Ken-Yon Cedric Rambo (born October 4, 1978) is a former professional

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

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 ...

in the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...

(CFL) for the

Calgary Stampeders The Calgary Stampeders are a professional Canadian football team based in Calgary, Alberta. The Stampeders compete in the West Division (CFL), West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The club plays its home games at McMahon Stadium a ...

and

Toronto Argonauts The Toronto Argonauts (officially the Toronto Argonaut Football Club and colloquially known as the Argos) are a professional Canadian football team based in Toronto, Ontario. The Argonauts compete in the East Division (CFL), East Division of t ...

. He also was a member of the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. T ...

and

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team p ...

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). 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 ...

Ohio State University The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one ...

Early life

Rambo attended

Long Beach Polytechnic High School Long Beach Polytechnic High School, founded in 1895 as Long Beach High School, is a four-year public high school located at 1600 Atlantic Avenue in Long Beach, California, United States. The school serves portions of Long Beach, including Bixby ...

, playing

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 ...

and running track. In his senior year (1997) he caught a school record 79 passes for 1,096 yards (13.9 yard average) and 17 touchdowns. He received prep

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 ...

and All-state honors. In 1997, he won the

CIF California State Meet The CIF California State Meet is the annual championship track and field meet for the California Interscholastic Federation. The meet was started in 1915 for boys and 1974 for girls. Every athlete in every high school in California has a direc ...

in the 300 meter hurdles.

College career

Rambo accepted a football scholarship from

. As a freshman, he had 7 receptions for 145 yards and one

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Scoring a touchdown grants the team that scored it 6 points. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchd ...

. As a sophomore, he collected 5 receptions for 77 yards, 2 kickoff returns for 237 yards (18.8 yard average) and 19 punts returns for 128 yards (6.7 yard average). As a junior, he was named a starter at

posting 41 receptions (second on the team) for 833 yards (20.3 yard average) and 6

s. He returned 21 kickoffs for 653 yards and a 21.1 yard average, breaking the school single-season record. Against

Ohio University Ohio University (Ohio or OU) is a Public university, public research university with its main campus in Athens, Ohio, United States. The university was first conceived in the 1787 contract between the United States Department of the Treasury#Re ...

, he tallied 7 receptions for 181 yards (eighth in school history), with a 25.6 yard average, including 68 and 15 yard

receptions. As a senior, he registered a career-high 53 receptions (ninth in school history) for 794 yards (15 yard average) and 2

s. He returned 17 kickoffs for 478 yards (28.1 yard average) and 23 punts for 145 yards (6.3 yard average). He finished his collegiate career with 106 receptions (eighth in school history), 1,849 career receiving yards (seventh in school history) and 64 kickoff returns (school record) for a 22.9 yard average.

Professional career

Oakland Raiders

Rambo was selected by the

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team based in Oakland, California, from its founding in 1960 to 1981, and again from 1995 to 2019 before Oakland Raiders relocation to Las Vegas, relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan ...

in the seventh round (229th overall) of the

2001 NFL draft The 2001 NFL draft was the 66th draft annual of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible professional football players. The draft, which is officially referred to as the "NFL Player Selection Meeting", was held at the Th ...

. He was waived on August 28.

Dallas Cowboys

On September 5,

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

, he was signed as a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

by the

. He was declared inactive in the first 2 games and played mostly as a

return specialist A return specialist or kick returner is a player on the special teams unit of a gridiron football team who specializes in returning punts and kickoffs. There are few players who are exclusively return specialists; most also play another positio ...

. In

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

, he saw more time as the third receiver after the season ending neck injury to

Raghib Ismail Raghib Ramadian "Rocket" Ismail (born November 18, 1969) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver. He played college football for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish before moving on to both the Canadian Football Lea ...

, posting 14 receptions for 211 yards. Against the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. The team plays their home game ...

, he was the primary returner in place of an injured

Reggie Swinton Reginald Terrell Swinton (born August 24, 1975) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver and return specialist in the National Football League (NFL) for the Dallas Cowboys, Detroit Lions and Arizona Cardinals. ...

, registering 4 kickoff returns for 63 yards and 4 punt returns for 2 yards. Against the

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team ...

, he had a career-high 65 receiving yards, including a career-long 47 yard reception to set up the game-winning

. He was released on August 31,

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

New York Jets

On December 9,

, he was signed by the

, but was not utilized in games. In

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

, he was limited with a hamstring injury in training camp and was cut on September 4.

Calgary Stampeders

On May 29,

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

, he signed a contract with the

of the

. He finished third on the team in receiving with 789 yards, along with 57 receptions and 3

s. In

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

, he was fourth on the team in receiving with 704 yards, along with 60 receptions for 5

s. In

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

, he ranked third on the team with 983 receiving yards and tied with teammate

Jeremaine Copeland Jeremaine Copeland (born February 19, 1977) is an American former professional football wide receiver. He has played with the Montreal Alouettes, Calgary Stampeders, and Toronto Argonauts, as well as in the XFL and NFL Europe. Early life Copel ...

and

D.J. Flick David Julius Flick (born April 27, 1980) is a former professional Canadian football receiver. He played in the Canadian Football League with the Ottawa Renegades, Hamilton Tiger-Cats, and Saskatchewan Roughriders. Flick played four seasons of ...

for first in the league in receiving

s with 10. The 2008 season saw Rambo lead the league in total receiving yards with 1,473 on 100 receptions to go along with 8

s, helping his team reach the Western Final playoff game. The Stampeders would go on to win the

96th Grey Cup The 96th Grey Cup was held in Montreal, Quebec at Olympic Stadium on November 23, 2008. The East Division champion Montreal Alouettes hosted the West Division champion Calgary Stampeders. The Stampeders won the game 22–14, with quarterback Hen ...

22-14 over the

Montreal Alouettes The Montreal Alouettes (Canadian French, French: ''Les Alouettes de Montréal'') are a professional Canadian football team based in Montreal, Quebec. Founded in 1946, the team has disbanded twice and been re-established thrice. The Alouettes compe ...

. In

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

, he lost for the season after 3 games with a torn ACL. In

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

, he recorded 72 receptions for 1,172 yards and 8

s. He was released by the Stampeders on June 23,

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

, after seven seasons with the team, due to an

achilles tendon The Achilles tendon or heel cord, also known as the calcaneal tendon, is a tendon at the back of the lower leg, and is the thickest in the human body. It serves to attach the plantaris, gastrocnemius (calf) and soleus muscles to the calcane ...

injury. At the time he ranked eighth overall on Calgary’s all-time list for receptions and receiving yards and 10th on touchdown receptions.

Toronto Argonauts

On August 21,

, Rambo was added to the

' practice roster. After a partial season with the Argonauts, he was released on February 5,

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

. On September 4,

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

, Calgary signed Rambo to a one-day contract, allowing him to retire as a Stampeder. He finished his

career with 103 games, 416 receptions, 6,119 yards and 40

s (39 receiving and one rushing). He also returned 50 punts for 463 yards and 4 kickoffs for 60 yards.

References

External links

Stats Crew profile

Ken-Yon Rambo at NFL.com
(archived) {{DEFAULTSORT:Rambo, Ken-Yon 1978 births Living people Players of American football from Long Beach, California Players of Canadian football from Long Beach, California Track and field athletes from Long Beach, California American football wide receivers Canadian football wide receivers Ohio State Buckeyes football players Dallas Cowboys players New York Jets players Calgary Stampeders players Toronto Argonauts players Long Beach Polytechnic High School alumni