Alonzo Lewis Mayes, Jr. (born June 4, 1975) is a former American college and professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

player who was a

tight end The tight end (TE) is a position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football, on the offense. The tight end is often a hybrid position with the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a wide receiver. Like ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL) for three seasons. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

for

Oklahoma State University Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New ...

, and was recognized as an All-American. Mayes played professionally for the NFL's

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine NF ...

Early years

Mayes was born in

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, it ranks 20th among United States cities in population, and ...

.National Football League, Historical Players
Alonzo Mayes
Retrieved January 30, 2012. He attended Frederick A. Douglass High School in Oklahoma City,databaseFootball.com, Players

. Retrieved January 30, 2012. where he played for the Douglass Trojans

high school football High school football (french: football au lycée) is gridiron football played by high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both countries, but its popularity is declining, part ...

team.

College career

Mayes received an

athletic scholarship An athletic scholarship is a form of scholarship to attend a college or university or a private high school awarded to an individual based predominantly on his or her ability to play in a sport. Athletic scholarships are common in the United Stat ...

to attend Oklahoma State University and play for the

Oklahoma State Cowboys football The Oklahoma State Cowboys football program represents Oklahoma State University–Stillwater in college football. The team is a member of the Big 12 Conference and competes at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision level. The Cowboys are ...

team from 1994 to 1997. As a senior in 1997, he was recognized as a consensus first-team All-American at tight end.

Professional career

The Chicago Bears selected Mayes in the fourth round (94th pick overall) of the

1998 NFL Draft The 1998 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 18–19, 1998, at the Theater at M ...

, and he played for the Bears from to . He finished his professional career with the

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team pla ...

, but never appeared in a regular season game for the Dolphins. In three NFL seasons with the Bears, Mayes played in thirty-seven games, started twenty-eight of them, and compiled thirty-three receptions for 339 yards and a touchdown.Pro-Football-References.com, Players
Alonzo Mayes
Retrieved January 30, 2012. He was nicknamed "Showtime" for his zany celebrations.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mayes, Alonzo 1975 births Living people All-American college football players American football tight ends Chicago Bears players Miami Dolphins players Oklahoma State Cowboys football players Players of American football from Oklahoma Sportspeople from Oklahoma City