Michael Craig Nelms (born April 8, 1955) is an American former professional football player who was a defensive back and

kick returner A return specialist or kick returner is a player on the special teams unit of a gridiron football team who specializes in returning punts and kickoffs. There are few players who are exclusively return specialists; most also play another positio ...

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 five seasons with 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 ...

from 1980 to 1984. Before his NFL career, Nelms played in the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...

(CFL). He played college football for the Baylor Bears.

College career

Nelms began his college career at Sam Houston State in 1973. He then transferred to

Baylor University Baylor University is a private Baptist Christian research university in Waco, Texas. Baylor was chartered in 1845 by the last Congress of the Republic of Texas. Baylor is the oldest continuously operating university in Texas and one of the ...

, where he played for the

Bears Bears are carnivoran mammals of the family Ursidae. They are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans. Although only eight species of bears are extant, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats throughout the Nor ...

under head coach Grant Taeff. Nelms played defensive back in college and also returned kicks on occasion. During his college career at Baylor, he only returned a handful of kicks, but he did have one interception

Professional career

Nelms began his professional career after being drafted by the Buffalo Bills. He was the last cut in training camp. He then signed with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the CFL in 1977. Later that year, he was optioned to the Ottawa Rough Riders. Nelms was a three-time

Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (starting in 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's star players. The format has changed thro ...

er in 1980, 1981 and 1982. He led the NFL in yards per kickoff return twice (1981, 1982) and was the Redskins starting punt returner in Super Bowl XVII. In Super Bowl XVII, he returned six punts for 52 yards, both Super Bowl records, along with two kickoff returns for 44 yards. Nelms finished his five seasons with 175 kickoff returns for 4,128 yards, 212 punt returns for 1,948 yards and two touchdowns, and one interception in 68 games. Nelms earned his interception in a 30-17 loss to the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...

and the expense of 49ers quarterback

Joe Montana Joseph Clifford Montana Jr. (born June 11, 1956) is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 16 seasons, primarily with the San Francisco 49ers. Nicknamed "Joe Cool" and "the Comeback Kid", ...

After football

Mike formerly owned Champion Chevrolet Toyota in Culpeper, Virginia. His son, Kirkland, received a scholarship to play at

University of Massachusetts Amherst The University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass Amherst, UMass) is a public research university in Amherst, Massachusetts and the sole public land-grant university in Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Founded in 1863 as an agricultural college, ...

. Nelms also has three daughters, who each went on to play collegiate athletics, including Kurstin Nelms, who ran track for Columbia University. In 2017, Mike Nelms was inducted into the D.C. sports Hall of Fame. He joined Redskins legends

Mark Moseley Mark DeWayne Moseley (born March 12, 1948) is an American former professional football player who was a placekicker in the National Football League (NFL) for 16 seasons. He played for Philadelphia Eagles (1970), the Houston Oilers (1971–7 ...

Art Monk James Arthur Monk (born December 5, 1957) is a retired American football wide receiver who played in the NFL for the Washington Redskins, New York Jets, and the Philadelphia Eagles. He is considered by many NFL players, coaches and analysts ...

, Chris Hanburger,

Ken Houston Kenneth Ray Houston (born November 12, 1944) is an American former professional football player who was a safety in the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NFL). He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame ...

Darrell Green Darrell Ray Green (born February 15, 1960) is an American former professional football player who was a cornerback in the National Football League (NFL) for the Washington Redskins from 1983 to 2002. He is widely considered to be one of the gr ...

, and

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 ...

. Other members of the hall include Olympic swimmer Katie Ledecky,

Tony Kornheiser Anthony Irwin Kornheiser (; born July 13, 1948) is an American television sports talk show host and former sportswriter and columnist. Kornheiser is best known for his endeavors in three forms of media: as a writer for ''The Washington Post'' fro ...

, and former Capitals play by play announcer Ron Weber.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Nelms, Mike 1955 births Living people American football safeties American football return specialists Washington Redskins players National Conference Pro Bowl players Hamilton Tiger-Cats players Ottawa Rough Riders players Canadian football defensive backs Baylor Bears football players American players of Canadian football