Reginald McKenzie (born July 27, 1950) 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 ...

player. He played professional football 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) as the left guard for the Buffalo Bills from 1972 to 1982. Selected as a first-team All-NFL player in

1973 Events January * January 1 - The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 15 – Vietnam War: ...

and second team in 1974, McKenzie was a key player on the Bills'

offensive line 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 numb ...

that became known as the Electric Company that led the way for O. J. Simpson to become the NFL's first 2,000-yard rusher during the

1973 NFL season The 1973 NFL season was the 54th regular season of the National Football League. The season was highlighted by O. J. Simpson becoming the first player to rush for 2,000 yards in one season. The season ended with Super Bowl VIII when the Mi ...

. McKenzie also played college football at the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

from 1969 to 1971 and was a consensus All-American in 1971. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2002. McKenzie concluded his playing career with the Seattle Seahawks during the

1983 The year 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning ...

and

1984 NFL season The 1984 NFL season was the 65th regular season of the National Football League. The Colts relocated from Baltimore, Maryland to Indianapolis, Indiana before the season. The season ended with Super Bowl XIX when the San Francisco 49ers d ...

s. In his 13-year NFL career, McKenzie appeared in 171 games, all but two of those as a starter.

Early years

McKenzie was born in

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

, in 1950. He attended Highland Park High School.

University of Michigan

McKenzie enrolled at the

in 1968 and played college football at the

offensive guard Offensive may refer to: * Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative * Offensive (military), an attack * Offensive language ** Fighting words or insulting language, words that by their very utterance inflict in ...

position for head coach Bo Schembechler's Michigan Wolverines football teams from 1969 to 1971. McKenzie was also initiated into

Kappa Alpha Psi Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. () is a historically African American fraternity. Since the fraternity's founding on January 5, 1911 at Indiana University Bloomington, the fraternity has never restricted membership on the basis of color, creed ...

- Sigma chapter in 1970. As a junior, McKenzie started all 10 games at left guard for the 1970 Michigan Wolverines football team that compiled a 9-1 record, scored 288 points, and generated 2,508 net rushing yards (251 yards per game).(to retrieve information for a particular season, go to "Games & Totals by Season" and select the year for which statistics are to be retrieved) McKenie was selected by the conference coaches as a first-team player on the 1970 All-Big Ten Conference football team. As a senior, he started all 12 games at left guard for the 1971 Michigan team that compiled an 11-1 record, scored 421 points, and broke Michigan's all-time record with 3,977 net rushing yards (331 rushing yards per game). McKenzie was a consensus first-team player on the 1971 College Football All-America Team.

Professional football

McKenzie was selected by the Buffalo Bills in the second round (27th overall pick) of the

1972 NFL Draft The 1972 NFL draft was held February 1–2, 1972, at the Essex House in New York City, New York. With the first overall pick of the draft, the Buffalo Bills selected defensive end Walt Patulski. Player selections Round one Round two ...

. He played 11 years for the Bills from 1972 to 1982. He was selected as a first-team All-NFL player in

(Associated Press and Pro Football Writers) and 1974 (Pro Football Writers). He and Joe DeLamielleure were O. J. Simpson's pulling guards on his frequent sweep runs that made him the first 2,000-yard rusher during the

. He was often referred to by Simpson as his "main man" and was the leader of the team's " Electric Company" which "turned on the Juice". McKenzie also played for the Seattle Seahawks (

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

). In his 13-year NFL career, he appeared in 171 games, 169 as a starter.

Later years and honors

After retiring from football, McKenzie established Reggie McKenzie Industrial Materials, an industrial products company based in Livonia, Michigan. He is also the founder of the Reggie McKenzie Foundation, an organization that helps Detroit youth with athletics and academics. In 2002, McKenzie was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame. He was also inducted into the

Michigan Sports Hall of Fame The Michigan Sports Hall of Fame is a Hall of Fame to honor Michigan sports athletes, coaches and contributors. It was organized in 1954 by Michigan Lieutenant Governor Philip Hart, Michigan State University athletic director Biggie Munn, presid ...

in 1994. He was inducted into the Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame in 2016. On November 22, 2016, McKenzie won the Big Ten's Ford-Kinnick Leadership Award.

Personal life

Nephew Keith McKenzie entered NFL, won the victory in Super Bowl XXXI during enrollment in Green Bay Packers and also achieved appearance in Super Bowl XXXII.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McKenzie, Reggie 1950 births Living people All-American college football players American football offensive guards Buffalo Bills players College Football Hall of Fame inductees Michigan Wolverines football players Players of American football from Detroit Seattle Seahawks players