Mike Reid (American football)

Michael Barry "Mike" Reid (born May 24, 1947) is a retired professional American football defensive lineman, as well as a country music artist and composer. After several years playing for the Cincinnati Bengals, Reid retired from football and began his musical career, co-writing several hit singles for country music artists, including Ronnie Milsap's "Stranger in My House", which won a Grammy Award for Best Country Song in 1984. Reid later began a solo recording career, releasing two studio albums for Columbia Records. He charted seven singles on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks (now Hot Country Songs) charts as a singer, including the Number One hit "Walk on Faith."

College career
In his senior year (1969), the tackle spearheaded Penn State on defense with 89 tackles and was a unanimous All-America choice and All-East selection. He also finished fifth in the Heisman Trophy balloting.

He earned a Bachelor of Arts in music from Penn State in 1969. He was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1987 and received the Walter Camp “Alumnus of the Year” award in 1987. In 1995, he received the NCAA Silver Anniversary Award.

Reid also wrestled at Penn State and in 1967 he won the Eastern heavyweight wrestling title. Reid is a member of the Penn State Athletic Hall of Fame.

Professional football career
Reid was the first-round selection (#7 pick overall) of the Cincinnati Bengals in the 1970 NFL Draft. In the team's third season, it won the AFC Central Division and made the playoffs. In 1971, Reid established himself as one of the NFL's best pass rushers by recording 12 sacks, a figure he repeated in 1972. In 1971 Reid was a consensus All-AFC selection and the following year he was consensus All-Pro as well as being voted consensus All-AFC again.

In 1973 he topped those marks by recording 13 sacks. He was named All-Pro by the Newspaper Enterprise Association (NEA) and was second-team All-Pro according to the Associated Press and Pro Football Writers Association. For the third consecutive season Reid was consensus All-AFC.

In 1974, due primarily to injuries, he recorded only seven sacks, bringing his career total to 49. In his final season Reid was again an All-AFC selection by Pro Football Weekly. Although sacks were an unofficial statistic, the Bengals kept track of them and Reid retired as the leading sacker in the team's short history.

He made two trips to the Pro Bowl (1972 and 1973) before his retirement following the 1974 season due to knee and hand injuries and his desire to focus on a music career. In 1996 he received the NFL Alumni Career Achievement Award for his success in his post-NFL career.

Professional music career
Between football seasons, Reid would perform as a pianist for the Utah Symphony Orchestra, Dallas Symphony Orchestra, and Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. During this time, he met Larry Gatlin, who helped Reid start his songwriting career. In 1984, he won the Grammy Award for Best Country Song with "Stranger in My House", which was recorded by Ronnie Milsap. Reid would also work with Marie Osmond, Tanya Tucker, Collin Raye, Alabama and Conway Twitty. In the 1980s and 1990s, Reid wrote twelve number one hits. He was also featured as a guest vocalist on Milsap's "Old Folks", a #2 hit from early 1988. He also co-wrote, with Allen Shamblin, Bonnie Raitt's standard "I Can't Make You Love Me".

In 1990, Reid signed to Columbia Records as a recording artist. His debut album Turning for Home produced a Number One country hit in its lead-off single "Walk on Faith", although the album's other singles were not as successful. His second and final album, 1992's Twilight Town, produced two singles which both missed the Top 40, and he was dropped from Columbia soon afterward.

By 1991, Reid composed the music for the Civil War musical A House Divided. After that he wrote six more musicals/operas, including Quilts, Different Fields, Eye of the Blackbird, Tales of Appalachia, In This House, and The Ballad of Little Jo, a Richard Rodgers Awards for Musical Theater winner.

Reid was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2005.