Jeffry Allen Nixon (born October 13, 1956) is an American former college and 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

defensive back In gridiron football, defensive backs (DBs), also called the secondary, are the players on the defensive side of the ball who play farthest back from the line of scrimmage. They are distinguished from the other two sets of defensive players, the ...

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) for six seasons during the 1970s and 1980s. He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

at the

University of Richmond The University of Richmond (UR or U of R) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Richmond, Virginia, United States. It is a primarily undergraduate, residential institution with approxim ...

, and was recognized as an

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

. He later played for the NFL's

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East div ...

Early life

Nixon was born in

Fürstenfeldbruck Fürstenfeldbruck () is a town in Bavaria, Germany, 32 kilometres west of Munich. It is the capital of the district of Fürstenfeldbruck. it had a population of 35,494. Since the 1930s Fürstenfeldbruck has had an air force base. Geography F ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. He attended

Gar-Field Senior High School Gar-Field Senior High School is a senior high school in Woodbridge in Prince William County, Virginia, United States, educating students in grades 9 to 12. History and administration Gar-Field High School was opened on December 8, 1953, as a s ...

Prince William County, Virginia Prince William County lies beside the Potomac River in the Commonwealth of Virginia. At the 2020 census, the population was 482,204, making it Virginia's second most populous county. The county seat is the independent city of Manassas. A part ...

College career

Nixon attended the University of Richmond in

Richmond, Virginia Richmond ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. Incorporated in 1742, Richmond has been an independent city (United States), independent city since 1871. ...

, where he played for the

Richmond Spiders football The Richmond Spiders are a college football team representing the University of Richmond in Richmond, Virginia. Richmond was the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision champion for the 2008 season. Richmond competes in CAA Football, a ...

team from 1975 to 1978. As a senior in 1978, he was recognized as a consensus first-team All-American. Nixon recorded twenty-three interceptions and remains seventh in career interceptions in NCAA Division I-A history.

Professional career

The Buffalo Bills chose Nixon in the fourth round (eighty-seventh pick overall) of the

1979 NFL draft The 1979 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held May 3–4, 1979, at the Waldorf Astoria ...

, and he played for the Bills from to . He led the team with six interceptions in his rookie year. In 1980, he was the ''Sports Illustrated'' Defensive Player of the Month for September. He set a club record with four takeaways in one game (three interceptions, one fumble recovery) versus the Miami Dolphins in 1980 to help the Bills snap a 20-game losing streak against Miami. Nixon suffered a career-ending knee injury in 1984.

TV appearances

Nixon appeared on the

1978 College Football All-America Team The 1978 College Football All-America team is composed of college football players who were selected as All-Americans by various organizations and writers that chose College Football All-America Teams in 1978. The National Collegiate Athletic As ...

with

Bob Hope Leslie Townes "Bob" Hope (May 29, 1903 – July 27, 2003) was an American comedian, actor, entertainer and producer with a career that spanned nearly 80 years and achievements in vaudeville, network radio, television, and USO Tours. He appeared ...

Life after football

During the Buffalo Bills football season, Nixon worked as a sports analyst on

WKBW-TV WKBW-TV (channel 7) is a television station in Buffalo, New York, United States, affiliated with ABC. Owned by the E. W. Scripps Company, the station maintains studios at 7 Broadcast Plaza in downtown Buffalo and a transmitter on Center Stree ...

AM Buffalo WKBW-TV (channel 7) is a television station in Buffalo, New York, United States, affiliated with ABC. Owned by the E. W. Scripps Company, the station maintains studios at 7 Broadcast Plaza in downtown Buffalo and a transmitter on Center Stree ...

from 2002 to 2008. He also hosted an internet radio show "The Jeff Nixon Sports Report" that aired from 2008 to 2009 on VoiceAmerica. From 2009 to 2011 he wrote and published articles on the blog "Fourth and Goal Unites." Jeff was the official blogger for the NFL Alumni Association from 2011 to 2012. He has worked for the past 20 years (2000-2019) as the Youth Employment Director for the City of Buffalo. Jeff has been tireless in informing players of their rights with medical benefits, pension, and concussion issues on a blog called "NFL RETIRED PLAYERS UNITED". Nixon was voted the Buffalo Nightlife Magazine 2006, 2007 and 2008 R&B guitar player of the year. He has two children from his first marriage, Jeff Nixon, Jr. and Jena. And is married to the singer Joyce Wilson Nixon.

References

External links

University of Richmond Athletic Hall of FameBuffalo Bills Alumni FeatureJeff Nixon
at Billszone.com

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nixon, Jeff 1956 births Living people All-American college football players American football defensive backs Buffalo Bills players Richmond Spiders football players Players of American football from Virginia