Anthony Tyrone Slaton (born April 12, 1961) 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 ...

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...

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 Los Angeles Rams and

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 divi ...

. He played college football at the

University of Southern California , mottoeng = "Let whoever earns the palm bear it" , religious_affiliation = Nonsectarian—historically Methodist , established = , accreditation = WSCUC , type = Private research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $8.1 ...

Early years

Slaton was born in

Merced, California Merced (; Spanish for "Mercy") is a city in, and the county seat of, Merced County, California, United States, in the San Joaquin Valley. As of the 2020 Census, the city had a population of 86,333, up from 78,958 in 2010. Incorporated on April 1 ...

. He attended

Merced High School Merced High School is located in Merced, California, United States. It is a part of the Merced Union High School District. The current enrollment is over 1,800 students in grades 9 through 12. The school is currently under Principal Marcus Knott ...

. As a senior, he was an All-conference, All-Northern California and All-state offensive tackle. He also practiced

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

. Slaton accepted a football scholarship from the

. As a freshman, he was a backup at

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 ...

. As a sophomore, he became a starter at

and contributed to

Marcus Allen Marcus LeMarr Allen (born March 26, 1960) is an American former football running back who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 16 seasons, primarily with the Los Angeles Raiders. Considered one of the greatest goal line and short- ...

winning the Heisman Trophy, after rushing for 2,427 yards. At the time, his size was an exception at the position, as the other centers usually had a smaller build. As a junior, he was part of an

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 included future NFL players Bruce Matthews and Don Mosebar. As a senior, he was named a team captain and received consensus first-team All-American honors. He was also invited to play 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.

Professional career

Buffalo Bills

Slaton was selected by the Buffalo Bills in the sixth round (155th overall) of the 1984 NFL Draft. He was waived on August 20.

Los Angeles Rams

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 ...

, he was signed as a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

by the Los Angeles Rams, reuniting with head coach John Robinson, who was his college coach. He was on the active roster for the first three games, before suffering an abdominal strain and being placed on the

injured reserve list The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in th ...

on September 21. On August 20,

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 was released before the start of the season. On September 19, he was re-signed after several players on the

suffered injuries. He contributed to the divisional championship team, starting in place for injured center Doug Smith in 5 regular-season games, including the final three regular-season games and both playoff games. In the divisional round playoff game against the

, he contributed to

Eric Dickerson Eric Demetric Dickerson (born September 2, 1960) is an American former professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL) for 11 seasons. Dickerson played college football for the Mustangs of Southern Meth ...

running for a playoff record 248 yards. The Rams were shut out in the NFC championship game against the legendary Chicago Bears defense of '85. 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 enter ...

, he appeared in 14 games as a backup center. In

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 Bicenten ...

, he appeared in 15 games, starting one game at right guard in place of an injured

Duval Love Duval Love (born June 24, 1963) is a former American football guard. He played professionally for the Los Angeles Rams, Pittsburgh Steelers and Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL). Biography Love was born in Los Angeles, C ...

. In

1989 File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxon Valdez oil tanker runs ...

, he started 15 games at right guard. In the wild card playoff game against 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 play ...

, he helped Greg Bell rush for 124 yards in 23 carries (5.4-yard avg.).

Dallas Cowboys

On March 3,

1990 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of humanity on Earth, astrophysicist ...

, the

signed Slaton as a Plan B free agent. He started the first 4 games of the season at right guard and appeared in a total of 6 games. He was passed on the depth chart by

John Gesek John Christian Gesek Jr. (born February 18, 1963) is a former American football offensive lineman in the National Football League (NFL) for the Los Angeles Raiders, Dallas Cowboys, and Washington Redskins. He played college football at Sacramen ...

. On October 18, he was placed on the injured reserve with a lower back strain. He was released on December 17, 1990.

Personal life

Slaton married former USC basketball player Juliette Robinson, who was a teammate of

Cheryl Miller Cheryl D. Miller (born January 3, 1964) is an American former basketball player. She was formerly a sideline reporter for NBA games on TNT Sports and also works for NBA TV as a reporter and analyst, having worked previously as a sportscaster f ...

. He worked as the

executive director Executive director is commonly the title of the chief executive officer of a non-profit organization, government agency or international organization. The title is widely used in North American and European not-for-profit organizations, though ...

at the

Boys and Girls Clubs of America Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA) is a national organization of local chapters which provide voluntary after-school programs for young people. The organization, which holds a congressional charter under Title 36 of the United States Code, h ...

in Merced and participated in other local youth development initiatives, before retiring in 2018.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Slaton, Tony 1961 births Living people American football centers Dallas Cowboys players Los Angeles Rams players USC Trojans football players All-American college football players Sportspeople from Merced, California Players of American football from Merced County, California