| No. 89, 81 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Wide receiver | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born | (1948-02-04)February 4, 1948 Yuma, Arizona, U.S. | ||||||||
| Died | January 13, 2006(2006-01-13) (aged 57) Huntington Beach, California, U.S. | ||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | ||||||||
| Weight | 185 lb (84 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school | Yuma | ||||||||
| College | Kansas | ||||||||
| NFL draft | 1971: 8th round, 206th overall pick | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
* Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |||||||||
| Awards and highlights | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||
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Ron Ray Jessie (February 4, 1948 – January 13, 2006) was an American professionalfootball player who was awide receiver in theNational Football League (NFL) for theDetroit Lions,Los Angeles Rams andBuffalo Bills. He playedcollege football for theKansas Jayhawks.
Jessie attendedYuma High School where he was a three-sport athlete: all-division inbasketball, all-state infootball andtrack & field.
After high school, he initially enrolled atArizona Western College, before transferring toImperial Valley College, where he played as awide receiver and was a part of thetrack & field squad.
Jessie received a scholarship from theUniversity of Kansas where he also practiced both sports. He was a part of the school's national championshiptrack team in 1969, while winning theNCAA indoorlong jump championship with a leap of 25–2.5 and receivingAll-American honors.[1] In other track meets, hehigh jumped 6–6 and was timed at 13.8 seconds in the110 metres hurdles.
Infootball, he playedrunning back in the same backfield withJohn Riggins and was also used as asplit end. He finished with 33 receptions for 644 yards, more than 1,500 total yards in offense and 5touchdowns. In 1970, he set a school record with 494 kickoff return yards.
In 2010, he was inducted into theImperial Valley College Hall of Fame.
Jessie was selected by theDallas Cowboys in the eighth round (206th overall) of the1971 NFL draft. On July 27, he was traded to theDetroit Lions in exchange for a fourth-round draft choice (#93-Chuck Zapiec).[2]
As a rookie, Jessie contributed mainly on kickoff returns. The next year, he became a starter atwide receiver and the team's deep threat, which included an 82-yardtouchdown reception.
On April 8,1974, Jessie signed with theBirmingham Americans for the 1975 season of theWFL, but the team folded at the end of the 1974 season.[3] He finished the season ranked as the sixth leadingwide receiver in theNFL with 761 yards and fourth in receptions (54).[4]
The courts ruled in favor of theNFLPA and a new form offree agency was briefly instituted in1975. After playing out his contract, Jessie was signed by theLos Angeles Rams, but then commissionerPete Rozelle mandated the team to send the Lions their number one draft choice (#8-Dennis Lick) along withCullen Bryant as compensation.[5] Bryant filed for a temporary restraining order from the courts and would never play for the Lions.[6] The Lions eventually traded the Rams' first round draft choice to theChicago Bears, in exchange for their first (#10-James Hunter) and third round pick (#68-Russ Bolinger).
Jessie's best season was in1976, when he was voted to thePro Bowl after registering 34 receptions for 779 yards and sixtouchdowns. The next year, he was placed on theinjured reserve list after suffering a knee injury against theSan Francisco 49ers.[7]
In1979, Jessie was placed on theinjured reserve list after suffering a broken leg against theNew Orleans Saints,[8] that also prevented him from playing in the 31–19Super Bowl loss to thePittsburgh Steelers.
On July 31,1980, he was traded to theBuffalo Bills in exchange for a seventh-round draft choice (#187-Victor Simmons).[9]
Jessie was used in a reserve role during his two years with theBuffalo Bills.
| Legend | |
|---|---|
| Led the league | |
| Bold | Career high |
| Year | Team | Games | Receiving | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Rec | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | ||
| 1971 | DET | 14 | 1 | 4 | 87 | 21.8 | 51 | 0 |
| 1972 | DET | 14 | 14 | 24 | 424 | 17.7 | 82 | 4 |
| 1973 | DET | 14 | 12 | 20 | 364 | 18.2 | 84 | 3 |
| 1974 | DET | 12 | 12 | 54 | 761 | 14.1 | 46 | 3 |
| 1975 | RAM | 14 | 14 | 41 | 547 | 13.3 | 34 | 3 |
| 1976 | RAM | 14 | 14 | 34 | 779 | 22.9 | 58 | 6 |
| 1977 | RAM | 3 | 3 | 9 | 139 | 15.4 | 21 | 0 |
| 1978 | RAM | 16 | 16 | 49 | 752 | 15.3 | 49 | 4 |
| 1979 | RAM | 6 | 6 | 11 | 169 | 15.4 | 39 | 2 |
| 1980 | BUF | 16 | 3 | 4 | 56 | 14.0 | 20 | 1 |
| 1981 | BUF | 15 | 0 | 15 | 200 | 13.3 | 44 | 0 |
| 138 | 95 | 265 | 4,278 | 16.1 | 84 | 26 | ||
| Year | Team | Games | Receiving | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Rec | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | ||
| 1975 | RAM | 2 | 2 | 8 | 104 | 13.0 | 18 | 0 |
| 1976 | RAM | 2 | 2 | 2 | 60 | 30.0 | 41 | 0 |
| 1978 | RAM | 2 | 2 | 10 | 150 | 15.0 | 29 | 1 |
| 1980 | BUF | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1981 | BUF | 2 | 0 | 1 | 12 | 12.0 | 12 | 0 |
| 9 | 6 | 21 | 326 | 15.5 | 41 | 1 | ||
After retiring as a player, Jessie became a scout for theLos Angeles Rams. He died in 2006, after suffering aheart attack in hisHuntington Beach home.[10]
In 1997, after playingbasketball for theUniversity of Utah, Jessie's son Brandon was signed as anundrafted free agent by theNew York Giants.[11]
A T-shirt bearing Jessie's last name was responsible for half the title ofRick Springfield's hit song "Jessie's Girl."