 Wallace in 1977 | |||||||||||||
| No. 25, 20 | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Positions | Cornerback, Return specialist | ||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||
| Born | (1951-03-13)March 13, 1951 (age 74) New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S. | ||||||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | ||||||||||||
| Weight | 197 lb (89 kg) | ||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||
| High school | St. Augustine(New Orleans) | ||||||||||||
| College | Arizona | ||||||||||||
| NFL draft | 1973: 2nd round, 34th overall pick | ||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||
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* Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |||||||||||||
| Awards and highlights | |||||||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||||||
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Jackie Wallace (born March 13, 1951) is an American former professionalfootball player who was acornerback in theNational Football League (NFL). He playedcollege football for theArizona Wildcats from 1970 through 1972 and in the NFL for theMinnesota Vikings,Baltimore Colts, andLos Angeles Rams from 1974 through 1979, taking part in twoSuper Bowls with the Vikings and Rams.
Since the end of his NFL career, Wallace has periodically struggled withsubstance abuse and experienced bouts of homelessness. In 2014, he joined a class-actionconcussion lawsuit against the NFL. His whereabouts were unknown until November 2019 when NOLA did another article about him.
Wallace was born inNew Orleans, Louisiana, where he lived in theSt. Bernard Projects.[1]
Wallace attendedSt. Augustine High School in New Orleans. He enrolled at theUniversity of Arizona and playedcollege football for theArizona Wildcats from 1970 through 1972.[1][2]United Press International andSporting News named him a first-teamAll-America in 1972, while theAssociated Press named him a third-team All-American. He was named to the All-Western Athletic Conference (WAC) team in his junior and senior years. Wallace had 20interceptions with the Wildcats, the second-most in school history, with 19 of those coming in his junior and senior years. His 11 interceptions in 1971 is a WAC record.[2]
TheMinnesota Vikings selected Wallace in the second round, with the 34th overall pick, in the1973 NFL draft.[3] Wallace played six professional seasons as acornerback from 1974 through 1979. He spent hisrookie season on the Vikings'practice squad, includingSuper Bowl VIII. He became a starter for the Vikings the next year, and started inSuper Bowl IX.[1]
Wallace played for theBaltimore Colts in 1975 and theLos Angeles Rams from 1976 through 1979. His 52punt returns and 618 punt return yards led the NFL in 1978. His final game in the NFL wasSuper Bowl XIV as a member of the Rams. After the game, he berated his coach in theRose Bowl locker room for not using him in the game, saying the coach could "kiss his ass".[1] That offseason, he was disinvited from theSuper Bowl ring party and cut from the team.[1] He retired with 11 career interceptions in 70games played.[2]
Out of the NFL, Wallace worked on anoil platform. The year after his football career ended, his mother died and he began to abuse alcohol and usecrack cocaine. He has battled addictions to numerous drugs, including crack, alcohol, and heroin, throughout his life, and has disappeared for years at a time.[1]
Ted Jackson, a photojournalist forThe Times-Picayune, discovered him homeless on the streets of New Orleans in 1990, and published a photo he took of the former player, which inspired Wallace to make an attempt at recovery; at the time, his whereabouts had been unknown for roughly a decade. He became sober, got married, and bought a house in the northeastern suburbs ofBaltimore. His sobriety lasted until 2002, when a domestic dispute with his wife led to him fleeing back to the streets of New Orleans. After several years of drug use, he was jailed in 2008 for check fraud, serving half of a seven-year sentence. He was released early for good behavior.[1]
On June 5, 2012, theWDSU television channel in New Orleans ran an article about the New Orleans Mission (ahomeless shelter) closing its doors due to financial problems. In the article, Wallace stated that he was homeless and had been frequenting the shelter for two months.[4] Wallace achieved sobriety again in 2014 and joinedNarcotics Anonymous; the same year, Wallace took part in alawsuit against the NFL regardingconcussions.[1][5]
In July 2017, Wallace disappeared again, having relapsed and returned to the streets.[1] In 2018, he regained sobriety and resumed contact with friends and family.[6]
In August 2020, photojournalistTed Jackson released a biography of Wallace's life titledYou Ought To Do A Story About Me.The two were interviewed by The Today Show, NPR's Weekend Edition and Access Hollywood detailing on how they met, became friends and eventually ended up collaborating on the book.