Al Jenkins (American football)

Alfred Joseph Jenkins (born July 15, 1946) is a former professional American football player who played offensive lineman for three seasons for the Cleveland Browns, Miami Dolphins, and Houston Oilers.[1]

Al Jenkins
No. 60
Position:Guard
Personal information
Born: (1946-07-15) July 15, 1946 (age 78)
New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S.
Height:6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Weight:245 lb (111 kg)
Career information
High school:St. Augustine
(New Orleans, Louisiana)
College:Southern Illinois
Tulsa
NFL draft:1969 / round: 3 / pick: 55
Career history
Career highlights and awards
  • Super Bowl Champion (VII)
Career NFL statistics
Games played:40
Stats at Pro Football Reference

The Browns drafted Jenkins in the third round hoping he could bring youth to an aging offensive line which included Paul Brown holdovers Dick Schafrath, Monte Clark and Gene Hickerson. However, injuries limited Jenkins to five games in 1970, allowing Joe Taffoni to win the starting right tackle spot that season following Clark's retirement, while at left tackle, 1971 draftee Doug Dieken eventually replaced Schafrath and held the starting spot through 1984. Hickerson remained in the lineup at guard through 1973, by which time Jenkins was long gone from Cleveland.

Jenkins was a backup lineman on Miami's undefeated 1972 Super Bowl championship team. He was one of the players who carried coach Don Shula off the field on their shoulders after the team's victory in Super Bowl VII and as a result his image is included in the bronze statue outside Sun Life Stadium commemorating the event.[2][3][4]

During the highlight film of Super Bowl VII produced by NFL Films, Jenkins is shown exclaiming "damn!" after the Washington Redskins scored their lone touchdown on Mike Bass' 49-yard return of Garo Yepremian's infamous pass. When the film shows Redskin quarterback Billy Kilmer throwing a pass into the Washington bench on his team's final possession, Jenkins exclaims "Hey Kilmer! Atta boy Kilmer!".

References

edit
  1. ^ Al Jenkins NFL & AFL Football Statistics - Pro-Football-Reference.com
  2. ^ Greene, Harvey (July 9, 2014). "99 Days Of 99 Jersey Numbers: #60". Miami Dolphins. Archived from the original on November 29, 2016. Retrieved November 28, 2016.
  3. ^ Talalay, Sarah (January 31, 2010). "Don Shula's statue, award and address". Sun-Sentinel. Retrieved November 28, 2016.
  4. ^ "The 15 coolest NFL stadium statues: Don Shula's Perfection Statue at Sun Life Stadium". MSN. Archived from the original on November 29, 2016. Retrieved November 28, 2016.