Ivory Sully (born June 20, 1957) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player who was a

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover Wide receiver, receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such Play from scrimmage, offensive running plays as sweep ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). Sully grew up in

Leonia, New Jersey Leonia is a Borough (New Jersey), borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 9,304, an increase of 367 (+4.1%) from the 2010 United Sta ...

, and played

high school football High school football, also known as prep football, is gridiron football played by High school (North America), high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular high school sports, interscholastic sports in both c ...

there at

Leonia High School Leonia High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school serving students in ninth through twelfth grade from the Borough of Leonia in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, operating as part of the Leonia Public Schools. S ...

. Undrafted as a

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 American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offense ...

from Division II

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic and South Atlantic states, South Atlantic regions of the United States. It borders Maryland to its south and west, Pennsylvania to its north, New Jersey ...

, he was a co-captain of the 1981 and 1982

Los Angeles Rams The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West ...

. He is a member of the University of Delaware Sports Hall of Fame. With a pronounced resemblance to

Omar Sharif Omar Sharif (, ; born Michel Yusef Dimitri Chalhoub ; 10 April 1932 – 10 July 2015) was an Egyptian actor, generally regarded as one of his country's greatest male film stars. He began his career in his native country in the 1950s. He is bes ...

, he played bit parts in several movies and television shows while playing in Los Angeles.

High school

By the time Sully graduated in 1975, he had a multitude of awards and trophies, including: All State Tennis Champion, All State Track Champion, Boy's State (New Jersey) Leadership Representative of Leonia H.S., Weringer Award for School's Best Athlete, and selected to the All Century Football Team by the ''

Bergen Record ''The Record'' (also called ''The North Jersey Record'', ''The Bergen Record'', ''The Sunday Record'' (Sunday edition) and formerly ''The Bergen Evening Record'') is a newspaper in New Jersey, United States. Serving Bergen, Essex, Hudson and ...

'' newspaper.

College

Sully was named Honorary Captain for the

University of Delaware The University of Delaware (colloquially known as UD, UDel, or Delaware) is a Statutory college#Delaware, privately governed, state-assisted Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Newark, Delaware, United States. UD offers f ...

Professional career

Sully was signed as a free agent by the

, who moved him to safety. There, he was a 1984

Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (since 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's All-star, star players. The format has changed ...

alternate as a special teams player, although the presence of safeties Johnnie Johnson and

Nolan Cromwell Nolan Neil Cromwell (born January 30, 1955) is an American former professional football player who was a safety for the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Kansas Jayhawks, where he earned A ...

relegated him to backup status. He was named the Outstanding Special Teams Player of the Year with the Los Angeles Rams five times (1979, 1980, 1982, 1983, and 1984). He was a member of the 1979 NFC Champions, Los Angeles Rams and played in

Super Bowl XIV Super Bowl XIV was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion 1979 Los Angeles Rams season, Los Angeles Rams and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion 1979 Pittsburgh Steelers season, Pittsburgh S ...

Life after sports

Apparel

Sully successfully transitioned out of football and became the VP Sales, Merchandising & Licensing for Company b In 2001 - 2011 Sully was Vice President of Licensing and International Business for

Pelle Pelle Pelle Pelle is an urban fashion brand designed by Marc Buchanan. Pelle Pelle was launched in 1978 and started as a leather outerwear company. Pelle is based in Auburn Hills, Michigan. History Pelle Pelle originated in the 1970s, when the hip-ho ...

as seen on Sully's resume.

Film/Movies

Sully is on the executive team on "Build It And They Will Come" and "From The Ground Up" a TV reality series about building a professional sports team.

Major League Football

Sully was named as the officer of branding and licensing for the proposed league called Major League Football (MLFB). The league initially planned to begin play in spring 2016 but failed to launch. The league reorganized in the summer of 2017 and terminated Sully from his position with the league.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sully, Ivory 1957 births Living people American football cornerbacks Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens football players Los Angeles Rams players Tampa Bay Buccaneers players Detroit Lions players Leonia High School alumni People from Leonia, New Jersey Players of American football from Bergen County, New Jersey