Cory James Bird (born August 10, 1978) 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 ...

safety Safety is the state of being "safe", the condition of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to risk management, the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings There are ...

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 the

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) South division. Since the 2008 ...

from 2001 to 2004. Bird 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 ...

Virginia Tech Virginia Tech (formally the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and informally VT, or VPI) is a Public university, public Land-grant college, land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia. It also ...

and was drafted in the third round of the

2001 NFL Draft The 2001 NFL Draft was the 66th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible professional football players. The draft, which is officially referred to as the "NFL Player Selection Meeting," was held at the ...

. Bird was known for his ability to make open field tackles in crucial situations. At Virginia Tech, Bird was a three-time winner of the best conditioned athlete award, though his professional career was cut short with injuries. He attended

Oakcrest High School Oakcrest High School is a comprehensive four-year public high school located in Hamilton Township, in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. The school is part of the Greater Egg Harbor Regional High School District, which includes three ...

Hamilton Township, Atlantic County, New Jersey Hamilton Township is a township in Atlantic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2010 U.S. census, the township's population was 26,503, reflecting an increase of 6,004 (+29.3%) from the 20,499 counted in the 2000 census. The T ...

, where he was a standout wide receiver and wrestler. He lives with his wife and four children in Atlantic County, New Jersey. Bird also is partial owner of Bird Electric in

Mays Landing, New Jersey Mays Landing is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) located within Hamilton Township, Atlantic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.

and former owner of a barbershop known as the "41 Spot".

NFL career statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

References

External links

Databasefootball.comESPN.com
1978 births Living people People from Hamilton Township, Atlantic County, New Jersey Sportspeople from Atlantic City, New Jersey Players of American football from New Jersey American football safeties Oakcrest High School alumni Virginia Tech Hokies football players Indianapolis Colts players {{defensiveback-1970s-stub