Jessie Lee Hester (born January 21, 1963) 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

wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...

for 11 years 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). Hester played for the

Los Angeles Raiders The Los Angeles Raiders were a professional American football team of the National Football League (NFL). The Raiders played in Los Angeles from 1982 to 1994 before relocating back to Oakland, California, where the team played from its inaugural ...

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The Falcons were founded o ...

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. Since the 2008 India ...

, and the Los Angeles / St. Louis Rams from 1985 to 1995. 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 ...

Florida State Florida State University (FSU or Florida State) is a Public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preeminent university in the s ...

Early life

Hester was a football star at

Glades Central High School Glades Central Community High School is a high school in Belle Glade, Florida. In the 2014–15 school year, its enrollment numbered 992 students. The school was a football powerhouse. In 2001, the ''New York Times'' reported that Glades Central h ...

Belle Glade, Florida Belle Glade is a city in south-central Florida and it is the far western part of Palm Beach County, Florida, United States, on the southeastern shore of Lake Okeechobee. It is part of the Miami metropolitan area of South Florida. According to th ...

College career

He played college football at Florida State University. He was a Second Team All-First Independent in 1982, First Team All-South independent selection in 1984. He finished his college career with 107 catches for 2,100 yards and 21 touchdowns. He was a taken with the 23rd pick in the first round of the

1985 NFL draft The 1985 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. The NFL draft, draft was held April 30 and May 1, 1985 NFL season, 1985, at the Omni Park Central Hotel in New York City, New ...

Professional career

In his career, Hester played in 147 games and caught 373 receptions for 5,850 yards and 29 touchdowns.

NFL career statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

Coaching career

After retiring from the NFL, Hester returned to Belle Glade, Florida to become the head football coach at his alma mater,

. He also owns a home in

Wellington, Florida Wellington is a village west of West Palm Beach in Palm Beach County and north of Miami. It is part of the Miami metropolitan area and the fifth largest municipality in Palm Beach County by population. As of the 2020 census, the village had a po ...

. On December 17, 2010, Hester was fired from his position of Head Coach at

after guiding the team to a record of 36–4 over three seasons. Hester had led the Raiders to the playoffs for three consecutive years and appearances in two consecutive state championship games, which they lost. In 2011, he went 3–7 as head football coach at Suncoast High School. Author Bryan Mealer's book ''Muck City'' focuses on Hester's life in Belle Glade and the 2010 Glades Central Raiders team he coached. The book was released in October 2012. In the spring of 2012, Hester became

Athletic Director An athletic director (commonly "athletics director" or "AD") is an administrator at many American clubs or institutions, such as colleges and universities, as well as in larger high schools and middle schools, who oversees the work of coaches a ...

for

Lake Worth Community High School Lake Worth Community High School is a public high school located in Lake Worth Beach, Florida. Established in 1922 as Lake Worth High School, it is currently one of Palm Beach County's largest schools. The Palm Beach County School Board added ...

. In December 2012, Hester was named football coach. He was fired after a domestic incident. He returned to coach at Glades Central for a few years afterwards.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hester, Jessie 1963 births Living people Players of American football from Belle Glade, Florida American football wide receivers Florida State Seminoles football players Los Angeles Raiders players Atlanta Falcons players Indianapolis Colts players Los Angeles Rams players St. Louis Rams players Sportspeople from Wellington, Florida 21st-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century American sportsmen