Reginald McKenzie (born July 27, 1950) 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

left guard In American football, a guard (G), otherwise known as an offensive guard (OG), is an offensive line player who lines up between the center and the tackles. Like other offensive line positions, guards are used primarily for blocking. Right ...

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), primarily for the

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East div ...

from 1972 to 1982. Selected as a first-team All-NFL player in

1973 Events January * January 1 – The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 14 - The 16-0 19 ...

and second team in

1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; ...

, McKenzie was a key player on the Bills'

offensive line In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line (OL), while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line ( ...

that became known as the Electric Company that led the way for

O. J. Simpson Orenthal James Simpson (July 9, 1947 – April 10, 2024), also known by his nickname "the Juice", was an American professional American football, football player, actor, and media personality who played in the National Football League (NFL) ...

to become the NFL's first 2,000-yard rusher during the

1973 NFL season The 1973 NFL season was the 54th regular season of the National Football League. The season was highlighted by O. J. Simpson becoming the first player to rush for 2,000 yards in one season. The season ended with Super Bowl VIII when the ...

. McKenzie also 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

Michigan Wolverines The Michigan Wolverines comprise 29 varsity sports teams at the University of Michigan. These teams compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA's NCAA Division I, Division I and in the Big Ten Conference in all sports except wo ...

from 1969 to 1971 and was a consensus

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 ...

in 1971. He was inducted into the

College Football Hall of Fame The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and interactive Tourist attraction, attraction devoted to college football, college American football. The National Football Foundation (NFF) founded the Hall in 1951 to immortalize the players ...

in 2002. McKenzie concluded his playing career with 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 ...

during the

1983 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning of the ...

and

1984 NFL season The 1984 NFL season was the 65th regular season of the National Football League. The Colts relocated from Baltimore, Maryland, to Indianapolis, Indiana, before the season. The season ended with Super Bowl XIX when the San Francisco 49ers d ...

s. In his 13-year NFL career, McKenzie appeared in 171 games, all but two of those as a starter.

Early life

McKenzie was born in

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

, in 1950. He attended Highland Park High School.

University of Michigan

McKenzie enrolled at the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

in 1968 and played

at the

offensive guard Offensive may refer to: * Offensive (military), type of military operation * Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative (Netherlands), Socialist Alternative * Fighting words, spoken words which would have a tende ...

position for head coach

Bo Schembechler Glenn Edward "Bo" Schembechler Jr. ( ; April 1, 1929 – November 17, 2006) was an American college football player, coach, and athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at Miami University from 1963 to 1968 and at the Univers ...

Michigan Wolverines football The Michigan Wolverines football team represents the University of Michigan in college football at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision level. Michigan has the List of NCAA football teams by wins, most all-time wins in college football ...

teams from 1969 to 1971. McKenzie was also initiated into

Kappa Alpha Psi Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. () is a List of African-American fraternities, historically African American Fraternities and sororities, fraternity. Since the fraternity's founding on January 5, 1911, at Indiana University Bloomington, it has n ...

- Sigma chapter in 1970. As a junior, McKenzie started all 10 games at left guard for the

1970 Michigan Wolverines football team The 1970 Michigan Wolverines football team was an American football team that represented the University of Michigan in the 1970 Big Ten Conference football season. In their second season under head coach Bo Schembechler, the Wolverines compiled ...

that compiled a 9-1 record, scored 288 points, and generated 2,508 net rushing yards (251 yards per game).(to retrieve information for a particular season, go to "Games & Totals by Season" and select the year for which statistics are to be retrieved) McKenie was selected by the conference coaches as a first-team player on the

1970 All-Big Ten Conference football team The 1970 All-Big Ten Conference football team consists of American football players chosen by various organizations for All-Big Ten Conference teams for the 1970 Big Ten Conference football season. The teams selected by the Big Ten coaches for th ...

. As a senior, he started all 12 games at left guard for the 1971 Michigan team that compiled an 11-1 record, scored 421 points, and broke Michigan's all-time record with 3,977 net rushing yards (331 rushing yards per game). McKenzie was a consensus first-team player on the 1971 College Football All-America Team.

Professional football

McKenzie was selected by the

in the second round (27th overall pick) of the

1972 NFL draft The 1972 NFL draft was the 37th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The draft was held on February 1 and 2 at the Essex House in New York City, New York. With the first overal ...

. He played 11 years for the Bills from 1972 to 1982. He was selected as a first-team All-NFL player in

(Associated Press and Pro Football Writers) and

(Pro Football Writers). He and

Joe DeLamielleure Joseph Michael DeLamielleure ( ; born March 16, 1951) is an American former professional football player who was a guard in the National Football League (NFL). He was an All-American playing college football for the Michigan State Spartans. He ...

were

's pulling guards on his frequent sweep runs that made him the first 2,000-yard rusher during the

. He was often referred to by Simpson as his "main man" and was the leader of the team's " Electric Company" which "turned on the Juice". McKenzie also played for the

(

–

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

). In his 13-year NFL career, he appeared in 171 games, 169 as a starter.

Later years and honors

After retiring from football, McKenzie established Reggie McKenzie Industrial Materials, an industrial products company based in

Livonia, Michigan Livonia ( ) is a city in Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. A western suburb of Detroit, Livonia is located roughly northwest of downtown Detroit. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 95,535. Originally organized as ...

. He is also the founder of the Reggie McKenzie Foundation, an organization that helps Detroit youth with athletics and academics. In 2002, McKenzie was inducted into the

. He was also inducted into the

Michigan Sports Hall of Fame The Michigan Sports Hall of Fame is a Hall of Fame to honor Michigan sports athletes, coaches and contributors. It was organized in 1954 by Michigan Lieutenant Governor Philip Hart, Michigan State University athletic director, Biggie Munn, pres ...

in 1994. He was inducted into the Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame in 2016. On November 22, 2016, McKenzie won the Big Ten's Ford-Kinnick Leadership Award. McKenzie's nephew, Keith McKenzie was selected in the seventh round of the 1996 NFL draft by the Green Bay Packers. He played eight seasons in the NFL, winning Super Bowl XXXI with Green Bay.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McKenzie, Reggie 1950 births Living people All-American college football players American football offensive guards Buffalo Bills players College Football Hall of Fame inductees Michigan Wolverines football players Players of American football from Detroit Seattle Seahawks players