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| Born | May 27, 1954 Jackson, Mississippi |
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| Career information | |||
| Year(s) | 1976–1995 | ||
| NFL Draft | 1976 / Round: 3 / Pick: 86 | ||
| College | Jackson State | ||
| Professional teams | |||
| Career stats | |||
| Games played | 259 | ||
| Games started | 211 | ||
| Fumble Recoveries | 4 | ||
| Stats at NFL.com | |||
| Career highlights and awards | |||
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Jackie Ray Slater (born May 27, 1954, in Jackson, Mississippi) is a former American football offensive tackle who played his entire 20-year career with the Rams organization, playing 19 seasons for the Rams in Los Angeles (1976–1994) and one season for the St. Louis Rams in 1995.
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Biography
College
Slater attended Jackson State University and was a letterman in football. In football, he was selected to the Southwestern Athletic Conference All-Star Game three times, and as a senior, he was a first team All–Black America selection, and was named an All-American selection by the Pittsburgh Courier. After his senior season, he was invited to participate in the College All-Star Game.
NFL career
Slater played in 259 games from 1976 to 1995, the most ever by an offensive lineman at the time of his retirement. He was the first player to play 20 seasons for one team, and former Washington Redskins cornerback Darrell Green is the only other one to accomplish the feat. Much like Ed "Too Tall" Jones was with the Dallas Cowboys, Slater was unique in "bridging gaps" with different eras in the franchise. Slater was teammates with Merlin Olsen and Jack Youngblood earlier in his career and Jerome Bettis and Issac Bruce at the end of his career, although Bettis would be traded to the Pittsburgh Steelers (where he had more success) right after Slater retired.
Although used primarily as a backup and special teams player during his first three seasons, Slater became a starter in 1979 and that season the Rams went to Super Bowl XIV. In 1980 he was a part of an offensive line that surrendered just 29 sacks and helped the Rams’ offense finish second in the NFL in total yards gained with 6,006. In 1983, he and the Rams offensive line demonstrated their versatility when they allowed a league-low 23 sacks while also paving the way for Dickerson’s rookie rushing record of 1,808 yards.
In 2001, Slater was enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He was voted the National Football League Players Association NFC Offensive Lineman of the year four times—1983, 1986, 1987, and 1989. Slater was the Athletes in Action/Bart Starr Award winner after the 1995 season.
On February 16, 2006, Oakland Raiders head coach Art Shell hired him to become a co-offensive lineman coach along with Irv Eatman. Slater was released by the Raiders for the 2007 season. He is now an assistant offensive line coach for Saddleback Community College.
Personal
His son Matthew, who played college football at UCLA, was drafted by the New England Patriots in the fifth round of the 2008 NFL Draft.
External links
- Pro Football Hall of Fame: Member profile
| Preceded by Robert Delpino |
Rams Most Valuable Player Award 1992 |
Succeeded by Jerome Bettis |
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