Michael Curtis McCrary (born July 7, 1970) 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 who was

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...

for the

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) West, which they rejoined in 2002 as ...

and the

Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore, Maryland. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The team plays its ...

for ten 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) between 1993 and 2002. McCrary was a two-time

Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (starting in 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's star players. The format has changed thro ...

er in 1998 and 1999. McCrary was inducted to the Ravens Ring of Honor in 2004. McCrary is now doing commentary for the Ravens on

WBAL-AM WBAL (1090 kHz) is a commercial AM radio station licensed to Baltimore, Maryland, and owned by the broadcasting division of Hearst Communications. Airing a news/talk radio format, WBAL broadcasts on a Class A clear-channel frequency, with ...

Early years

When McCrary was a young boy his mother wanted to place him in a day care which was located across the street from his home. However, it wasn't racially integrated and she sued the day care to allow Michael's admittance. The case went to the United States Supreme Court ''

Runyon v. McCrary ''Runyon v. McCrary'', 427 U.S. 160 (1976), was a case heard before the United States Supreme Court, which held that federal law prohibited private schools from discriminating on the basis of race.. Dissenting Justice Byron White argued that the l ...

'' in 1976. One of the justices who dissented was former football star Byron "Whizzer" White; a quarter-century later, in 2000, McCrary won the

Byron "Whizzer" White NFL Man of the Year Award The NFLPA Alan Page Community Award (APC) has been awarded by the National Football League Players Association continuously since 1967. Previously named the Byron "Whizzer" White NFL Man of the Year Award, after Byron "Whizzer" White, the award w ...

. He later attended

George C. Marshall High School George C. Marshall High School is a public school in northern Virginia, located in Idylwood in unincorporated Fairfax County, near Falls Church. Named for General George C. Marshall, it opened in 1962 and is part of Fairfax County Public Schoo ...

Fairfax County, Virginia Fairfax County, officially the County of Fairfax, is a county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is part of Northern Virginia and borders both the city of Alexandria and Arlington County and forms part of the suburban ring of Washington, D.C. ...

College career

McCrary played college football at

Wake Forest University Wake Forest University is a private research university in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Founded in 1834, the university received its name from its original location in Wake Forest, north of Raleigh, North Carolina. The Reynolda Campus, the un ...

from 1989–92, setting school records for sacks in a season (16) and in a career (30), records he still holds. When being scouted by NFL scouts they found his vertical leap was measured at 36 inches; and at 250 pounds, he came in at 4.59 seconds in the 40-yard sprint.

Professional career

McCrary was drafted in the seventh round by the Seattle Seahawks in the

1993 NFL Draft The 1993 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 25–26, 1993, at the Marriot Ma ...

. He spent four seasons as a defensive end as well as playing on special teams before leaving the team to head to Baltimore following the 1996 season. McCrary played the starting role with the Ravens at defensive end during the 1998 season playing alongside left defensive end, Rob Burnett, veteran defensive tackles,

Tony Siragusa Anthony Siragusa Sr. (May 14, 1967 – June 22, 2022), nicknamed "the Goose", was an American professional football player who was a defensive tackle for 12 seasons with the Indianapolis Colts and the Baltimore Ravens in the National Football L ...

, Keith Washington, and backup Tackle, Mike Frederick. In 1998, McCrary lead the team in quarterback sacks, and he finished second on the team in tackles. That same year he was elected to the pro bowl along with five other Ravens' teammates,

Bennie Thompson Bennie Gordon Thompson (born January 28, 1948) is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for since 1993. A member of the Democratic Party, Thompson has been the chair of the Committee on Homeland Security since 2019 and from ...

Peter Boulware Peter Nicholas Boulware (born December 18, 1974) is an American former professional football player who was a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL) for nine seasons. He played college football for Florida State University, and was re ...

, Jermaine Lewis, Ray Lewis, and Johnathan Odgen. McCrary was placed 2nd on franchise sack list, now 3rd behind Terrell Suggs (125 QB sacks) and Peter Boulware (70 QB sacks). Due to various injuries, McCrary retired following the 2002 season, ending his stint with the Ravens.

Retirement

On August 21, 2003, McCrary announced his retirement.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McCrary, Michael 1970 births Living people American football defensive ends Seattle Seahawks players Baltimore Ravens players American Conference Pro Bowl players Wake Forest Demon Deacons football players People from Vienna, Virginia Sportspeople from Fairfax County, Virginia Players of American football from Virginia