Angelo King (born February 10, 1958) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, p ...

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 ...

for the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisi ...

and

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at Ford ...

. 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 ...

South Carolina State University South Carolina State University (SCSU or SC State) is a public, historically black, land-grant university in Orangeburg, South Carolina, United States. It is the only public, historically black land-grant institution in South Carolina, is a mem ...

Early years

King attended

Columbia High School Columbia High School may refer to: *Columbia High School (Huntsville, Alabama) *Columbia High School (Georgia) *Columbia High School (Florida) *Columbia High School (Idaho) *Columbia High School (Illinois) *Columbia High School (Mississippi), a Mis ...

. He accepted a football scholarship from the

. He was named a starter at

midway through his freshman season, and was a part of the 1977 team that was awarded the National Black Championship by the

Pittsburgh Courier The ''Pittsburgh Courier'' was an African-American weekly newspaper published in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, from 1907 until October 22, 1966. By the 1930s, the ''Courier'' was one of the leading black newspapers in the United States. It was acqu ...

newspaper. King was a four-year starter that received All-MEAC honors in 1979 and 1980. He also received honorable-mention Little All-American honors in 1980. As a senior, he blocked a school record 4 punts (6 in his career). In 2007, he was named to the

South Carolina State South Carolina State University (SCSU or SC State) is a public, historically black, land-grant university in Orangeburg, South Carolina, United States. It is the only public, historically black land-grant institution in South Carolina, is a me ...

Centennial Football Team. In 2012, he was inducted into the

Athletic Hall of Fame.

Professional career

Dallas Cowboys

King was signed as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

by the

after the

1981 NFL Draft The 1981 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 28–29, 1981, at the New York She ...

. He was waived on August 3. He was re-signed and released again on August 25. On September 8, he was re-signed after

Mike Hegman Michael William Hegman (born January 17, 1953) is a former American football linebacker who played professionally in the National Football League (NFL) for the Dallas Cowboys. He played college football at Tennessee State University. Early year ...

fractured his arm in the season opener against the

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) N ...

. He played mainly on

special teams In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their "position". Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...

and remained on the roster after Hegman returned. He was mainly a nickel

and

player for three seasons. On August 27,

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeast A ...

, he was traded to the

in exchange for a sixth round draft choice (#151- Stan Gelbaugh).

Detroit Lions

King was a part-time starter and

player for the

in his first season with the team. In

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...

, the team changed to a 3-4 defense and although he was assigned the role of nickel linebacker, he eventually started 9 games after Michael Cofer was lost for the year and posted career-highs with 90 tackles (77 solo) and 4 sacks. The next year, he missed 5 games with an ankle injury (4 weeks spent on the

injured reserve list The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in th ...

). After Jimmy Williams was lost for the year, he started the last 4 games at

strongside linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, p ...

and finished with 23 tackles. He was cut on September 6,

1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, k ...

. After the players went on a strike on the third week of the season, those games were canceled (reducing the 16 game season to 15) and the NFL decided that the games would be played with replacement players. King was re-signed to be a part of the Lions replacement team, but was injured in the first game and placed on the

, before being released on October 27.

Personal life

King works in the security business and is an ordained minister.

References

External links

South Carolina State Hall of Fame bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:King, Angelo 1958 births Living people American football linebackers Players of American football from Columbia, South Carolina South Carolina State Bulldogs football players Dallas Cowboys players Detroit Lions players