Ronald Lee Fellows (born November 7, 1957 in

South Bend, Indiana South Bend is a city in and the county seat of St. Joseph County, Indiana, St. Joseph County, Indiana, on the St. Joseph River (Lake Michigan), St. Joseph River near its southernmost bend, from which it derives its name. As of the 2020 United S ...

) 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 ...

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such offensive running plays as sweeps and reverses. They create tur ...

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 ...

for the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisi ...

and

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 ...

. He 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 ...

at the

University of Missouri The University of Missouri (Mizzou, MU, or Missouri) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus Universit ...

Early years

Fellows attended Washington High School, where he

lettered Calligraphy (from el, link=y, καλλιγραφία) is a visual art related to writing. It is the design and execution of lettering with a pen, ink brush, or other writing instrument. Contemporary calligraphic practice can be defined as "t ...

in football,

track Track or Tracks may refer to: Routes or imprints * Ancient trackway, any track or trail whose origin is lost in antiquity * Animal track, imprints left on surfaces that an animal walks across * Desire path, a line worn by people taking the shorte ...

and

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

. In football, he was a two-way player, as a

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 American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offen ...

and

safety Safety is the state of being "safe", the condition of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to risk management, the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings There are ...

. He helped his team win the Northern Indiana Conference championship in 1975 and 1976. As a senior, he received

South Bend Tribune The ''South Bend Tribune'' is a daily newspaper and news website which is based in South Bend, Indiana. It is distributed in South Bend, Mishawaka, north central Indiana, and southwestern Michigan. It has been named as a "Blue Ribbon Newspaper" ...

Offensive Player of the Year and All-State offensive/defensive back honors. He was named All-Conference in track and basketball. In 1977, he won the IHSAA 120 yards high hurdles state championship. In 2014, he was inducted into the

Indiana Football Hall of Fame The Indiana Football Hall of Fame is a sports museum and hall of fame in Richmond, Indiana. It honors persons associated with high school, college and professional American football in Indiana. It also works to establish scholarships and endowments ...

College career

Fellows moved on to

Butler Community College Butler Community College (BCC) is a public community college in El Dorado, Kansas. Campus There are a number of branch campuses throughout the area, in Andover, Council Grove, Marion, McConnell, Rose Hill, and a number of distance-learning ...

, where he played as a

for two seasons. He also ran the

hurdles Hurdling is the act of jumping over an obstacle at a high speed or in a sprint. In the early 19th century, hurdlers ran at and jumped over each hurdle (sometimes known as 'burgles'), landing on both feet and checking their forward motion. Today, ...

. He transferred to the

after his sophomore season. As a junior, midway through the 1979 season, he was converted into a wide receiver, posting 4 receptions for 44 yards and no

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone. In Ameri ...

s. As a senior, he led the

Big Eight Conference The Big Eight Conference was a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)-affiliated Division I-A college athletic association that sponsored football. It was formed in January 1907 as the Missouri Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Associatio ...

in receiving with 587 yards on 33 receptions (led the team), while also catching 4

s (led the team).

Professional career

Dallas Cowboys

Fellows was selected by the

in the seventh round (173rd overall) of the

1981 NFL draft The 1981 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 28–29, 1981, at the New York She ...

, with the intention of playing him at

. By the eleventh game of his rookie season, he was being used on the

nickel defense American football, a nickel defense (also known as a 4–2–5 or 3–3–5) is any defensive alignment that uses five defensive backs, of whom the fifth is known as a nickelback. The original and most common form of the nickel defense features ...

. In

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street bridges, 14th Street Bridge in ...

, he played right corner on obvious passing downs, with starter

Dennis Thurman Dennis Lee Thurman (born April 13, 1956) is an American football coach and former cornerback. He is the former Defensive coordinator on Deion Sanders' inaugural staff at Jackson State University. He is a former coach in the National Football Lea ...

being moved to

. He also led the team in punt and kickoff returns. In

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 Internet protocol suite, TCP/IP is officially completed (this is consid ...

, he played nickel cornerback over former first-round draft choice

Rod Hill Rodrick Hill (born March 14, 1959) is a former American football cornerback in the National Football League for the Dallas Cowboys, Buffalo Bills, Detroit Lions, and Los Angeles Raiders. After his NFL career he played five seasons with the Win ...

, while posting 5 interceptions (second on the team). Against the

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...

, he returned a blocked field goal for a game winning 62-yard

, the first such return by a Cowboy in 19 years. He returned an interception for a 58-yard

against the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansion ...

. He also tied a team record with 43 kickoff returns. Fellows was part of an opportunistic Cowboys secondary that earned the nickname " Thurman's Thieves", because of the amount of plays and turnovers they generated. In

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 Southeast A ...

, after Thurman made the permanent switch to

, he became the starter at right cornerback opposite

Everson Walls Everson Collins Walls (born December 28, 1959) is a former American football defensive back who played professionally in the National Football League (NFL) for the Dallas Cowboys, the New York Giants, and the Cleveland Browns. During his 14 se ...

, and posted 3 interceptions. He returned a blocked field goal for a 62-yard touchdown against the

, the first such return for a Cowboy in 19 years. He had 2 interceptions, including one returned for a 58-yard touchdown and 4 kickoff returns for 109 yards against the

. In

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...

, he struggled with a sprained knee he suffered in the first quarter of the season opener against 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 ...

, which caused him to miss 3 games and 2 starts, eventually requiring offseason surgery. He still managed to make 4 interceptions (tied for third on the team) and 20 passes defensed (second on the team). In

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal ente ...

, he finished first on the team with 15 passes defensed and second with 5 interceptions, including a 34-yard return for a touchdown against the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals hav ...

. He had 4 turnovers (2 interceptions and 2 fumble recoveries) against the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine NF ...

. On August 2,

1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, k ...

, after being involved in a contract holdout and the Cowboys needing help at wide receiver, the team felt they had depth at

after drafting

Ron Francis Ronald Michael Francis Jr. (born March 1, 1963) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre. He is the general manager of the Seattle Kraken that inaugurated its first season in 2021. Drafted fourth overall in the 1981 NHL Entry Draft, F ...

, so he was traded to the

in exchange for

Rod Barksdale Rod Barksdale (born September 8, 1962) is a former American football wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL) for the Los Angeles Raiders and Dallas Cowboys. He practiced track & field at the University of Arizona. Early years Barks ...

Los Angeles Raiders

, Fellows was the team's nickel cornerback, appearing in 12 games with 2 starts. He was waived on August 29,

1988 File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Australian ...

, but was re-signed after

Terry McDaniel Terence Lee McDaniel (born February 8, 1965) is a former American football player who played 11 seasons in the National Football League, mostly with the Los Angeles/Oakland Raiders. A 5'10", 180-pound cornerback, he played college football at ...

was lost for the year with a broken leg in the second game of the season. He appeared in 14 games with 10 starts at left cornerback, registering 2 interceptions and 2 fumble recoveries. He was not re-signed after the season.

Personal life

Fellows married wife Debra in 2002 and founded the Stars for Life Foundation, a nonprofit aimed at serving Native American communities suffering from addiction, diabetes and suicide. It now educates the public on the long-term dangers of impact sports. He was diagnosed with

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegeneration, neurodegenerative disease that usually starts slowly and progressively worsens. It is the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in short-term me ...

in 2015.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fellows, Ron 1958 births Living people Players of American football from South Bend, Indiana American football cornerbacks Butler Grizzlies football players Missouri Tigers football players Dallas Cowboys players Los Angeles Raiders players