Kevin Walker (born December 24, 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 ...

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 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 ...

of 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). Walker is most notable for making the tackle that ultimately ended the career of

Bo Jackson Vincent Edward "Bo" Jackson (born November 30, 1962) is an American former professional baseball and American football, football player. He is the only professional athlete in history to be named an All-star#Sports, All-Star in Major professio ...

. He went to West Milford High School in

West Milford, New Jersey West Milford is a township in Passaic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 24,862, a decrease of 988 (−3.8%) from the 2010 census count of 25,850, which in turn reflec ...

Professional career

Walker was a third round draft choice of the

out of the

University of Maryland The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the Univ ...

in the 1988 NFL draft. Walker was a regular throughout the 1989 and 1990 seasons and was a part of the Cincinnati Bengals team that reached

Super Bowl XXIII Super Bowl XXIII was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Cincinnati Bengals and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion San Francisco 49ers to decide the National Football League (NFL) champ ...

. During the 1990 playoffs, Walker made a routine tackle on

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 ...

star

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offense ...

that caused a serious hip injury that ended Jackson's football career. Walker's career came to an end with an injury of his own torn knee ligament during a game against the

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The club entered the NFL a ...

. Walker had previously injured a knee during the 1988 season.

References

External links

Bengals feature on Walker

1965 births Living people American football linebackers Cincinnati Bengals players Maryland Terrapins football players Sportspeople from Denville Township, New Jersey Players of American football from Morris County, New Jersey People from West Milford, New Jersey Players of American football from Passaic County, New Jersey West Milford High School alumni 20th-century American sportsmen {{linebacker-1960s-stub