Cleotha Montgomery (born July 1, 1956) is a former American football wide receiver and return specialist. He played for six seasons in the National Football League (NFL) for the Los Angeles Raiders, Cleveland Browns, and

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The c ...

. He is the younger brother of Wilbert Montgomery, a running back who had a 9-year career in the NFL.

Biography

Cleo Montgomery was born July 1, 1956, at Greenville, Mississippi, the largest city in the

Mississippi Delta The Mississippi Delta, also known as the Yazoo–Mississippi Delta, or simply the Delta, is the distinctive northwest section of the U.S. state of Mississippi (and portions of Arkansas and Louisiana) that lies between the Mississippi and Yazoo ...

. He attended Greenville High School before attending

Abilene Christian University Abilene Christian University (ACU) is a Private university, private Churches of Christ, Christian university in Abilene, Texas. It was founded in 1906 as ''Childers Classical Institute''. ACU is one of the largest private universities in the Sout ...

Abilene, Texas Abilene ( ) is a city in Taylor and Jones Counties in Texas, United States. Its population was 125,182 at the 2020 census, making it the 27th-most populous city in the state of Texas. It is the principal city of the Abilene metropolitan statis ...

on a football scholarship, as had his older brother, Philadelphia Eagles running back Wilbert Montgomery.Dick Kaegel (ed.), ''National Football Guide: 1981 Edition.'' St. Louis, MO: The Sporting News, 1981; p. 269. He was not drafted into the National Football League (NFL) but managed to sign as a free agent with the Washington Redskins in May 1978. The younger Montgomery's path was not an easy one, as he was released by the Redskins on July 17, 1978. He would be unable to find interest in the league until May 1980, when he signed another free agent contract, this time with the Denver Broncos. Once again he would fall victim to training camp cuts, released by the team on August 26. This time he was able to find a new home, however, signing on September 19 with the

. Although nominally listed as a wide receiver, Montgomery was used by the Bengals almost exclusively as a return specialist during the 1980 season, seeing action in all 14 games of his rookie year, during which he brought back 31 punts and 44 kickoffs, averaging 7.2 and 19.2 yards per return, respectively. Montgomery went into camp the next season with the Bengals, but they decided to move along from him, having him turn in his playbook on October 9, after having played in four games.Howard Balzer and Barry Siegel (eds.), ''National Football Guide: 1986 Edition.'' St. Louis, MO: The Sporting News, 1986; p. 299. The next stop would be the

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team that played in Oakland from its founding in 1960 to 1981 and again from 1995 to 2019 before relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan area where they now play as the Las Vegas Raide ...

, who signed him on December 16 and played him in their last game before moving to Los Angeles the following year. He would play 9 games for the Raiders in

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street bridges, 14th Street Bridge in ...

and all 14 games in

1983 The year 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to Internet protocol suite, TCP/IP is officially completed (this is consid ...

, returning kicks but not punts."Cleo Montgomery,"
Pro Football Reference, www.pro-football-reference.com He even saw limited action as a wide receiver in 1983, catching the only two balls of his NFL career — catches for 14 and 15 yards gained. The 1983 Raiders would go on to win an NFL Championship, beating the Washington Redskins 38–9 in Super Bowl XVIII. The Raiders would put him to work returning both kickoffs and punts in

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 ...

, and the 28-year old Montgomery was once again able to answer the bell every Sunday of the season — a year expanded for the first time to 16 games. Montgomery was once again the team's primary returner of punts and kicks 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 ...

, but a serious knee injury suffered on September 29 against the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...

ended his season and effectively his career.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Montgomery, Cleo 1956 births American football wide receivers Abilene Christian Wildcats football players Los Angeles Raiders players Oakland Raiders players Cleveland Browns players Cincinnati Bengals players Living people Sportspeople from Greenville, Mississippi Players of American football from Mississippi