Mark May
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Mark Eric May (born November 2, 1959) is a former American college and 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
guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison ...
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) for 13 seasons during the 1980s and 1990s. May 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 ...
for the
University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a public state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The university is composed of 17 undergraduate and graduate schools and colleges at its urban Pittsburgh campus, home to the universit ...
and earned All-American honors. He was selected in the first round of the 1981 NFL Draft, and played professionally for the
Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) N ...
,
San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team that played in San Diego from 1961 until the end of the 2016 season, before relocating to Los Angeles, where the franchise had played its inaugural 1960 season. The team is now ...
, and
Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division, and play t ...
. May became involved in broadcasting following his retirement from the NFL in 1993. Most notably, he was employed by ESPN between 2001 and 2017.


High school and college careers

At Oneonta High School in
Oneonta, New York Oneonta ( ) is a city in southern Otsego County, New York, United States. It is one of the northernmost cities of the Appalachian Region. According to the 2020 U.S. Census, Oneonta had a population of 13,079. Its nickname is "City of the Hil ...
, May earned eight varsity letters in football, basketball, and track. He was inducted into the school's Athletic Hall of Fame in October 2007. May attended the University of Pittsburgh, where he played for the
Pittsburgh Panthers football The Pittsburgh Panthers football program is the College athletics, intercollegiate American football, football team of the University of Pittsburgh, often referred to as "Pitt", in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Traditionally the most popular sport a ...
team from 1977 to 1980. As a senior in 1980, he was a unanimous first-team All-American and received the
Outland Trophy The Outland Trophy is awarded to the best college football interior lineman in the United States as adjudged by the Football Writers Association of America. It is named after John H. Outland. One of only a few players ever to be named an All-Ame ...
as the nation's top collegiate interior lineman. As a part of the 1980 Pittsburgh Panthers football team, he played with future NFL players
Dan Marino Daniel Constantine Marino Jr. (born September 15, 1961) is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 17 seasons with the Miami Dolphins. After a successful college career at Pittsburgh and be ...
,
Dwight Collins Dwight Dean Collins (born August 23, 1961) is a former American football wide receiver in the National Football League. He was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings in the sixth round of the 1984 NFL Draft, and played one season for them in 1984. Co ...
,
Rickey Jackson Rickey Anderson Jackson (born March 20, 1958) is a former American football linebacker who played in the National Football League (NFL) for the New Orleans Saints (1981–1993) and the San Francisco 49ers (1994–1995). He led the team's Dome P ...
,
Russ Grimm Russell Scott Grimm (born May 2, 1959) is an American former professional football player who was a guard for the Washington Redskins of the National Football League (NFL). He has also served as an assistant coach for the Redskins, Pittsburgh St ...
,
Jimbo Covert James Paul "Jimbo" Covert (born March 22, 1960) is an American former professional football player who was an offensive tackle in the National Football League (NFL) for eight seasons during the 1980s and early 1990s. Covert played college foot ...
,
Bill Maas William Thomas Maas (born March 2, 1962) is a former American football defensive tackle who played for the Kansas City Chiefs (1984–1992), and the Green Bay Packers (1993). Maas was selected to the Pro Bowl in 1986 and 1987. In 1984 Maas was ...
, Hugh Green, and Tim Lewis. As a junior and a senior, May did not allow even one
quarterback sack In gridiron football, a sack occurs when the quarterback (or another offensive player acting as a passer) is tackled behind the line of scrimmage before throwing a forward pass, when the quarterback is tackled behind the line of scrimmage in th ...
. He earned the nickname "May Day" for "wreaking havoc on the opposing defensive ends." After his senior season, May played in the
Hula Bowl The Hula Bowl is a post-season college football all-star game held annually, usually in January. From inception through the 2021 playing, it was held in Hawaii; since the 2022 edition, it has been played in Orlando, Florida. The game was first st ...
and Japan Bowl all-star games. Under the tutelage of head coach
Jackie Sherrill Jackie Wayne Sherrill (born November 28, 1943) is a former American football player and coach. He was the head football coach at Washington State University (1976), the University of Pittsburgh (1977–1981), Texas A&M University (1982–1988), a ...
, May and his teammates led Pitt to a 39–8–1 four-year record, which included three top-10 finishes and four bowl games. The university retired May's jersey number (73) in 2001, and May became the eighth Pitt player to be so honored. He was inducted into the
College Football Hall of Fame The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and interactive attraction devoted to college football. The National Football Foundation (NFF) founded the Hall in 1951 to immortalize the players and coaches of college football that were vote ...
in 2005, becoming the 23rd Pitt player or coach to earn the honor. In 1981, May donated $10,000 to Pitt's alumni sports fund to give back to the university.


Professional career

The
Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) N ...
drafted May with the 20th pick of the first round of the 1981 NFL Draft, and he played
guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison ...
for the Redskins from to . He was a member of the famed " Hogs" offensive line, which was instrumental in the Redskins' victories in Super Bowl
XVII 17 (seventeen) is the natural number following 16 and preceding 18. It is a prime number. Seventeen is the sum of the first four prime numbers. In mathematics 17 is the seventh prime number, which makes seventeen the fourth super-prime, as ...
and
XXII 22 (twenty-two) is the natural number following 21 and preceding 23. In mathematics 22 is a palindromic number and the eighth semiprime; its proper divisors are 1, 2, and 11. It is the second Smith number, the second Erdős–Woods numb ...
(though May was injured for Super Bowl XVII). He was named one of the 70 greatest Redskins of all time. May started 115 games for the Redskins. He missed the 1990 season due to a knee injury. Following his tenure with the Redskins, May became a Plan B free agent. He signed with the
San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team that played in San Diego from 1961 until the end of the 2016 season, before relocating to Los Angeles, where the franchise had played its inaugural 1960 season. The team is now ...
, playing as
Dave Richards Sir David Gerald Richards (born 3 October 1943) was the chairman of the FA Premier League, member of the Football Association's (FA) Board, chairman of the FA's international committee, president of the European Professional Football Leagues o ...
' backup during the 1991 season. He later played for the
Phoenix Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division, and play th ...
(1992–93), where he reunited with
Joe Bugel Joseph John Bugel (March 10, 1940 – June 28, 2020) was an American football coach in the National Football League (NFL). For many years, he was acknowledged as the greatest offensive line coach in the league, particularly with the Washington ...
, the Redskins' offensive line coach from 1981-89, before his retirement in 1993. For three years during the offseason, May took classes and sold cars at a
Ford Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...
dealership. In 1983, he co-wrote "Mark May's Hog Cookbook" which features recipes like "Hog Balls" (a mixture of pork sausage and cheddar cheese) and "Aunt Jeannette's Sweet Potato Pie." The last entry is for "Hog Quiche" (which reads, simply, "Hogs don't eat quiche"). In 2005, he co-wrote with author and close friend Dan O'Brien ''Mark May's Tales from the Washington Redskins'', a book detailing his experiences with the Washington Redskins.


Broadcasting career

In 1994, May served as a color commentator for University of Pittsburgh football games for WTAE Radio in Pittsburgh. In 1995, he was hired by
TNT Trinitrotoluene (), more commonly known as TNT, more specifically 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene, and by its preferred IUPAC name 2-methyl-1,3,5-trinitrobenzene, is a chemical compound with the formula C6H2(NO2)3CH3. TNT is occasionally used as a reagen ...
as a studio analyst on its '' Sunday Night Football'' broadcasts. In 1997, May became a game analyst for the ''Sunday Night Football'' broadcasts on TNT. After TNT lost the broadcasting rights to '' Sunday Night Football'' following the 1997 season, May joined
CBS Sports CBS Sports is the sports division of the American television network CBS. Its headquarters are in the CBS Building on W 52nd Street in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, with programs produced out of Studio 43 at the CBS Broadcast Center on W 5 ...
in 1998 as a game analyst for its NFL coverage from 1998 to 2001. He also spent the 2000 season calling
Arena Football League The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 season, making it the third longest-running professional football league in ...
games on the original TNN Cable Network alongside
Eli Gold Elias Leo Gold (born December 15, 1953) is an American sportscaster. Gold is best known as the radio voice for the Alabama Crimson Tide football team, along with Tom Roberts, as part of the Crimson Tide Sports Network since 1988. He was the hos ...
and
Jill Arrington Tiffany "Jill" Arrington (born July 27, 1972) is an American sportscaster and reporter. She previously was a sports anchor at KCBS and KCAL in Los Angeles for three years. Before that, she was in the same position at Fox Sports 1 and Fox Spor ...
, which culminated with the inaugural
af2 The AF2 (often styled as af2, and short for arenafootball2) was the Arena Football League's developmental league; it was founded in 1999 and played its first season in 2000. Like its parent AFL, the AF2 played using the same arena football ru ...
Arena Cup in 2000 between the
Tennessee Valley Vipers Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...
and the
Quad City Steamwheelers The Quad City Steamwheelers were a professional arena football team. They were a charter member of the AF2 and played their home games at iWireless Center in Moline, Illinois. The team was founded on September 1, 1999 when the Quad Cities was ...
. In 2001, May joined
ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...
as a football analyst and commentator on
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 ...
. Along with
Lou Holtz Louis Leo Holtz (born January 6, 1937) is an American former football player, coach, and analyst. He served as the head football coach at The College of William & Mary (1969–1971), North Carolina State University (1972–1975), the New York ...
, he was a regular on the popular ''
College Football Scoreboard ''College Football Scoreboard'' is a program on ESPN, ESPN2, and ABC that provides up-to-the-minute scores, highlights, pre-game and post-game interviews, and check-ins of games of interest through 'bonus coverage' during the college football s ...
'' and ''
College Football Final ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The co ...
'' as well as appearing on pregame, halftime, and postgame coverage during the season, and on ''
College Football Live ''College Football Live'' is a show that airs weekdays during the college football season on ESPN or ESPN2, and ESPNU. Its premiere was on Monday, July 23, 2007. Wendi Nix serves as the lead host, and it also features ESPN college football analyst ...
'' in the off-season, and offers analysis on
ESPN2 ESPN2 is an American multinational pay television network owned by ESPN Inc., a joint venture between The Walt Disney Company (which owns a controlling 80% stake) and Hearst Communications (which owns the remaining 20%). ESPN2 was initially fo ...
and
ESPNews ESPNews (pronounced "ESPN News", stylized ESPNEWS) is an American multinational digital cable and satellite television network owned by ESPN Inc., a joint venture between the Disney Media Networks division of The Walt Disney Company (which owns ...
. He was also present in the ''
NFL Live ''NFL Live'' (stylized as ''NFL Live presented by Autotrader'' for sponsorship reasons) is an American National Football League (NFL) studio show, currently airing Monday through Friday at 3:00 p.m ET on sports cable channel ESPN. Formerly know ...
'' studio throughout the entire 2007 NFL Draft. While not a regular game analyst, he does occasionally broadcast games, as he did for ESPN's coverage of the
2011 Poinsettia Bowl The 2011 San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl, the seventh edition of the game, was a post-season American college football bowl game, held on December 21, 2011 at Snapdragon Stadium in San Diego, California as part of the 2011–12 N ...
. On June 1, 2015, ESPN announced that May would be leaving College Football Final and moved to another show on one of the other ESPN Networks. He was replaced by Joey Galloway.


Personal life

In 2001, May resided in
San Diego, California San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United States ...
and
Ocean City, Maryland Ocean City, officially the Town of Ocean City, is an Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic resort town in Worcester County, Maryland, Worcester County, Maryland along the East Coast of the United States. The population was 6,844 at the 2020 United States cens ...
. He has a wife named Kathy and two daughters, Abra and Bryce.


Legal troubles

In January 1979, as a sophomore at Pitt, May was arrested for disorderly conduct, resisting arrest, criminal mischief, inciting a riot, and making terroristic threats. May reportedly was jumping on top of parked cars, threatening police officers and encouraging a crowd of onlookers to fight the officers. He was found guilty of criminal mischief and disorderly conduct, while the other charges were dismissed. As a member of the Redskins, May was twice arrested for
DUI Driving under the influence (DUI)—also called driving while impaired, impaired driving, driving while intoxicated (DWI), drunk driving, operating while intoxicated (OWI), operating under the influence (OUI), operating vehicle under the infl ...
. The second instance occurred in March 1990, and the first in 1985 in
Arlington, Virginia Arlington County is a county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The county is situated in Northern Virginia on the southwestern bank of the Potomac River directly across from the District of Columbia, of which it was once a part. The county is ...
.Reading Eagle
/ref>


References


External links



{{DEFAULTSORT:May, Mark 1959 births Living people All-American college football players American football offensive guards American football offensive tackles College football announcers College Football Hall of Fame inductees ESPN people National Conference Pro Bowl players National Football League announcers People from Oneonta, New York Phoenix Cardinals players Pittsburgh Panthers football announcers Pittsburgh Panthers football players San Diego Chargers players Washington Redskins players Ed Block Courage Award recipients