Ray Seals
| No. 98, 97, 99 | |
|---|---|
| Position: | Defensive end |
| Personal information | |
| Born: | June 17, 1965 Syracuse, New York, U.S. |
| Died: | April 4, 2025 (aged 59) Tampa, Florida, U.S. |
| Height: | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) |
| Weight: | 293 lb (133 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school: | Henninger (Syracuse) |
| Career history | |
[1]
| |
| * Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |
| Stats at Pro Football Reference | |
Raymond Bernard Seals (June 17, 1965 – April 4, 2025) was an American professional football player who was a defensive end in the National Football League (NFL). He was notable for being one of the rare players to have made it to the NFL without ever having attended college.[2]Seals started in Super Bowl XXX[3] as a member of the Pittsburgh Steelers.[4]
Playing career
[edit]Seals lettered in football at Anthony A. Henninger High School in Syracuse, New York.
Seals went from playing for the minor-league Syracuse Express of the Empire Football League[5] to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 1989. He went to the Steelers in 1994 as a free agent and played two seasons as their starting right defensive end.[6][7] He was injured in 1996, his third season with the Steelers, and finished with Carolina in 1997.
Seals was famous for batting away a pass by then rookie quarterback Brett Favre, only to have it be caught by Favre himself, for the first completion in his long and storied career.[8]
Personal
[edit]Seals was inducted into the American Football Association's Semi-Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1992.[9] Seals's cousin, Jonny Gammage, was killed after a traffic stop by Brentwood police officers in 1995.[10][11]
Seals died on April 4, 2025, aged 59.[12][13]
References
[edit]- ^ Bengals, 1998 Media Guide. p. 93-94. Retrieved December 15, 2024.
- ^ Jeff.Hartman (August 20, 2016). "How former Steelers DE Ray Seals made it to the NFL without playing college football". Behind the Steel Curtain. Retrieved December 3, 2021.
- ^ "Super Bowl XXX - Dallas Cowboys vs. Pittsburgh Steelers - January 28th, 1996". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved April 17, 2025.
- ^ "SPORTS PEOPLE: FOOTBALL; Steelers Add Ex-Buccaneer". The New York Times. March 18, 1994. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved December 3, 2021.
- ^ lkramer@syracuse.com, Lindsay Kramer | (April 5, 2025). "Ray Seals, former Henninger lineman who skipped college en route to NFL, dies at age 59: 'Man, he was rare'". syracuse. Retrieved April 17, 2025.
- ^ "1994 Pittsburgh Steelers Rosters, Stats, Schedule, Team Draftees". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved April 17, 2025.
- ^ "1994 Pittsburgh Steelers Rosters, Stats, Schedule, Team Draftees". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved April 17, 2025.
- ^ "Ray Seals once again fails to hear the Greater Syracuse Sports Hall of Fame call his name". Syracuse.com. July 13, 2015. Retrieved April 10, 2023.
- ^ "Ray Seals goes from doorman to Super Bowl to Hall of Fame". syracuse. June 8, 2016. Retrieved December 3, 2021.
- ^ "Death of Football Player's Cousin Raises Cry of Racism : Police: Pittsburgh Steeler's relative died after struggle with white officers. Charges are weighed amid protests". Los Angeles Times. November 16, 1995. Retrieved December 3, 2021.
- ^ Ap (November 5, 1995). "5 Police Officers in Pittsburgh Facing Charges in Beating Death". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved December 3, 2021.
- ^ Strackbein, Noah (April 4, 2025). "Former Steelers Defender Dies". Sports Illustrated.
- ^ Raymond B. Seals
External links
[edit] | This biographical article relating to an American football defensive lineman born in the 1960s is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
- 1965 births
- 2025 deaths
- American football defensive ends
- Carolina Panthers players
- Players of American football from Syracuse, New York
- Pittsburgh Steelers players
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers players
- 21st-century African-American sportsmen
- 20th-century African-American sportsmen
- 20th-century American sportsmen
- American football defensive lineman, 1960s birth stubs