Ken Payne (October 6, 1950 – August 1, 2011) was an

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 wi ...

wide receiver 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). He sprinted and played college football at Langston, helping the team to an 11-0 record and the 1973 NAIA playoffs. He was the fourth player drafted from the small college when the Green Bay Packers selected him in the sixth round of the

1974 NFL Draft The 1974 NFL draft took place at the Americana Hotel in New York City, New York, on January 29–30, 1974. Each of the 26 NFL teams were granted 17 selections for a total of 442 picks. Many experts consider the 1974 Pittsburgh Steelers to have ha ...

. He was used sparingly during his rookie season, but in Week 2 of 1975 he had 167 receiving yards on a then-franchise-record 12 receptions. The record was tied, but not broken until 2016 by

Davante Adams Davante Lavell Adams (born December 24, 1992) is an American football wide receiver for the Las Vegas Raiders of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Fresno State, and was selected by the Green Bay Packers in the s ...

. He led the Packers in receptions and receiving yards for the next two seasons. However, he was cut by the Packers after just four games in 1977. The

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team play ...

claimed him off waivers on October 17, but he had an emergency appendectomy just two days later and missed the rest of the season. He had just 13 receptions the next season, the last of his career. He lived the rest of his live in Oklahoma City, had eight children, and worked as a church bus driver until his death in 2011.

References

External links

Green Bay Packers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Payne, Ken 1950 births 2011 deaths American football wide receivers Langston Lions football players Green Bay Packers players Philadelphia Eagles players