Kermit Joseph Alexander (born January 4, 1941) is an American former professional football 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 American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ma ...

(NFL). He was on the board of directors for the Lott IMPACT Trophy, which is named after

Pro Football Hall of Fame The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame for professional American football, located in Canton, Ohio. Opened on September 7, , the Hall of Fame enshrines exceptional figures in the sport of professional football, including players, coac ...

defensive back Ronnie Lott, and is awarded annually to college football's defensive IMPACT Player of the Year.

Professional career

Alexander was drafted by the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...

with the eighth pick in the first round of the

1963 NFL Draft The 1963 National Football League draft was held at the Sheraton in Chicago, Illinois, on Monday, December 3, 1962. The first overall selection was quarterback Terry Baker of Oregon State, the Heisman Trophy winner, taken by the Los Angeles ...

. He was also drafted by the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquar ...

of 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, when it merged with the older National Football League (NFL), and became the American Football Conference. ...

with the fifth overall pick, but chose to sign with San Francisco. Alexander played alongside Pro Football Hall of Fame cornerback Jimmy Johnson. Alexander was selected to play in the Pro Bowl in

1968 The year was highlighted by Protests of 1968, protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide. Events January–February * January 5 – "Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechos ...

, after a season in which he had a career-high nine interceptions, including an interception he returned 66 yards for a touchdown. Alexander played for the 49ers from 1963 to 1969. In his second year with the

Los Angeles Rams The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC Wes ...

in 1971, he returned one of his three interceptions 82 yards for a touchdown. He played one final season with the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team play ...

in 1973. Kermit was responsible for injuring

Gale Sayers Gale Eugene Sayers (May 30, 1943September 23, 2020) was an American professional football player who was both a halfback and return specialist in the National Football League (NFL). In a relatively brief but highly productive NFL career, Sa ...

's right knee in a rolling tackle which shortened the career of the Bears star running back, and cost Sayers some of his extraordinary quickness. In addition to playing defense, Alexander returned punts and kickoffs for all three teams. Both of his career punt returns for touchdowns came with San Francisco.

Personal life

On August 31, 1984, Alexander's mother, sister and two nephews, ages 8 and 13, were murdered in

South Central Los Angeles South Los Angeles, also known as South Central Los Angeles or simply South Central, is a region in southwestern Los Angeles County, lying mostly within the city limits of Los Angeles, south of downtown. It is "defined on Los Angeles city maps as ...

during a home invasion by members of the Rollin 60's Neighborhood Crips, whose intended victims lived two doors away.“Cox Gets Death in Alexander Murders”
"The Los Angeles Times", May 1, 1986. Alexander was initially planning on adopting one child from

Haiti Haiti (; ht, Ayiti ; French: ), officially the Republic of Haiti (); ) and formerly known as Hayti, is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and ...

, but after meeting the child's four siblings, he ended up adopting all five. The five were in Haiti at the time of the earthquake in 2010, but survived and now live with Alexander and his wife, Tami.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Alexander, Kermit 1941 births American emigrants to Haiti American football cornerbacks American football return specialists American football safeties Living people Los Angeles Rams players Sportspeople from New Iberia, Louisiana Philadelphia Eagles players Players of American football from Louisiana San Francisco 49ers players UCLA Bruins football players United States Football League announcers Western Conference Pro Bowl players Presidents of the National Football League Players Association Trade unionists from California

Professional career

Personal life

See also

References

External links