Kevin Walker (born December 24, 1965) who went to
West Milford High School
West Milford High School is a four-year comprehensive high school, comprehensive community state school, public Secondary education in the United States, high school that serves students in ninth grade, ninth through twelfth grades from West Mil ...
in
West Milford, New Jersey
West Milford is a township in Passaic County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township's population was 25,850, reflecting a decline of 560 (−2.1%) from the 26,410 counted in the 2000 Census, which had in ...
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 wi ...
linebacker
Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, ...
for the
Cincinnati Bengals 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). Walker is most notable for making the
tackle that ultimately ended the career of
Bo Jackson
Vincent Edward "Bo" Jackson (born November 30, 1962) is an American former professional baseball and American football player. He is the only professional athlete in history to be named an All-Star in both baseball and football. Jackson's el ...
.
Professional career
Walker was a third round draft choice of the
Cincinnati Bengals out of the
University of Maryland
The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the University System of M ...
in the
1988 NFL Draft
The 1988 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 24–25, 1988, at the Marriot Ma ...
.
Walker was a regular throughout the 1989 and 1990 seasons and was a part of the Cincinnati Bengals team that reached
Super Bowl XXIII
Super Bowl XXIII was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Cincinnati Bengals and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion San Francisco 49ers to decide the National Football League (NFL) champ ...
. During the
1990 playoffs, Walker made a routine tackle on
Los Angeles Raiders
The Los Angeles Raiders were a professional American football team that played in Los Angeles from 1982 to 1994 before relocating back to Oakland, California, where the team played from its inaugural 1960 season to the 1981 season and then agai ...
star
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 handoffs from the quarterback to rush the ball, to line up as a receiver to catch the ball,
and block. Ther ...
Bo Jackson
Vincent Edward "Bo" Jackson (born November 30, 1962) is an American former professional baseball and American football player. He is the only professional athlete in history to be named an All-Star in both baseball and football. Jackson's el ...
that caused a serious hip injury that ended Jackson's football career.
Walker's career came to an end with an injury of his own torn knee ligament during a game against the
Seattle Seahawks. Walker had previously injured a knee during the
1988 season.
References
External links
Bengals feature on Walker
1965 births
Living people
American football linebackers
Cincinnati Bengals players
Maryland Terrapins football players
People from Denville, New Jersey
Players of American football from Morris County, New Jersey
People from West Milford, New Jersey
Players of American football from Passaic County, New Jersey
West Milford High School alumni
{{linebacker-1960s-stub