Richard Allen Bayless (born October 15, 1964) 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 ...

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 ...

who played 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

Iowa Hawkeyes The Iowa Hawkeyes are the athletic teams that represent the University of Iowa, located in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. The Hawkeyes have varsity teams in 20 sports, 7 for men and 13 for women; The teams participate in Division I of the Nati ...

and was signed as an

undrafted 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

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. The Vikings compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. Founded in 1960 as ...

, where he played only one game.

Background

Rick Bayless earned two letters in football and three letters in track at Forest Lake High School in

Forest Lake, Minnesota Forest Lake is a city in Washington County, Minnesota, Washington County, Minnesota, United States, located 27 miles northeast of Saint Paul, Minnesota, Saint Paul. The population was 20,611 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Histor ...

. He was a football team captain and set school records in track in the high jump, 100 meters, and the 60-yard dash. Bayless decided to walk on to the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (U of I, UIowa, or Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is organized int ...

football team and redshirted in 1983. Bayless Iowa bio
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Playing career

As a freshman in 1984, Bayless played in nine games, rushing for 140 yards on the season. The following year, he was the fourth-leading rusher for Iowa's 1985

Big Ten The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference, among others) is a collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representatives in 1 ...

championship team. In his junior season in 1986, Rick Bayless became Iowa's starting running back when Kevin Harmon was lost to injury. Bayless became the third player in Iowa history to rush for over 1,000 yards in a season and the fourth Hawkeye to lead the team in rushing and receiving in the same year. He was second in the Big Ten in rushing and led Iowa to a victory over San Diego State in the 1986

Holiday Bowl The Holiday Bowl is an annual college football bowl game held in San Diego, California. Operating since 1978, its current conference tie-ins are with the Pac-12 Conference and the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). The bowl is held at Snapdragon S ...

. Bayless was named all-Big Ten and honorable mention All-American in 1986. He was also named Iowa's one and only team MVP in 1986; it is the last occasion in which the annual award was not shared by multiple players. As a senior in 1988, Rick Bayless lost his starting position before the first game after an injury in practice. He never regained his starting spot in his final season, playing in only seven of Iowa's 13 games. He left school as the tenth-leading rusher in school history. Bayless then played one game for the

in 1989 before retiring from football. Pro football career
/ref>

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bayless, Rick 1964 births Living people Iowa Hawkeyes football players Minnesota Vikings players Forest Lake Area High School alumni Players of American football from Minnesota Sportspeople from Washington County, Minnesota