Kenneth William Avery (born May 23, 1944) 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

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the line ...

for nine seasons 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 ...

for the

Southern Miss Golden Eagles The Southern Miss Golden Eagles and Lady Eagles (also known as Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles and Lady Eagles) are the intercollegiate athletics teams that represent the University of Southern Mississippi (USM), located in Hattiesburg, Miss ...

. Avery played in the NFL for 123 games,

starting Start can refer to multiple topics: * Takeoff, the phase of flight where an aircraft transitions from moving along the ground to flying through the air * Starting lineup in sports * Starts use in sport race * Standing start, and rolling start, i ...

77 times.

Biography

Early life

Avery attended South Dade High School in

Miami, Florida Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

, from which he graduated in 1962. He was a three-sport star during his high school years and was tapped as a Florida All-State

fullback Fullback or Full back may refer to: Sports * A position in various kinds of football, including: ** Full-back (association football), in association football (soccer), a defender playing in a wide position ** Fullback (gridiron football), in Americ ...

during his senior season.Don Smith (ed.), 1968 NY Football Giants: Press / Radio & Television. New York: New York Football Giants, Inc., 1968, p. 12.

College career

He played

at the

University of Southern Mississippi The University of Southern Mississippi (Southern Miss or USM) is a Public university, public research university with its main campus in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. It is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award bac ...

, where he was a

from 1964 to 1966. After playing on the freshman team for the 1963 season, he won the starting job at center in 1964 as a sophomore while also doing some double-duty playing defense for the 6-3 Eagles.Ken Avery
In 1965, he made the switch to full-time starting linebacker and led the team to a #1 ranking in the nation in total defense. He also still played some center and was a long-snapper for the 7-2 Eagles, with four of the wins shutouts. In 1966, his senior season, the Eagles again led the nation in total defense for the 6-4 Eagles. After his senior season he was named to the all-star

Senior Bowl The Senior Bowl is a post-season college football all-star game played annually in late January or early February in Mobile, Alabama, which showcases the best NFL Draft prospects of those players who have completed their college eligibility. Pr ...

and

Blue-Gray Game Livid is a medium bluish-gray color. This color name comes from the Latin color term ''lividus'', meaning "'a dull leaden-blue color'; it is also used to describe the color of contused flesh, leading to the English expression 'black and blue ...

Professional career

Avery was chosen as a "future" in the 12th round of the

1966 NFL draft The 1966 NFL draft was held at the 569 Lexington Avenue, Summit Hotel in New York City on Saturday, November 27, 1965. The expansion 1966 Atlanta Falcons season, Atlanta Falcons were awarded the first pick in each round as well as the final pick ...

by the

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

and in the second round of the Red Shirt portion of the

1967 AFL Draft The 1967 NFL/AFL draft was conducted March 14–15, 1967, at the Gotham Hotel in New York City. It was the first common draft between the National Football League (NFL) and the American Football League (AFL), part of the AFL–NFL merger agreemen ...

by the

American Football League The American Football League (AFL) was a major professional American football league that operated for ten seasons from 1960 until 1970, AFL–NFL merger, when it merged with the older National Football League (NFL), and became the American Foot ...

Boston Patriots Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and financial center of New England, a region of the Northeastern United States. It has an area of and a ...

. He signed with the Giants and played linebacker for the Giants in the

1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Canadian Confederation, Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 6 – Vietnam War: United States Marine Corps and Army of ...

and

1968 Events January–February * January 1968, January – The I'm Backing Britain, I'm Backing Britain campaign starts spontaneously. * January 5 – Prague Spring: Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Cze ...

seasons during which he played in all but one game. In 1969, he went to the AFL's

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 ...

, for whom he played six seasons from 1969 to 1974 (the team entered the NFL beginning with the 1970 season). In his second year with the team, 1970, he became a starting linebacker, starting 13 of their 14 games and recording his first career interception. He remained an effective starter in 1971, again starting 13 games, then starting 12 in 1972. In 1973, he played in all 14 games, starting four, and recorded his second career interception. By 1974 he was no longer a starter, but did see action in 13 games. His ninth and final pro season was in 1975 with the

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division. Established in 1959 ...

, for whom he played all 14 games, starting five. He finished his career with the

in 1975. In 1983, he was inducted into the University of Southern Mississippi M-Club Alumni Association Sports Hall of Fame.

Personal life

During his playing years, Avery listed his hobbies as

water polo Water polo is a competitive sport, competitive team sport played in water between two teams of seven players each. The game consists of four quarters in which the teams attempt to score goals by throwing the water polo ball, ball into the oppo ...

, skiing, sailing, and weightlifting. After retiring from football, Ken Avery founded a valet parking and self-parking company, American Parking Consultants. That led to him, in 1982, founding and serving as President of Ambassador Limousine in

North Miami Beach, Florida North Miami Beach (commonly referred to as NMB) is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The City of North Miami Beach is part of the Miami metropolitan area of South Florida. Originally named "Fulford-by-the-Sea" in 1926, after ...

. He is also the former President of the National Limousine Association. Ken Avery joined eGain Corporation as a Business Director for the Central Region within the United States in 2021 December. This has started a new journey in his life, within the chat bot industry.

References