Christian Emeka Okoye (; born August 16, 1961) is a
Nigerian-American
Nigerian Americans ( ig, Ṇ́dị́ Naìjíríyà n'Emerịkà;
ha, Yan Najeriyar asalin Amurka;
yo, Àwọn ọmọ Nàìjíríà Amẹ́ríkà) are an ethnic group of Americans who are of Nigerian ancestry. The number of Nigerian immigran ...
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 ...
running back
A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offen ...
for the
Kansas City Chiefs
The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division.
The tea ...
from 1987 to 1992.
Nicknamed the "Nigerian Nightmare", he is known for his powerful running style and ability to break tackles. His six-season NFL career produced an
NFL rushing champion title in
1989
File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress Street Viaduct, Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxo ...
, first-team
All-Pro
All-Pro is an honor bestowed upon professional American football players that designates the best player at each position during a given season. All-Pro players are typically selected by press organizations, who select an "All-Pro team," a list th ...
honors in
1989
File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress Street Viaduct, Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxo ...
, second-team All-Pro honors in
1991
File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phil ...
, two
Pro Bowl
The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (starting in 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's star players.
The format has changed thro ...
appearances in
1989
File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress Street Viaduct, Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxo ...
and
1991
File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phil ...
, and three playoff appearances. He ended his NFL career due to multiple injuries.
[Radio interview on the Phoenix-based sports talk show "Gambo & Ash" on KTAR 620, April 10, 2008] He was inducted into the
Kansas City Chiefs Hall of Fame
The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division.
The team ...
in 2000.
He is also notable for not having ever played football until the age of 23, but later leading the NFL in rushing at age 28.
College career
A member of the
Igbo ethnic group, Okoye was born in
Enugu, Nigeria
Enugu ( ; ) is the capital city of Enugu State in Nigeria. It is located in southeastern part of Nigeria. The city had a population of 820,000 according to the 2022 Nigerian census. The name ''Enugu'' is derived from the two Igbo words ''Énú ...
. He arrived in the US at age 21 and did not play American football until age 23, when he joined the squad at
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
's
Azusa Pacific University
Azusa Pacific University (APU) is a private, evangelical Christian university in Azusa, California. The university was founded in 1899, with classes opening on March 3, 1900, in Whittier, California, and began offering degrees in 1939. The uni ...
. He excelled in
track and field
Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...
, winning seven college titles in the
shot put
The shot put is a track and field event involving "putting" (throwing) a heavy spherical ball—the ''shot''—as far as possible. The shot put competition for men has been a part of the modern Olympics since their revival in 1896, and women's ...
,
discus, and
hammer throw
The hammer throw is one of the four throwing events in regular track and field competitions, along with the discus throw, shot put and javelin.
The "hammer" used in this sport is not like any of the tools also called by that name. It consis ...
. The first time he attended an American football game he thought the game was boring.
After the Nigerian government declined Okoye for the Olympics in track and field, he sought other activities and went out for American football. Initially, he did not enjoy the roughness of football and considered quitting but friends convinced him to continue playing.
His speed (4.45-seconds in the 40-yard dash) was unusual for someone his size (6'1" and 260 lbs), and this rare combination of talents led to his selection by the Kansas City Chiefs in the second round of the
1987 NFL Draft
The 1987 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, 1987, at the Marriot Marq ...
.
Professional career
In his rookie year, Okoye rushed for 660 yards on 157 carries. The following year, a thumb injury limited him to nine games, and he finished the season with 473 yards.
In 1989, Okoye had his best NFL season statistics by far, leading the league in both rushing attempts (370) and rushing yards (1,480), becoming the first Chiefs player to lead the NFL in rushing. Though the Chiefs missed the playoffs, Okoye was selected by
UPI
United Press International (UPI) is an American international news agency whose newswires, photo, news film, and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations for most of the 20th c ...
as the
American Football Conference
The American Football Conference (AFC) is one of the two conferences of the National Football League (NFL), the highest professional level of American football in the United States. The AFC and its counterpart, the National Football Conference ...
's Offensive Player of the Year and earned entry to the
Pro Bowl
The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (starting in 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's star players.
The format has changed thro ...
in Hawaii.
The remainder of Okoye's career was marked by a nagging knee injury, which limited him to 805 yards and a 3.3 yard average per carry in 1990. Though his 1991 performance (1,031 yards and 4.6 yards per carry) earned him his second Pro Bowl appearance, his carries in
1992
File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: 1992 Los Angeles riots, Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the Police brutality, police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment buildi ...
were largely limited to goal-line situations. His last carry as a professional football running back was an 8-yard touchdown.
On August 25, 1993, Chiefs placed him on injured reserve before the regular season began due to knee injuries. He underwent surgeries on both knees and was released on an injury settlement that September. He went home to California to continue rehabilitating his knee. He intended to work out for other teams before ultimately retiring. He has stated that he ended his NFL career because he became tired of practice, and that he considered football to be a job.
Okoye retired as the all-time rushing leader of the Chiefs, having amassed 4,897 yards, 1,246 attempts, and 14 games with at least 100 yards rushing, in his six seasons. Those team records have since been surpassed by
Priest Holmes
Priest Anthony Holmes (born October 7, 1973)
''www.databasefootball.com.'' Retrieved February 13, 2016 ...
. His 40 career rushing touchdowns as a member of the Chiefs trail only Holmes and
Marcus Allen
Marcus LeMarr Allen (born March 26, 1960) is an American former football running back who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 16 seasons, primarily with the Los Angeles Raiders. Considered one of the greatest goal line and short-y ...
. His Chiefs records for carries in a game and rushing attempts in a season were surpassed by
Larry Johnson. Okoye was the team MVP in 1989, and was enshrined in the Chiefs Hall of Fame in 2000.
Okoye is well known in video gaming for his appearance in ''
Tecmo Super Bowl
''Tecmo Super Bowl'' is an American football video game for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) that was released in December 1991. Developed by Tecmo, it is the first sports video game that was licensed by both the National Football League ...
'' (1991), in which he's nearly impossible to tackle.
NFL career statistics
Post-NFL career
Okoye was an investor in the
Golden Baseball League
The Golden Baseball League was an independent baseball league based in San Ramon, California, with teams located in the western United States, western Canada and northwest Mexico.
The GBL was not affiliated with Major League Baseball or the orga ...
and owned Okoye Health and Fitness, a company that sells nutritional supplements. He appeared as a boxer on the
FX Network
FX is an American pay television channel owned by FX Networks, LLC, a subsidiary of the Disney General Entertainment Content unit of The Walt Disney Company. It is based at the Fox Studios lot in Century City, California. FX originally launc ...
's ''Celebrity Boxing'' special. He founded the
California Sports Hall of Fame
of which he is president.
He appeared on the
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainmen ...
reality show
Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 19 ...
''
Pirate Master
''Pirate Master'' is an American reality television show created by Mark Burnett and broadcast on CBS. The show followed sixteen modern-day pirates on their quest for a gold treasure valued at US$1,000,000. The show was hosted by Cameron Daddo a ...
'' and was voted off by his shipmates on the second episode for his slow speed in the Expedition, receiving no gold. He appeared on ''
Pros vs Joes
''Pros vs. Joes'' was an American physical reality game show that aired on Spike from 2006 to 2010. The show featured male amateur contestants (the "Joes") matching themselves against professional athletes (the "Pros"; mostly of retired male and ...
'' in its third season.
The Christian Okoye Foundation sponsors the Ontario Mills 5K and 10K race, benefiting local after-school athletic programs in the
Inland Empire
The Inland Empire (IE) is a metropolitan area and region inland of and adjacent to coastal Southern California, centering around the cities of San Bernardino and Riverside, and bordering Los Angeles County to the west. It includes the cities o ...
.
Personal life
As a child in Nigeria, Okoye became good friends with Olympian
Innocent Egbunike
Innocent Ejima Egbunike (born 30 November 1961) is a former sprinter from Nigeria.
He studied at Azusa Pacific University, where he still holds the school record at 400 metres and the automatically timed NAIA meet record at 200 metres.
M ...
. When Innocent began attending Azusa, he recommended Okoye on discus ability, to track and field coaches who offered Okoye a scholarship.
Okoye married his college sweetheart Lauren Brown in 1990, and divorced in 1996. They had two children together, Michael Emeka Okoye born July 12, 1990, who died shortly after birth due to
neonatal asphyxia
Perinatal asphyxia (also known as neonatal asphyxia or birth asphyxia) is the medical condition resulting from deprivation of oxygen to a newborn infant that lasts long enough during the birth process to cause physical harm, usually to the brain. ...
, and Tiana Chinwe Okoye born August 26, 1991.
Okoye has given his “blessing” to former UFC Champion
Kamaru Usman
Kamarudeen Usman (born May 11, 1987) is a Nigerian and American professional mixed martial artist, former freestyle wrestler and retired folkstyle wrestler. He currently competes in the welterweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championsh ...
to use Okoye's trademarked name “The Nigerian Nightmare”.
References
External links
The Christian Okoye Foundation*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Okoye, Christian
1961 births
Living people
American football running backs
Azusa Pacific Cougars football players
Kansas City Chiefs players
College men's track and field athletes in the United States
American Conference Pro Bowl players
Players of American football from Enugu State
Nigerian players of American football
Igbo sportspeople
Participants in American reality television series
Ed Block Courage Award recipients