No. 39 | |
Born: | New Iberia, Louisiana, U.S. | January 4, 1941
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Career information | |
Position(s) | Defensive back |
College | UCLA |
High school | Mount Carmel (Los Angeles, California) |
AFL draft | 1963 / Round: 1 / Pick: 5 (By the Denver Broncos) |
NFL draft | 1963 / Round: 1 / Pick: 8 (By the San Francisco 49ers) |
Career history | |
As player | |
1963–1969 | San Francisco 49ers |
1970–1971 | Los Angeles Rams |
1972–1973 | Philadelphia Eagles |
Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Pro Bowls | 1 (1968) |
Career stats | |
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Kermit Joseph Alexander (born January 4, 1941) is an American former professional football player who was a defensive back in the National Football League (NFL). He was on the board of directors for the Lott IMPACT Trophy, which is named after Pro Football Hall of Fame defensive back Ronnie Lott, and is awarded annually to college football's defensive IMPACT Player of the Year. [1]
Alexander was drafted by the San Francisco 49ers with the eighth pick in the first round of the 1963 NFL Draft. He was also drafted by the Denver Broncos of the American Football League with the fifth overall pick, but chose to sign with San Francisco. Alexander played alongside Pro Football Hall of Fame cornerback Jimmy Johnson. Alexander was selected to play in the Pro Bowl in 1968, after a season in which he had a career-high nine interceptions, including an interception he returned 66 yards for a touchdown. Alexander played for the 49ers from 1963 to 1969.
In his second year with the Los Angeles Rams in 1971, he returned one of his three interceptions 82 yards for a touchdown. He played two more seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles in 1972 and 1973. Kermit was responsible for injuring Gale Sayers's right knee in a rolling tackle which shortened the career of the Bears star running back, and cost Sayers some of his extraordinary quickness.
In addition to playing defense, Alexander returned punts and kickoffs for all three teams. Both of his career punt returns for touchdowns came with San Francisco. [2]
He was one of the fifteen plaintiffs in Mackey v. National Football League in which Judge Earl R. Larson declared that the Rozelle rule was a violation of antitrust laws on December 30, 1975. [3] [4]
On August 31, 1984, Alexander's mother, sister and two nephews, ages 8 and 13, were murdered in South Central Los Angeles during a home invasion by members of the Rollin 60's Neighborhood Crips, whose intended victims lived two doors away. [5]
Alexander was initially planning on adopting one child from Haiti, but after meeting the child's four siblings, he ended up adopting all five. The five were in Haiti at the time of the earthquake in 2010, but survived and now live with Alexander and his wife, Tami.[ citation needed ]
Super Bowl XVI was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion San Francisco 49ers and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Cincinnati Bengals to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for the 1981 season. The 49ers defeated the Bengals by the score of 26–21 to win their first Super Bowl.
Super Bowl XIX was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Miami Dolphins and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion San Francisco 49ers to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for the 1984 season. The 49ers defeated the Dolphins by the score of 38–16, to win their second Super Bowl. The game was played on January 20, 1985, at Stanford Stadium, on the campus of Stanford University in Stanford, California, the first Super Bowl played in the San Francisco Bay Area. This also became the second Super Bowl after Super Bowl XIV where the game was coincidentally played in the home market of one of the participants.
Super Bowl XXIII was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Cincinnati Bengals and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion San Francisco 49ers to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for the 1988 season. The 49ers defeated the Bengals 20–16, winning their third Super Bowl. The game was played on January 22, 1989, at Joe Robbie Stadium in Miami. This was the first Super Bowl hosted in the Miami area in 10 years, and the first in Miami not held at the Orange Bowl.
Super Bowl XXIV was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion San Francisco 49ers and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Denver Broncos to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for the 1989 season. The game was played on January 28, 1990, at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana. The 49ers defeated the Broncos by the score of 55–10, winning their second consecutive Super Bowl, and then-tying the Pittsburgh Steelers with four Super Bowl victories. San Francisco also became the first team to win back-to-back Super Bowls with two different head coaches; rookie head coach George Seifert took over after Bill Walsh retired following the previous season's Super Bowl.
Roderick Kevin Woodson is an American former professional football cornerback in the National Football League (NFL) for 17 seasons. Woodson was selected by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the first round of the 1987 NFL Draft and played his first ten years there. He was also a key member of the Baltimore Ravens' Super Bowl XXXV championship team. He had two shorter stints for the San Francisco 49ers and two seasons with the Oakland Raiders. Widely considered one of the greatest all-time defensive players ever, Woodson holds the NFL record for fumble recoveries (32) by a defensive player, and interceptions returned for touchdown (12), and was named the NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 1993. His 71 career interceptions are the third-most in NFL history. He was an inductee of the Class of 2009 of the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio on August 8, 2009. Woodson was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2016. He played most of his career as a cornerback then switched to safety during the later part of his career. Woodson was most recently the head coach of the XFL's Vegas Vipers.
Ronald Mandel Lott is an American former professional football player in the National Football League (NFL) for 14 seasons during the 1980s and 1990s.
Allen Bonshaca Lamont Rossum is an American former professional football player who was a cornerback and return specialist in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. He was selected by the Philadelphia Eagles in the third round of the 1998 NFL Draft.
The National Football League playoffs for the 1983 season began on December 24, 1983. The postseason tournament concluded with the Los Angeles Raiders defeating the Washington Redskins in Super Bowl XVIII, 38–9, on January 22, 1984, at Tampa Stadium in Tampa, Florida.
The 1959 NFL season marked the 40th regular season of the National Football League. It was the first season overseen by youthful commissioner Pete Rozelle, who was named to the position following the sudden death in October of commissioner Bert Bell.
Dwight Hicks is an American former professional football player who was a safety in the National Football League (NFL), primarily for the San Francisco 49ers. He won two Super Bowls with the 49ers while earning four Pro Bowl selections.
Nathaniel Wright is a former American football cornerback who played in the National Football League (NFL) from 1969 to 1980.
Clinton Jones is an American former professional football running back who played in the National Football League (NFL) for the Minnesota Vikings and the San Diego Chargers. He played college football for the Michigan State Spartans and was drafted by the Vikings in the first round of the 1967 NFL/AFL draft.
Eugene Washington is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL). He played for the Minnesota Vikings (1967–1972) and the Denver Broncos (1973). He was one of two wide receivers in the NFL with the same name during the last five year of his career as an active player, but neither were ever teammates.
Charlie West is a former safety who played for three National Football League teams. He played in Super Bowl IV as a member of the Minnesota Vikings. He also still holds the University of Texas El Paso career record of 19 interceptions, including a school record four in one game. Today, he presently lives near New York City and coaches the Carmel High School football team in New York, serving as the defensive coordinator. West returned kicks and punts for the Minnesota Vikings, and still holds the team's record for longest punt return. On November 3, 1968, playing the Washington Redskins, West returned a Mike Bragg punt 98 yards for a touchdown. He was one of the fifteen plaintiffs in Mackey v. National Football League in which Judge Earl R. Larson declared that the Rozelle rule was a violation of antitrust laws on December 30, 1975.
Richard Frederick Gordon is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver for ten seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played for the Chicago Bears, Los Angeles Rams, Green Bay Packers, and San Diego Chargers. After playing his option year with the Bears in 1971, Gordon became a free agent on May 1, 1972. The lateness of his signing with the Rams on October 12 after the start of the 1972 campaign was due to the uncertainty of compensation that the Bears were to receive. The Rams sent a 1974 first-round selection to the Bears as compensation to complete the last of only four times the NFL exercised the Rozelle rule. He was one of the fifteen plaintiffs in Mackey v. National Football League in which Judge Earl R. Larson declared that the Rozelle rule was a violation of antitrust laws on December 30, 1975. In 2019, he was selected as one of the 100 greatest Bears of All-Time.
The 1981 San Francisco 49ers season was the franchise's 32nd season in the National Football League (NFL), their 36th overall and their third under head coach Bill Walsh.
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