Date of birth: | December 5, 1947 |
Place of birth: | Memphis, Tennessee |
Date of death: | January 1, 1990 | (aged 42)
Career information | |
---|---|
Position(s): | Offensive tackle |
College: | Ohio State |
NFL Draft: | 1969 / Round: 1 / Pick: 14 |
Organizations | |
As player: | |
1969 1970-1978 1979 |
Chicago Bears Cincinnati Bengals Philadelphia Eagles |
Playing stats at NFL.com |
Rufus Lee Mayes (December 5, 1947 – January 1, 1990) was an American football offensive lineman in the National Football League for the Chicago Bears, the Cincinnati Bengals, and the Philadelphia Eagles.
Early life[]
Mayes grew up in Toledo, Ohio, the son of Mr. and Mrs. Roosevelt Mayes, who also had three daughters.[1] He attended Toledo Macomber High School in Toledo, where he led the team to the 1964 City League championship.
College career[]
Mayes attended The Ohio State University and was a starting lineman for all 28 games he played for the Ohio State Buckeyes. His first two years, he was a tight end. After the Buckeyes had records of 4-5 and 6-3, respectively, in his first two season, in his senior year he was switched to offensive tackle. The Buckeyes went 10-0, won the Big 10 championship, defeated the University of Southern California in the 1969 Rose Bowl and were named national champions.[2]
Following his senior season, Mayes was named Second-Team All-American by the Associated Press.[3]
Professional career[]
Mayes was selected in the first round (14th overall) of the 1969 NFL Draft by the Chicago Bears, for whom he played one season and 13 games.[4]
In January 1970, he was traded by the Bears to the Cincinnati Bengals in return for defensive lineman Bill Staley and Harry Gunner.[5] In 2004, the Chicago Tribune rated the trade of Mayes by the Bears to the Bengals the sixth-worst in Bears history.[6]
Mayes' first season with the Bengals, 1970, was the Bengals' first in the NFL following the NFL/AFL merger. He proceeded to become a perennial starter at offensive left tackle for eight seasons with the Bengals. During his eight-year Bengals career, Mayes started 98 of the 110 games he played.
He played out his option and became a free agent. In June 1978, he signed with the Philadelphia Eagles,[7] for whom he played his final NFL season. As a backup, he played in all 16 games.[8][9]
Personal life[]
After football, Mayes was a marketing representative for Hewlett-Packard in Bellevue, Washington and resided in Redmond, Washington with his wife, Aishah, and son, Taysir.[10]
In 1994, he was inducted into the Ohio State Men's Varsity "O" Hall of Fame[11]
Rufus Mayes died on January 1, 1990 at age 42 of bacterial meningitis. His coach at Macomber High School, Steve Waite, called Mayes "a great guy, a very bright, very concerned, happy, easy to get along with type of guy."[12]
References[]
- ↑ http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=799&dat=19900111&id=EHtPAAAAIBAJ&sjid=vlEDAAAAIBAJ&pg=2560,1048565
- ↑ http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1350&dat=19900111&id=8UNPAAAAIBAJ&sjid=BgMEAAAAIBAJ&pg=4892,1446107
- ↑ http://www.fanbase.com/Rufus-Mayes
- ↑ http://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/M/MayeRu20.htm
- ↑ http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1350&dat=19700122&id=6BIxAAAAIBAJ&sjid=uAEEAAAAIBAJ&pg=5889,532180
- ↑ http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2004-08-25/sports/0408250329_1_bears-pick-rufus-mayes
- ↑ http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1955&dat=19790623&id=et4hAAAAIBAJ&sjid=Q6EFAAAAIBAJ&pg=1989,1179547
- ↑ http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2004-08-25/sports/0408250329_1_bears-pick-rufus-mayes
- ↑ http://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/M/MayeRu20.htm
- ↑ http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=799&dat=19900111&id=EHtPAAAAIBAJ&sjid=vlEDAAAAIBAJ&pg=2560,1048565
- ↑ http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1350&dat=19900111&id=8UNPAAAAIBAJ&sjid=BgMEAAAAIBAJ&pg=4892,1446107
- ↑ http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1350&dat=19900111&id=8UNPAAAAIBAJ&sjid=BgMEAAAAIBAJ&pg=4892,1446107
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