Kenneth Leon King (born March 7, 1957) is an American former professional
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
player who was a
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 seven seasons 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), mainly with the
Oakland/Los Angeles Raiders. He was a
starter for the Raiders in
Super Bowl XV
Super Bowl XV was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Oakland Raiders and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Philadelphia Eagles to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for ...
and
Super Bowl XVIII
Super Bowl XVIII was an American football game played on January 22, 1984, at Tampa Stadium between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion and defending Super Bowl XVII champion Washington Redskins and the American Football Conference ( ...
.
High school
Kenny King was one of the best running backs in
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
while at
Clarendon High School. He was inducted into the Texas Panhandle Sports Hall of Fame in 2008. Kenny ran behind mean green Larry Shields, his fullback.
College career
After a stellar high school career, Kenny King played
tailback and
fullback at
University of Oklahoma
The University of Oklahoma (OU) is a Public university, public research university in Norman, Oklahoma. Founded in 1890, it had existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two Territories became the state of Oklahom ...
in the famed
wishbone offense
The wishbone formation, also known simply as the bone, is an offensive formation in American football. The style of attack to which it gives rise is known as the wishbone offense. Like the spread offense in the 2000s to the present, the wishbone ...
under
Barry Switzer
Barry Layne Switzer (born October 5, 1937) is a former American football coach and player. He served for 16 years as head football coach at the University of Oklahoma and four years as head coach of the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football Le ...
. King led the team in Rushing in 1976 with 791 yards on 141 carries for a 5.6 average; he also had 4 touchdowns. He shared the backfield with
Heisman Trophy
The Heisman Memorial Trophy (usually known colloquially as the Heisman Trophy or The Heisman) is awarded annually to the most outstanding player in college football. Winners epitomize great ability combined with diligence, perseverance, and hard ...
winner
Billy Sims
Billy Ray Sims (born September 18, 1955) is a former American college and professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL) for five seasons during the 1980s. Sims played college football for the Uni ...
.
Professional career
After attending Oklahoma, King was drafted in the Third round (72nd overall) of the 1979 amateur draft by the
Houston Oilers
The Houston Oilers were a professional American football team that played in Houston from its founding in 1960 to 1996 before relocating to Memphis, and later Nashville, Tennessee becoming the Tennessee Titans. The Oilers began play in 1960 as ...
. After his first season in Houston, the Oilers traded King to 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 ...
where he spent the rest of his career, and followed them to Los Angeles upon the team's move there in 1982. King set a
Super Bowl
The Super Bowl is the annual final playoff game of the National Football League (NFL) to determine the league champion. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966, replacing the NFL Championship Game. Since 2022, the game ...
record for the longest touchdown reception with an 80-yarder in the Raiders 27-10
Super Bowl XV
Super Bowl XV was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Oakland Raiders and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Philadelphia Eagles to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for ...
victory over the Philadelphia Eagles. That record stood until it was surpassed by
Green Bay Packer
The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. It is the thi ...
Antonio Freeman
Antonio Michael Freeman (born May 27, 1972) is a former American football wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL), most notably for the Green Bay Packers. He attended the Baltimore Polytechnic Institute and Virginia Tech.
College ...
's 81-yard touchdown pass from
Brett Favre
Brett Lorenzo Favre ( ; born October 10, 1969) is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 20 seasons, primarily with the Green Bay Packers. Favre had 321 consecutive starts from 1992 to 20 ...
in
Super Bowl XXXI.
Super Bowl XXXVIII recap
/ref> He played one season for the CFL
The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...
's Hamilton Tiger-Cats
The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are a professional Canadian football team based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. They are currently members of the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The Tiger-Cats play their home games at Tim Hortons Fiel ...
in 1987, playing in 2 games for them that season before retiring.
References
External links
Professional statistics
1957 births
Living people
African-American players of American football
American football running backs
Oklahoma Sooners football players
Houston Oilers players
Oakland Raiders players
Los Angeles Raiders players
American Conference Pro Bowl players
People from Clarendon, Texas
Players of American football from Texas
21st-century African-American people
20th-century African-American sportspeople
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