Pellom McDaniels III (February 21, 1968 – April 19, 2020) was an American 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

defensive lineman In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line, while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line. A numbe ...

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). After his playing career, he became a professor and

curator A curator (from la, cura, meaning "to take care") is a manager or overseer. When working with cultural organizations, a curator is typically a "collections curator" or an "exhibitions curator", and has multifaceted tasks dependent on the parti ...

Emory University Emory University is a private research university in Atlanta, Georgia. Founded in 1836 as "Emory College" by the Methodist Episcopal Church and named in honor of Methodist bishop John Emory, Emory is the second-oldest private institution of ...

Early life

McDaniels was born the first child of Pellom and Mary McDaniels. However, he was raised by his maternal grandparents and later went on to attend Silver Creek High School in San Jose.

Collegiate career

McDaniels began his undergraduate studies in Fine Arts at

Oregon State University Oregon State University (OSU) is a public land-grant, research university in Corvallis, Oregon. OSU offers more than 200 undergraduate-degree programs along with a variety of graduate and doctoral degrees. It has the 10th largest engineering co ...

where he experienced success as a student-athlete. He played defensive end for the

Oregon State Beavers The Oregon State Beavers are the athletic teams that represent Oregon State University, located in Corvallis, Oregon. The Beavers compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I ( Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) for c ...

. In his junior season, he had 42 tackles and a team-high 6.5 sacks. McDaniels earned 2nd team All-Pac-10 honors his senior year after finishing the season with 46 tackles and 4.5 sacks.

Professional career

Following his collegiate career, McDaniels worked for

Procter & Gamble The Procter & Gamble Company (P&G) is an American multinational consumer goods corporation headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, founded in 1837 by William Procter and James Gamble. It specializes in a wide range of personal health/consumer hea ...

as a Health and Beauty Care representative in the

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous co ...

area before pursuing a professional football career in the World League of American Football with the

Birmingham Fire The Birmingham Fire were a professional American football team based in Birmingham, Alabama. They were a member of the North American West division of the World League of American Football (WLAF) and played their home games at Legion Field. The cl ...

. In 1991, McDaniels signed his first contract in the National Football League with 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 plays ...

. After having hip surgery, he spent his recovery time coaching football defensive lineman at Sunset High School in Beaverton, Oregon. Pellom spent his evenings after practice working on his own reconditioning and strength building. He was considered one of the best coaches to have worked at Sunset High according to his students. In 1992, the

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The tea ...

asked McDaniels to join the team’s practice roster, and from 1993 to 1998, he was a part of the heralded defense that countered NFL offenses throughout the 1990s. While a member of the

Football organization, McDaniels became a voice for Kansas City’s children and contributed the resources needed to begin the Arts for Smarts foundation. Programs like "Pellom and I Like Art", Wee Art, the "Fish Out Water" Writing program, and Smart Starts were designed to help children and young adults recognize and realize the possibilities for their futures. After spending two seasons with the Atlanta Falcons, McDaniels retired from the NFL and began his pursuit of a graduate degree at

in Atlanta, Georgia where he received both a Master of Arts and a Ph.D. in American Studies. He was an assistant professor in history at the

University of Missouri–Kansas City The University of Missouri–Kansas City (UMKC) is a public research university in Kansas City, Missouri. UMKC is part of the University of Missouri System and one of only two member universities with a medical school. As of 2020, the university ...

. He was an assistant professor of African American studies and faculty curator of the African American collection in the Manuscript, Archives, and Rare Book Library at Emory University. In February 2009, McDaniels was a key factor in the creation of an exhibit at the William T. Kemper Foundation Art Gallery commemorating African Americans who had fought in the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. His publications included: "The Prince of Jockeys: The Life of I saac Burns Murphy" (2013); ''So, You Want to be Pro'' (2000), ''My Own Harlem'' (1998); "We're American Too: The Negro Leagues and the Philosophy of Resistance" in ''Baseball and Philosophy: Thinking Outside the Batter's Box'' (2004); reviews in Hampton University's ''International Review of African American Art'' related to the work of artists

Kadir Nelson Kadir Nelson (May 15, 1974) is a Los Angeles–based painter, illustrator, and author who is best known for his paintings often featured on the covers of ''The New Yorker'' magazine, and album covers for Michael Jackson and Drake. His work is foc ...

and

Hale Woodruff Hale Aspacio Woodruff (August 26, 1900 – September 6, 1980) was an American artist known for his murals, paintings, and prints. Early life, family and education Woodruff was born in Cairo, Illinois, in on August 26, 1900. He grew up in a black ...

. In December 2014, McDaniels was announced as one of the six recipients of the 2015

Silver Anniversary Awards The Silver Anniversary Awards are awarded every year by the American National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) to recognize six distinguished former student-athletes on their 25th anniversary as college graduates. The Silver Anniversary Aw ...

, presented annually by the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

to outstanding former student-athletes on the 25th anniversary of the end of their college sports careers. The award is based on both athletic and professional success. He was an adherent of the

Baháʼí Faith The Baháʼí Faith is a religion founded in the 19th century that teaches the Baháʼí Faith and the unity of religion, essential worth of all religions and Baháʼí Faith and the unity of humanity, the unity of all people. Established by ...

, utilizing its teachings and principles to perform acts of service, promote education and value for culture, and engage in community-outreach endeavors.

References

External links

Pellom McDaniels statsTheyCameToFight Exhibition on African Americans in World War I by Pellom McDaniels IIIThe Prince of Jockeys: The Life of Isaac Burns MurphyPellom McDaniels
{{DEFAULTSORT:McDaniels, Pellom 1968 births 2020 deaths American football defensive linemen Atlanta Falcons players Birmingham Fire players Kansas City Chiefs players Players of American football from San Jose, California Oregon State Beavers football players University of Missouri–Kansas City faculty Writers from San Jose, California American Bahá'ís Neurological disease deaths in Georgia (U.S. state)