall of Fame in 2008.

Early years[edit]

Coates didn’t play football until his senior year at Greenwood High School, and was a multi-sport player at Livingstone College located in Salisbury, North Carolina. As a gridiron player at Livingstone, he broke nearly all meaningful records at the school, but due to his split-sport performances against small-school opponents, he received little notice outside the CIAA. While a college student, he joined Phi Beta Sigma fraternity through the Untouchable Upsilon Chapter at Livingstone College. He finished his college career with 103 receptions for 1,268 yards and 18 touchdowns. In 2018, he was inducted into the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association Hall of Fame.^[1]

Professional career[edit]

Considered an out-of-nowhere prospect, Coates was picked in the fifth round of the 1991 NFL Draft by the New England Patriots.^[2][3] His first two years with the Patriots were fairly uneventful; in his rookie year he had ten catches for 95 yards and a two-yard touchdown against the Indianapolis Colts that forced overtime in a 23–17 Patriots win. In his second season, he had 20 catches for 171 yards and three touchdowns.

His career changed with the 1993 arrival of quarterback Drew Bledsoe and head coach Bill Parcells to the Patriots franchise. Parcells, known for his reliance on tight ends, frequently used then-rookie quarterback Bledsoe on passes to Coates, and the tight end led the Patriots in receptions in 1993 with 53 catches for 629 yards and eight scores, two of them in New England’s season-ending overtime win over Miami.

In 1994, his breakout year, he caught 96 passes, the most ever for a tight end to that point,^[4] breaking a record previously set by Todd Christensen in 1986 (the record was later broken by Tony Gonzalez in 2004), for 1,174 yards receiving, the only time in his career he would gain 1,000 yards in a receiving season, while also scoring seven touchdowns. He appeared in his first of five consecutive Pro Bowls.

In 1996, Coates had 62 catches for 682 yards and nine touchdowns; the most dramatic was against the New York Giants in the final game of the regular season as he caught a 12-yard pass and bulled through Giants defenders for the game-winning score of a 23–22 New England win. His efforts helped New England to a championship appearance in Super Bowl XXXI. His team lost the game, 35–21, but he had a good performance in it, leading the Patriots in receiving with 6 catches for 66 yards and a touchdown. From 1995 to 1998, he caught 84, 62, 66, and 67 passes, respectively, in those four seasons.

After the 1999 season, which saw a significant decline in production, Coates was released by the Patriots. He subsequently played for the Baltimore Ravens, where he climbed the all-time receiving charts and won Super Bowl XXXV in the process. When Coates was released by the Ravens in the following year, he decided to retire, having become the fourth all-time leading receiver at tight end in NFL history, behind Ozzie Newsome, former teammate Shannon Sharpe, and Kellen Winslow. Coates played in 158 games with 499 receptions for 5,555 yards and 50 touchdowns.

After retiring, Coates returned to Livingstone College, where he was head coach, and also coached in NFL Europe. In 2004, he served an internship with the Dallas Cowboys as an assistant for the tight ends, reuniting him with head coach Parcells. In March 2005, Coates was named the tight ends coach for the Cleveland Browns, replacing Rob Chudzinski, under head coach Romeo Crennel, who had been the defensive line coach of the Patriots while Coates was with the team.

It was announced on July 7, 2008, that Coates would be inducted into the New England Patriots Hall of Fame. During his playing days with the Patriots, Coates was a fan favorite and was given the nickname “Winter” (as in “winter coat”), in addition to Ben “Technicolor Dream” Coates by ESPN commentator Chris Berman. .

Arizona Cardinals[edit]

In the 1996 NFL draft, Simeon Rice was selected in the first round with the third overall pick by the Arizona Cardinals.^[4] He was selected after Keyshawn Johnson and Kevin Hardy. After a contract dispute that lasted through training camp, Rice signed a 4-year, $9.5 million deal. Lining up at defensive end, Rice’s first snap as a pro resulted in a tackle for a 2-yard loss on Indianapolis Colts running back Marshall Faulk. At the end of September, Rice had 5 sacks and was named NFL defensive rookie of the month. At the end of the season, Rice had 12.5 sacks which tied a rookie record and he was voted NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year by the Associated Press. In Rice’s second season with the Cardinals, they finished 4-12. The fans grew impatient with the team. Rice himself lost the admiration of the fans by playing semi-professional basketball for the Philadelphia Power of the USBL. He played 11 minutes a game averaging 2.5 points and was paid $400 a game. In Rice’s third season, the Cardinals made the playoffs and won their first post-season game since 1947. That season Rice had 10 sacks, 23 quarterback pressures, and 4 fumble recoveries. The following year, the team slipped to 6-10 in part because of injuries to many of their star players. Despite the team’s poor play, Rice had 16.5 sacks and was named to his first Pro-Bowl. The next season, the year 2000, Rice was due a big pay increase, but the contract negotiation kept him off the field until the second game of the regular season. Rice had 7.5 sacks and the Cardinals fell to 3-13. At the end of the season, Rice was a free agent and was anxious to go to a new team.^[1][5]

Tampa Bay Buccaneers[edit]

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers signed Rice to a 5-year deal worth more than $30 million. He joined a defense that carried Tampa Bay to the playoffs the year before. His first season as a Buccaneer, Rice had 64 tackles and 11 sacks and the Buccaneers made the playoffs, but fell to the Philadelphia Eagles, 31-9. After the loss, head coach Tony Dungy was fired. The Buccaneers traded two 1st round picks and two 2nd round picks to the Oakland Raiders for Jon Gruden. Gruden’s high-energy style and the addition of Keenan McCardell and Michael Pittman to the offense helped the Buccaneers reach the Super Bowl. They beat the Oakland Raiders 48-21 for the first Super Bowl victory in the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ history. Rice had 5 tackles and 2 sacks in the Super Bowl and 15.5 sacks on the season, including 11 sacks in a 5-game span. Over the next 3 seasons, the Buccaneers only had one with a winning record and lost the only playoff appearance they had. Rice had impressive seasons, recording 15, 12, and 14 sacks. The 2006 season saw the Buccaneers fall to 4-12 and Rice only had 2 sacks in 8 games played. He finished the second half of the season on injured reserve and was released by the Buccaneers before the start of the next season because of a failed physical.^[1][5][6][7]

2007[edit]

Rice played 8 games for the Denver Broncos with 5 tackles and no sacks and 2 games for the Indianapolis Colts with one sack. He has not played in the NFL since.^[5]

Rice left the NFL as the active leader in sacks with 122. He is currently 20th all-time in sacks in NFL history. Rice was also the second fastest player to achieve 100 career sacks behind Eagles and Packers legend Reggie White.

Todd Jay Christensen (August 3, 1956 – November 13, 2013) was an American professional football player who was a tight end in the National Football League (NFL) from 1978 until 1988, primarily with the Oakland / Los Angeles Raiders. Following his retirement Christensen became a commentator for both professional and collegiate games, working for NBC Sports, ESPN, and CBS Sports Network among others.

Early years[edit]

Todd was born in Bellefonte, Pennsylvania. His parents were Ned Jay and June Christensen.^[1][2] Todd was a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. His father was working on a doctoral degree at Pennsylvania State University at that time. After teaching in West Virginia, his father was offered a professorship in Eugene, Oregon, when Todd was 5 and the family relocated.

“Puberty and adolescence helped me realize that I was not as fast as I had thought,” he recalled. “My body went a different direction and that was when I started leaning towards football.”^{[citation needed]} He graduated from Sheldon High School in Eugene in 1974.^[3][4] He was selected in the 1974 Major League Baseball draft, but he elected to play football at Brigham Young University (BYU) in Provo, Utah.^[5][2]

At BYU, Christensen was a four-year starter (1974–1977) for the Cougars at fullback, led the team for three consecutive seasons in receiving and was an All-Western Athletic Conference selection as a senior in 1977. His career numbers while at BYU: 276 rushing attempts for 1,072 yards and 8 touchdowns, 152 receptions for 1,568 yards and 13 touchdowns. He graduated with a degree in social work in 1978 before embarking on his pro career.

Professional career[edit]

Dallas Cowboys[edit]

Christensen was selected in the second-round (56th overall) of the 1978 NFL draft by the Dallas Cowboys.^[1] While playing fullback and leading the team in rushing, he broke his foot in the final exhibition game, so he was placed on injured reserve and couldn’t play a down in a season the team won the conference title and played in Super Bowl XIII. The next year the Cowboys wanted to convert him to tight end, but he didn’t agree with the move after working one week in his new position, so he was waived at the end of training camp.

New York Giants[edit]

Christensen was claimed off waivers by the New York Giants but only played in one game and lasted two weeks with the team, before being released to make room for wide receiver Dwight Scales.^[6]

Oakland/Los Angeles Raiders[edit]

After being unclaimed, he was signed by the Oakland Raiders in 1979 and became a key player on special teams, which included the role of long snapper. Being the son of a college professor, he was scholarly and enjoyed the mastery of words, he also quoted famous authors and volunteered on different occasions poems, some of which were written by him. His eccentricities helped him fit in with the Raiders, even if he wasn’t tailored to the renegade mold.

He finally agreed to play the tight end position and after three seasons of unspectacular statistics (including the Raiders’ Super Bowl winning campaign in 1980, in which his only reception of the entire year was a 1-yard touchdown catch in the opening round of the playoffs), Christensen broke out in 1982, catching 42 passes for 510 yards and four touchdowns during the strike-shortened season, helping the Raiders tie the Washington Redskins for the best record in the NFL. The next year, Christensen caught 92 passes for a career-high 1,247 yards and 12 touchdowns and earned the first of his five trips to the Pro Bowl for his efforts.^[1] His total catches led the NFL, making him the second tight end to ever do this (Kellen Winslow was the other). The Raiders finished the season with a resounding 38–9 victory over the Washington Redskins in Super Bowl XVIII.

Christensen topped 1,000 yards again in 1984, catching 82 passes in the process.^[1] He hit 80 receptions again the following year, missing 1,000 yards by just 13 yards.^[1] The 1986 NFL season was Christensen’s last big one statistically. He ended the year with a career-high, league-leading 95 receptions for 1,153 yards and eight touchdowns.^[1] The 95 receptions would stand as the most by an NFL tight end in a single season until Ben Coates totaled 96 in 1994. Christensen also became the first tight end in history to catch 90 passes in each of two seasons.

Christensen’s 1987 campaign was cut short due to the players’ strike, but in 12 games he still managed to catch 47 balls (a little fewer than four per game). His 663 yards averaged to 14.1 yards per reception, a career-high in seasons where he caught at least 40 passes. In Christensen’s final year, he missed more than half the season with injuries. He only caught 15 passes, with none going for touchdowns, and then he retired from pro football.^[1]

In his career, Christensen caught 461 passes for 5,872 yards and 41 touchdowns.^[1] In eight postseason games, he caught 31 balls for 358 yards and only one touchdown. He led the league in receptions twice, and his 349 receptions from 1983 through 86 (four seasons) was an NFL record.

In 2017, the Professional Football Researchers Association named Christensen to the PFRA Hall of Very Good Class of 2017 ^[7]

After the NFL[edit]

Following his football career Christensen participated in Masters Track and Field, where he set an age-group world record in the Heptathlon and was the top decathlete in the world for ages 45-and-over.^[8] In 1990, during the Major League Baseball lockout, he tried out for the Oakland Athletics.^[5] Christensen became a broadcaster, co-hosting the second half of the first season of American Gladiators with Mike Adamle. He later joined the NFL on NBC as a color commentator from 1990 to 1994, teaming up with Charlie Jones for the first four years and, had Greg Gumbel stayed in CBS, he would have teamed up with Drew Goodman instead of Jim Lampley in 1994.

In 1994, Christensen guest-starred on an episode of Married… with Children titled “Kelly Knows Something.”^[9]

Christensen did color commentary for ESPN‘s college football coverage before moving to MountainWest Sports Network. Christensen would remain with “the mtn.” until the network shut down on May 31, 2012. Christensen was announced as the new analyst for CBS Sports Network Navy games in August 2012. In 2000, he was inducted into the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame.

Death[edit]

Christensen died at age 57 on November 13, 2013, from complications during liver transplant surgery at Intermountain Medical Center in Murray, Utah, near his home in Alpine. He had battled liver disease and related illnesses for about two years, though his son, Toby, said his liver issues began with a “botched” gallbladder surgery 25 years earlier.^[10]

Rich Gannon

Richard Joseph Gannon (born December 20, 1965) is an American former football quarterback who played 18 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). Subsequently, he was a sports commentator with CBS Sports for 16 years.^[1]

Gannon was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and played college football at the University of Delaware where he directed coach Tubby Raymond‘s Wing-T offense. He recorded at least 2,000 offensive yards for three straight seasons at Delaware and was Yankee Conference Offensive Player of the Year as a senior. In the 1987 NFL Draft, the New England Patriots selected Gannon in the fourth round intent upon converting Gannon to running back. He was soon traded to the Minnesota Vikings and would play with the Vikings until 1992. Gannon began his career as a backup for Wade Wilson. Gannon started his first games in 1990 in relief of an injured Wilson and would start many games in 1991. In 1992, he formally became the starting quarterback for the Vikings and led the Vikings to an 11–5 season and the playoffs after two consecutive losing seasons.

Gannon played with the Washington Redskins in 1993, the Kansas City Chiefs from 1995–98, and the Oakland Raiders from 1999–2004. With the Raiders, he achieved his greatest successes, including four consecutive seasons making the Pro Bowl (1999–2002), three consecutive postseason appearances for the Raiders (2000–2002), two All-Pro selections (2000, 2002), one MVP, and an appearance in Super Bowl XXXVII in 2003. However, Gannon spent much of his final two seasons (2003 and 2004) with injuries, and the Raiders had losing records in those seasons. After retiring from football before the 2005 season, Gannon began a career in sports broadcasting. He served as a sports analyst for NFL on CBS through the 2020 NFL season.

Early life[edit]

Gannon attended Saint Joseph’s Preparatory School in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and won three varsity letters each in football and crew, and twice in basketball. In his senior season, he won first team All-City as a punter and quarterback. He threw for 1,567 yards his senior season.

College career[edit]

Gannon attended the University of Delaware where he was a member of Sigma Phi Epsilon. In football, he was coached by Tubby Raymond and played within Raymond’s wing T offense.^[2][3] With the Delaware Fightin’ Blue Hens football team, Gannon first played as a punter before switching to quarterback in sophomore year. Gannon set 21 school records, including total offense (7,432 yards), passing yards (5,927), pass attempts (845), and completions (462) and was the only Delaware player at the time to achieve at least 2,000 yards of offense three years in a row. As a sophomore, Gannon won the Eastern College Athletic Conference Division I-AA Rookie of the Year award in 1984. In 1986, during his senior season, Gannon won Yankee Conference Offensive Player of the Year honors and was an honorable mention All-American selection.^[4]

When he led the Raiders to Super Bowl XXXVII in 2003, he was the second player from the University of Delaware to go to the Super Bowl.^[5]

Torry Holt

Torry Jabar Holt (born June 5, 1976) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL) for eleven seasons. He was named to the Pro Bowl seven times and retired with the 10th most receiving yards, including a record six consecutive seasons with 1,300 yards. He played college football at North Carolina State University, and earned consensus All-American honors. He was drafted by the St. Louis Rams in the first round of the 1999 NFL Draft, and spent the next ten years with the Rams and is remembered as one of the members of the “Greatest Show on Turf.”

Early years[edit]

Holt grew up in Gibsonville, North Carolina. He was Prep Football Report All-America selection, adding all-state honors at Eastern Guilford High School in Gibsonville. While there, he caught 129 passes during his career, gaining 2,573 yards and scoring 42 touchdowns including 56 receptions for 983 yards and 17 touchdowns as senior. He also returned three punts and three kickoffs for touchdowns during his career. Additionally, Holt was a standout defensive back who posted 62 tackles and four interceptions as senior. He was named one of the Top 25 players in the state by the Charlotte Observer. After high school, Holt attended Hargrave Military Academy in 1995. There he caught 21 passes for 524 yards and six touchdowns. Torry also appeared with then-teammate Marshall Faulk in Nelly‘s Air Force Ones music video.

College career[edit]

Holt attended North Carolina State University, and played wide receiver for the NC State Wolfpack football team from 1995 to 1998. In his senior year, Holt was named Atlantic Coast Conference Offensive Player of the Year. That season, he set ACC records of 88 receptions (since broken by Kenneth Moore of Wake Forest) for 1,604 yards and an NC State record of 16 touchdown receptions. Holt was a consensus first-team All-American as senior. He was also a finalist for the Fred Biletnikoff Award, given to the nation’s top receiver. As a junior, he led the team, setting Wolfpack season records with 62 receptions for 1,099 yards, topping marks of 55 by Naz Worthen (1988) while becoming the first player in team history to gain more than 1,000 yards in a season. He started in five of the first seven games as sophomore. He majored in sociology. Holt’s number, 81, was retired in 1999.^[1]

• Super Bowl champion (XXXIV)
• First-team All-Pro (2003)
• Second-team All-Pro (2006)
• 7× Pro Bowl (2000–2001, 2003–2007)
• 2× NFL receiving yards leader (2000, 2003)
• NFL receptions leader (2003)
• NFL 2000s All-Decade Team
• PFWA All-Rookie Team (1999)
• Consensus All-American (1998)
• ACC Player of the Year (1998)
• ACC Offensive Player of the Year (1998)
• NC State Wolfpack Jersey No. 81 retired

Darryl Talley

Darryl Victor Talley (born July 10, 1960) is an American former professional football player who was an outside linebacker in the National Football League (NFL) for 14 seasons during the 1980s and 1990s. He played college football for West Virginia University, and was recognized as an All-American. Talley played professionally for the Buffalo Bills, Atlanta Falcons and Minnesota Vikings of the NFL, and played in four Super Bowls with the Bills.

College career[edit]

Talley played college football at West Virginia University. Many college programs were pushed away from him, because he played fullback and linebacker at Shaw High School in East Cleveland, never settling on either position. He also missed his last seven high school games with a broken ankle.

Talley was a starter from 1979 to 1982 and led the Mountaineers to the Peach Bowl in 1981 and the 1982 Gator Bowl in 1982. Against Pitt, he intercepted Dan Marino to set up a Mountaineer field goal and blocked a punt and returned it for a touchdown. As a senior in 1982, he was selected as West Virginia’s third-ever consensus All-American. He started the season off with a win over Oklahoma and was named WVU’s season MVP and was named All-American. He also played in the 1983 Hula Bowl.

Legacy[edit]

Talley’s five tackles-for-a-loss against Penn State stand as a single-game record and his personal-best 15 tackles against Boston College won Sports Illustrated Player of the Week honors. For his career, he had 282 unassisted tackles (first all-time), 202 assisted tackles (second), 28 tackles-for-loss (second) and 19 sacks (fourth). During his four-year career, he recorded a school record of 484 career tackles; which has been passed by Grant Wiley.^[1]

Talley was named to the 2008 College Football Hall of Fame ballot for nominees for induction, and was inducted in 2011^[2] He is also a member of the West Virginia University Sports Hall of Fame.^[2]

Professional career[edit]

Talley played in the National Football League for 14 seasons and played in four Super Bowls. He never missed a game in his 12-years with the Buffalo Bills. Jim Kelly, the Bills’ Hall of Fame quarterback considers Talley his most underrated teammate and believes that Talley should also be enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.^[3]

Buffalo Bills[edit]

Talley was selected in the second round of the 1983 NFL Draft by the Bills and played in Buffalo for 12 seasons. He is the Bills’ all-time leading tackler with 1,137, and also recorded 38.5 sacks, 12 interceptions for 189 return yards and 3 touchdowns, and 14 fumble recoveries for 76 return yards. He averaged 120 tackles, 3.5 sacks and 6.2 takeaways per season and his mark of 188 regular season games played ranks fifth-most in team history.

While with the Bills, Talley had multiple nicknames on the field as “The Duke of Awesome”, “Spider-Man“, and “The Hammer”. His cheering section at Rich Stadium was known as the “Talley-Whackers“. On November 4, 1990, playing against the Cleveland Browns in his hometown, Talley returned an interception for his first career touchdown.^[4] After the season, he received the Ed Block Courage Award.^[5]

In 2003 Talley became the 20th member on the Wall of Fame in Ralph Wilson Stadium.

Later career[edit]

Talley left the Bills to play with the Falcons in the 1995 campaign and then with the Vikings. He left Atlanta on a less than stellar note when it was discovered that he played his last game in Atlanta with a loaded U-Haul truck in the parking lot. He had it so he could go home to spend the holiday with his family once the game was over. He ended his career after the 1996 season and won the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Distinguished Service Award in 2000.

Personal life[edit]

On June 2, 2008 Talley commented that former Bills kicker Scott Norwood should be inducted onto the Bills’ Wall of Fame. He stated;

“One thing I wish people would take a look at is out of all the things that we accomplished we wouldn’t have done a lot of them without Scott Norwood”. He continued on, “Everybody seems to have forgotten Scott. If you look back in the early days we won a lot of games with special teams and him kicking field goals. So I think there’s somewhere up there (the Wall) for Scott to be, but nobody wants to acknowledge him because he missed a kick. But as I recall, I missed some tackles in that game, Bruce missed some. Thurman dropped some balls and Jim threw interceptions, but nobody realizes that here is a guy that made major contributions to what this organization was about. It just irks me that people have forgotten him.” [sic]^[6]

He now lives in Dallas, Texas with his wife Janine, who is a popular social media user, and their two kids.

Talley is the brother of Cleveland Brown John Talley and is the cousin of New York Yankee Derek Jeter.^[7][8]

Talley was named to the Buffalo Bills 50th Anniversary All-Time Team in 2009.^[9][10]

A 2014 report in The Buffalo News revealed that Talley had suffered brain damage, which Talley suspects stems from his playing days and manifests itself as severe depression.^[11]

On July 3, 2021 Wheeling, WV newspaper The Intelligencer published that Talley’s number would be retired at the Mountaineers’ Home Game of October 2, 2021, [1].

Roy Green

Roy Calvin Green (born June 30, 1957) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL). He played for the St. Louis/Phoenix Cardinals (1979-1990) and Philadelphia Eagles (1991–1992).

Early life[edit]

Green was born in Magnolia, Arkansas.

College career[edit]

Green played college football at Henderson State University.^[1] He played defensive back and returned kicks for Henderson State University, and achieved All-American status.

Professional career[edit]

Green was drafted by the Cardinals in the fourth round of the 1979 NFL Draft.^[2] He starred as a rookie returning kicks, including a 106-yard return for a touchdown against the Dallas Cowboys, tying an NFL record. Green also played well at cornerback. In 1981, he stepped in as wide receiver part-time and managed to gain 708 yards on merely 33 catches, which equated to nearly 21.5 yards per catch.^[3] On September 20 against the Washington Redskins, he caught a touchdown pass and recorded an interception. This made him the first player since Eddie Sutton in 1957 to do both in the same game. Green did this twice more that year against the Dallas Cowboys and Washington.^[4] The following season, Green fully transitioned to wide receiver and performed well in the strike-shortened season. Green truly shined during the next several seasons, particularly in 1984 when his 1,555 receiving yards were then the third highest in a season (through the 2005 season, this has since dropped to eighteenth). Green led the Cardinals in receiving in 1983, 1984 and 1988 (during those intervening years, veterans Pat Tilley and J. T. Smith split time leading the team in receiving). He was usually one of the few stars on a mediocre team. During his career, the Cardinals only made the playoffs once, in the strike-shortened 1982 season, and would only garner winning records two other times.

Green played with the Cardinals past their move to Phoenix, Arizona in 1987. He caught 68 passes in 1988 for 1,097 yards with seven touchdowns for his third and final 1,000-yard season in 1988. The following year saw him play in just twelve games and catch 44 passes for 703 yards with seven touchdowns. Green caught 53 passes in the 1990 season that got him to 500 career receptions, which as of the end of that season saw just 24 other players with as many receptions. On June 9, 1991, he was traded to the Cleveland Browns for an undisclosed draft pick.^[5] On August 20, 1991, he was cut from the team when the Browns reduced their roster to sixty and elected to keep rookie Michael Jackson and Reggie Langhorne instead.^[6] Green was subsequently signed by the Philadelphia Eagles, who sought veteran leadership at wide receiver to replace the retired Mike Quick and the waived Cris Carter. Green played much of that season, in which a lackluster offense was balanced by a sensational defense. Green played sparingly the following season and retired in 1993. John Madden honored Green in his annual All-Madden Team, stating that at one point, he regarded Green as not the best wide receiver in the game, but the best player. Green finished with 559 receptions for 8,965 yards and 66 touchdowns. He also rushed for 140 yards, returned 27 punts for 230 yards, and added another 2,002 yards on kickoff returns. He also intercepted 4 passes for 54 yards and recovered 20 fumbles. Overall, he gained 11,391 yards and scored 69 touchdowns, with his 62 for the Cardinals being a franchise record.

On October 2, 2016, Green was inducted as the 16th member of the Arizona Cardinals Ring of Honor. On September 15, 2017, Green was inducted into the St. Louis Sports Hall of Fame.^[7]

Personal life[edit]

Green married his wife, Sharon, before the 1980 NFL season. Ottis Anderson and Theotis Brown served as groomsmen and his brother, Leotis, was best man.^[8]

Since retiring from the NFL, Green has shifted his focus to helping improve the health of current and former professional athletes through promoting sleep apnea awareness across the country. He has teamed up with dental icon, David Gergen, and a company called Pro Player Health Alliance to hold free public awareness events in local communities all over the nation. After joining the cause of Pro Player Health Alliance and using his extensive number of connections to players, he has helped get over 150 former players successfully treated for sleep apnea.^[9]

In 2012, Green was diagnosed with kidney disease due to the long-term use of anti-inflammatories during his playing career in the NFL. Following a year of dialysis three days a week, his daughters, Miyosha, 30, and Candace, 26, both offered to donate a kidney to their father. Both daughters were matches, but Miyosha was chosen to donate. Green had successful surgery on Nov. 14 at the Mayo Clinic.^[10]

Ahman Green

Ahman Rashad Green (/ɑːˈmɑːn/; born February 16, 1977) is an American former football running back who played 12 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). Green played college football for the Nebraska Cornhuskers and was drafted by the Seattle Seahawks in the 3rd round of the 1998 NFL Draft, playing there for two seasons before being traded to the Green Bay Packers, with whom he played for eight of the next ten seasons. Green also played for the Houston Texans, and was a four-time Pro Bowl selection with the Packers, where he holds the franchise record for rushing yards. He was the head esports coach at Lakeland University until the end of the 2022.

Early years[edit]

Green was born in Omaha, Nebraska, and attended Omaha North before transferring to Omaha Central for high school. He was a high school All-American selection and state ‘Player of the Year’ as a senior.^[1]

In addition to football, he also ran track and field. He currently holds the 10th fastest 100 meter dash ever in the state of Nebraska, at 10.61 seconds.^[2]

Green also competed in powerlifting in high school, placing 2nd in the ADFPA High School National Powerlifting Championships in Des Moines, Iowa.

College career[edit]

Green was a standout running back and three-year starter for the University of Nebraska Cornhuskers. He was an integral component and key contributor on two national championship squads.

Professional[edit]

• 4× Pro Bowl selection, 2001-2004
• NFC Offensive Player of the Year, 2003
• Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame inductee