John Kenneth "J. K." McKay
[David Wharton]
Pat Haden is still a dashing figure
''Los Angeles Times'', July 24, 2010, Accessed July 25, 2010. (born March 28, 1953) 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 ...
player, trial attorney, and executive with positions at the
Alliance of American Football
The Alliance of American Football (AAF) was a professional American football minor league. The AAF consisted of eight centrally owned and operated teams in the southern and western United States, seven of which were located in metropolitan are ...
and the
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...
. As a professional athlete, McKay played
wide receiver for the
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South divisio ...
of 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) from 1976 to 1978.
College career
McKay 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 ...
at
USC
USC most often refers to:
* University of South Carolina, a public research university
** University of South Carolina System, the main university and its satellite campuses
**South Carolina Gamecocks, the school athletic program
* University of ...
, where he played on the 1972 and 1974 National Championship teams and caught, among many others, a 38-yard touchdown pass from long time best friend, quarterback
Pat Haden
Patrick Capper Haden (born January 23, 1953) is the former athletic director at the University of Southern California (USC) in Los Angeles from August 2010 to June 2016. He played quarterback for the USC Trojans before playing professionally in ...
in the fourth quarter of the
1975 Rose Bowl
The 1975 Rose Bowl was the 61st edition of the college football bowl game, played at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, on Wednesday, January 1. The fifth-ranked USC Trojans of the Pacific-8 Conference defeated #3 Ohio State Bucke ...
game. He was named co-MVP of the game along with Haden.
McKay was inducted into the
Rose Bowl Hall of Fame
The Rose Bowl Game is an annual American college football bowl game, usually played on January 1 (New Year's Day) at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. When New Year's Day falls on a Sunday, the game is played on Monday, January 2. The Rose ...
in 1998.
Professional career
He was drafted by the
Cleveland Browns
The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference ( ...
in the 16th round of the
1975 NFL Draft
The 1975 National Football League draft was held January 28–29, 1975, at the New York Hilton at Rockefeller Center in New York City, New York. With the first overall pick of the draft, the Atlanta Falcons selected quarterback Steve Bartko ...
, but opted instead to play for the
Southern California Sun
The Southern California Sun were an American football team based in Anaheim, California that played in the World Football League in 1974 and 1975. Their records were 13-7 in 1974 and 7-5 in 1975. Their home stadium was Anaheim Stadium. They wer ...
of the
World Football League
The World Football League (WFL) was an American football league that played one full season in 1974 and most of its second in 1975. Although the league's proclaimed ambition was to bring American football onto a worldwide stage, the farthest t ...
due to a dislike for the Cleveland area.
[Mizell, Hubert. "McKay's son: barrier to surmount". St. Petersburg Times. 6 Jul 1976. 1C] After the WFL ceased operations midway through its 1975 season, the Browns made him available in the
1976 NFL expansion draft The 1976 National Football League (NFL) expansion draft was held March 30–31, 1976. The expansion teams, the Seattle Seahawks and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Flor ...
, where he was selected by the expansion
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South divisio ...
.
In Tampa Bay, McKay started at receiver for three controversial seasons. Quarterback
Steve Spurrier
Stephen Orr Spurrier (born April 20, 1945) is an American former American football, football quarterback and coach who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 10 seasons before coaching for 38 years, primarily in college. He is often ...
's belief that McKay was playing ahead of better receivers because he was the son of head coach John McKay, led him to throw passes over the vulnerable middle of the field in an attempt to get McKay injured. McKay was considered a reliable pass-catcher whom opposing defenses considered as a legitimate threat. He was forced to retire due to complications from a broken hand.
[Gurney, Jack. "Receiver Johnny McKay May Be Done As Buccaneer". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. 7 Aug 1979. 1-C]
Post-playing career
After retiring from professional football, McKay attended the
Stetson University College of Law
Stetson University College of Law (Stetson Law), founded in 1900 and part of Stetson University, is Florida's first law school. Originally located near the university's main campus in DeLand, Florida, the law school moved in 1954 to Gulfport, Flor ...
,
and became a trial attorney in the Tampa area. In 1986, he moved to
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
and continued practicing law as a partner with the law firm of Allen, Matkins, Leck, Gamble & Mallory.
In 2001, he took a position as General Manager of the
Los Angeles Xtreme
The Los Angeles Xtreme was a professional American football team based in Los Angeles, California. The team was a member of the XFL (2001), XFL, begun by Vince McMahon of World Wrestling Entertainment and by NBC, a major television network in the ...
in the
XFL
XFL may refer to:
Sports
* XFL (2001), a defunct American football league that played its only season in 2001
* XFL (2020), a professional American football league
Vehicles
* Bell XFL Airabonita, a 1940 U.S. Navy experimental interceptor aircra ...
.
The Xtreme were the first and only champions of the XFL.
In 2010, McKay became Senior Associate Athletic Director of the
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...
, under the direction of his friend and former teammate
Pat Haden
Patrick Capper Haden (born January 23, 1953) is the former athletic director at the University of Southern California (USC) in Los Angeles from August 2010 to June 2016. He played quarterback for the USC Trojans before playing professionally in ...
.
In 2018, he was announced as the Head of Football Operations of the
Alliance of American Football
The Alliance of American Football (AAF) was a professional American football minor league. The AAF consisted of eight centrally owned and operated teams in the southern and western United States, seven of which were located in metropolitan are ...
.
Personal life
McKay is a son of former USC Trojan and Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach
John McKay and the older brother of former Buccaneers
general manager
A general manager (GM) is an executive who has overall responsibility for managing both the revenue and cost elements of a company's income statement, known as profit & loss (P&L) responsibility. A general manager usually oversees most or all of ...
and
Atlanta Falcons
The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The Falcons joined th ...
president,
Rich McKay
Richard James McKay (born March 16, 1959) is an American football executive who is the president and CEO of the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League (NFL). Prior to joining the Falcons, he was the general manager of the Tampa Bay Buc ...
.
McKay is married and has three children.
He is often referred to as "J. K." in the press, but is more commonly known as "John" or "Johnny".
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:McKay, J. K.
1953 births
Living people
American football wide receivers
USC Trojans football players
Cleveland Browns players
Southern California Sun players
Tampa Bay Buccaneers players
Sportspeople from Eugene, Oregon
Stetson University College of Law alumni
Alliance of American Football executives