John Jackson (born January 4, 1965) 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 ...

offensive tackle Offensive may refer to: * Offensive (military), type of military operation * Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative * Fighting words, spoken words which would have a tendency to cause acts of violence by 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). Best known for his time as a member of the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. Founded in 1933 P ...

, Jackson was drafted in 1988 out of

Eastern Kentucky University Eastern Kentucky University (Eastern or EKU) is a public university in Richmond, Kentucky. It also maintains branch campuses in Corbin, Hazard, and Manchester and offers over 40 online undergraduate and graduate options. History Founding ...

in the tenth round. While at EKU, Jackson was a three-year starter and a two-time All-OVC selection under head coach Roy Kidd. While he was at EKU, the Colonels won three OVC titles and he blocked for two of the top five career rushers in EKU history, Elroy Harris and James Crawford. Jackson spent 14 seasons in the NFL with the Steelers (1988–1997), the

San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team in the National Football League (NFL). The Chargers played in San Diego, California from 1961 until 2016, before relocating back to the Greater Los Angeles area, where the franch ...

(1998–1999), and the

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its h ...

(2000–2001). He started in

Super Bowl XXX Super Bowl XXX was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Dallas Cowboys and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Pittsburgh Steelers to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion fo ...

for the Steelers when they went up against the Dallas Cowboys. John Jackson was inducted into the Kentucky Pro Football Hall of Fame in June 2009. Jackson was a dominating force at EKU and the talented offensive tackle had a good relationship with the school's program after he was drafted. While in the NFL, Jackson contributed to the EKU's athletic facilities and helped to improve the Moberly and Presnell Buildings on campus. He was drafted into the NFL as a student. Shortly before being drafted, he met and married Joan Taylor of Cincinnati and the couple had two sons: Joshua (Josh) and Jordan. Josh, a former EKU student like his father, is a competitive long-drive golfer who ranks on the World Long Drive Tour. Jordan is a musical artist known as “Faedaway”. Joan, now Joan Sloan, and John divorced after 20 years of marriage. Upon retirement from the league, Jackson said: "I'm done. You can stick a fork in me." Jackson had played in 203 games between the Steelers, Chargers and Bengals. "I'm not trying to come back, unless we go play golf somewhere. That's about the only thing I'll play."

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