Kenny Easley facts for kids
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Easley with the Seattle Seahawks in 1986
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| No. 45 | |||||||||||
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| Position: | Safety | ||||||||||
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| Born: | January 15, 1959 Chesapeake, Virginia, U.S. |
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| Height: | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | ||||||||||
| Weight: | 206 lb (93 kg) | ||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||
| High school: | Oscar F. Smith (South Norfolk, Virginia) |
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| College: | UCLA (1977–1980) | ||||||||||
| NFL Draft: | 1981 / Round: 1 / Pick: 4 | ||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||
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| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||||
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| Player stats at PFR | |||||||||||
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Pro Football Hall of Fame
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College Football Hall of Fame
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Kenny Easley (born January 15, 1959) is a former American football player. He was a safety in the National Football League (NFL) for seven seasons, from 1981 to 1987. Kenny played college football for the UCLA Bruins and was named an All-American three times.
He was chosen in the first round of the 1981 NFL draft by the Seattle Seahawks. He played his entire professional career with the Seahawks. Kenny was nicknamed "the Enforcer" because of his strong play. Many people consider him one of the best defensive players of his time. He is also one of the greatest players in Seahawks history.
Kenny Easley was a key leader on the Seahawks' defense in the 1980s. In 1984, he was named the NFL Defensive Player of the Year. He was chosen as an All-Pro four times and went to the Pro Bowl five times. His career ended after the 1987 season when he became very sick with a kidney disease.
After he stopped playing football, Kenny Easley owned a car dealership. He also owned a football team called the Norfolk Nighthawks from 1999 to 2003. He was added to the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame in 1998. In 2017, he was voted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
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Early Life and High School Football
Kenny Easley was born and grew up in Chesapeake, Virginia. He finished high school at Oscar F. Smith High School in 1977. He was the first player in Virginia high school football history to both run and pass for over 1,000 yards in one season. He was named an all-state and All-American player as a quarterback.
In 1996, Oscar F. Smith High School honored Kenny Easley. They named their football stadium "Beard–DeLong–Easley Field" after him and two other football stars.
College Football Career
Many colleges wanted Kenny Easley to play for them. He chose the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and played for the Bruins football team. He started ten games as a freshman in 1977. He made nine interceptions and was named to the all-Pac-10 team. His 93 tackles set a new school record for a freshman.
Kenny Easley was the first player in his conference to be named all-conference for four years in a row. He played from 1977 to 1980. He finished his college career with a school record of 19 interceptions and 324 tackles. He also returned 45 punts for 454 yards.
He was chosen as an All-American three times (1978, 1979, 1980). In 1980, he finished ninth in the voting for the Heisman Trophy, which goes to the best college football player. UCLA retired his No. 5 jersey. In 1991, he was added to the UCLA Athletics Hall of Fame and the College Football Hall of Fame.
Professional Football Career
The Seattle Seahawks picked Kenny Easley as the fourth overall player in the 1981 NFL draft. He became a starter right away in his first year, 1981. He made three interceptions for 155 yards and scored one touchdown. This earned him the AFC Defensive Rookie of the Year award.
In 1983, the Seahawks hired Chuck Knox as their new head coach. Kenny Easley quickly became the most important player on Knox's defense. In his first season with Coach Knox, Easley won the AFC Defensive Player of the Year Award. He also made seven interceptions that year.
In 1984, Kenny Easley led the entire NFL in interceptions with ten. This tied a club record for the Seahawks. He returned two of these interceptions for touchdowns. He was named the NFL Defensive Player of the Year, becoming the first safety to win this award since 1973. In a game against the Kansas City Chiefs on November 4, 1984, the Seahawks returned four interceptions for touchdowns. One of these was caught by Easley, setting a new record for most interception touchdowns in a single game. He also became the team's main punt returner that season.
After the 1984 season, Easley signed a new five-year contract with the Seahawks. This made him one of the highest-paid defensive players in the league. In 1985, he was chosen for his fourth Pro Bowl in a row. This was a team record until defensive tackle Cortez Kennedy went to his fifth Pro Bowl in 1995.
Kenny Easley was injured for most of the 1986 season. He hurt his knee in October and later had ankle surgery, missing the rest of the season.
In 1987, Kenny Easley was the Seahawks' player representative. He was a leader during the 1987 NFL strike. The players wanted a new agreement with the league, especially about free agency. Easley and many other NFL players went on strike. The league decided to use replacement players. Easley spoke out against former teammate Jim Zorn for playing as a replacement. He also told players not to use violence against the replacement players. After the strike ended, Easley had a difficult year. His last game was a loss to the Houston Oilers in the 1987 NFL playoffs.
Retirement Due to Illness
Before the 1988 season, the Seahawks tried to trade Kenny Easley to another team. On April 22, 1988, the Seahawks traded him to the Phoenix Cardinals for a quarterback named Kelly Stouffer. However, during a required team medical exam, Kenny Easley was diagnosed with a severe kidney disease. This illness meant the trade could not happen.
Kenny Easley was surprised by the kidney diagnosis. He announced his retirement from football a few months later. He later received a new kidney two years later at the University of Washington Medical Center in Seattle.
After Football
In 1991, Kenny Easley became part-owner of a car dealership. He took advantage of a program that helped African-Americans and other minorities own car dealerships. The business did well, and Easley became president of the African American Dealers Association.
In 1999, Kenny Easley and Buffalo Bills defensive end Bruce Smith became owners of the Norfolk Nighthawks. This was a team in the AF2, a semi-professional arena football league. The team started playing in the summer of 2000. In their first season, the Nighthawks had many fans at their home games. The team made the AF2 playoffs, but they lost money. The team stopped playing before the 2004 season.
Reconnecting with the Seahawks
After he retired, Kenny Easley did not have much contact with the Seahawks team. He felt hurt by how his career ended and the trade attempt. Fifteen years later, the Seahawks' new owner, Paul Allen, wanted to add Easley to the Seattle Seahawks Ring of Honor. This honor is for the greatest players in team history. Easley saw this as a chance to reconnect with the team. He accepted the honor and became the seventh Seahawk to be inducted into the Ring of Honor in 2002. Since then, he has had a good relationship with the team.
Kenny Easley was an honorary captain during Super Bowl XLIX. The Seahawks officially retired his number 45 jersey in 2017.
Legacy and Hall of Fame
In his seven-year career, Kenny Easley made 32 interceptions for 538 yards and scored three touchdowns. He also returned 27 punts for 302 yards. In 2002, he was elected to the Seattle Seahawks Ring of Honor. He was also named to the NFL 1980s All-Decade Team, which means he was one of the best players of the 1980s.
In 2016, Kenny Easley was chosen as a senior finalist for the Pro Football Hall of Fame's 2017 class. In February 2017, he was officially elected into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
