Otis Ray Wilson (born September 15, 1957) is an American former professional football player who was an outside linebacker 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 the Chicago Bears and the

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 won a Super Bowl as a member of the 1985 Chicago Bears. He is also the father of former Cincinnati Bengals

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 handoffs from the quarterback to rush the ball, to line up as a receiver to catch the ball, and block. Ther ...

Quincy Wilson. He is married to Tina Glover Wilson.

College career

After starting his college career at Syracuse University, Wilson transferred to the

University of Louisville The University of Louisville (UofL) is a public research university in Louisville, Kentucky. It is part of the Kentucky state university system. When founded in 1798, it was the first city-owned public university in the United States and one o ...

. Wilson was a three-year

letter winner In sports or activities in the United States, a letterman is a high school or college student who has met a specified level of participation or performance on a varsity team. Overview The term comes from the practice of awarding each such parti ...

, from 1977 to 1979. In 1979, Wilson was a team captain and was named first-team All-American by the Sporting News. Wilson ranks second all-time in Louisville football history with 484 career

tackles Tackle may refer to: * In football: ** Tackle (football move), a play in various forms of football ** Tackle (gridiron football position), a position in American football and Canadian football ** Dump tackle, a forceful move in rugby of picking u ...

, and ranks fifth with 32 tackles for loss.

NFL career

Wilson was selected in the first round of the

1980 NFL Draft The 1980 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 29–30, 1980, at the New York Sh ...

by the Chicago Bears, and went on to a nine-year career in the NFL. As a starting outside linebacker for the Bears, Wilson played on one of the most dominating defenses in football history as part of the linebacking trio with Mike Singletary and

Wilber Marshall Wilber Buddyhia Marshall (born April 18, 1962) is an American former professional football player who was a outside linebacker in the National Football League (NFL) for five teams from 1984 until 1995. Marshall played college football for the F ...

. This defense helped the Bears to win Super Bowl XX. That same year, he also made the only

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 ...

selection of his career. He was a featured soloist of the "Shuffling Crew" in the video The Super Bowl Shuffle in 1985. Wilson had a significant role with the famous '85 Bears. While he didn't call the plays and run the defense like fellow linebacker Mike Singletary did, he was possibly the Bears' most feared pass-rusher and the most intimidating player when he lined up in the 46 defense. Because Singletary stayed in the middle and covered backs out of the backfield/stopped the run, and

was basically a free-lancer who roamed the field, Wilson was the main blitzer in the Bears' 46. He had 10.5 sacks in the 1985 season, and numerous times he hurried the QB into errant throws. Wilson played with the Bears until 1987. Injuries kept him from playing in the 1988 season. In 1989, he signed with the

, but played only one game in the season and retired soon afterwards. He finished his 9-season career with 36 sacks, 8 fumble recoveries, 31 fumble return yards 10 interceptions, 115 return yards, and 2 touchdowns in 110 games. During

Super Bowl XLIV Super Bowl XLIV was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champions New Orleans Saints and the American Football Conference (AFC) champions Indianapolis Colts to decide the National Football League (NFL) champ ...

, Wilson joined other members of the 1985 Chicago Bears in resurrecting the Super Bowl Shuffle in a Boost Mobile commercial.

Personal life

Otis is now focusing full-time on his nonprofit organization, The Otis Wilson Charitable Association, which provides an all-inclusive health and fitness program for at risk youth. The organization sponsors many events to fund their programs and they are very active in the Chicago area. Wilson's book "If These Walls Could Talk: Chicago Bears" (Triumph Books) was released in September 2017.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Otis 1957 births Living people American football linebackers Chicago Bears players Los Angeles Raiders players Louisville Cardinals football players People from Brooklyn National Conference Pro Bowl players Syracuse Orange football players Thomas Jefferson High School (Brooklyn) alumni