Shelby Lewis Jordan (January 23, 1952 – September 9, 2022) was an American 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 an

offensive tackle Offensive may refer to: * Offensive (military), type of military operation * Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative * Fighting words, spoken words which would have a tendency to cause acts of violence by the ...

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) for the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The Pa ...

and the

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 ...

from 1975 to 1986. He was a member of the 1983 Raiders team that won

Super Bowl XVIII Super Bowl XVIII was an American football game played on January 22, 1984, at Tampa Stadium between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion and defending Super Bowl XVII champion 1983 Washington Redskins season, Washington Redskins and t ...

. Jordan 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 ...

Washington University in St. Louis Washington University in St. Louis (WashU) is a private research university in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Founded in 1853 by a group of civic leaders and named for George Washington, the university spans 355 acres across its Danforth ...

. In 2013, 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 ...

Early life

Jordan was born on January 23, 1952, in

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Miss ...

. He attended East St. Louis Senior High School in

East St. Louis, Illinois East St. Louis, also known as ESTL, is a city in St. Clair County, Illinois, United States. It is directly across the Mississippi River from downtown St. Louis, Missouri, and the Gateway Arch National Park. East St. Louis is in the Metro East ...

College career

As part of a career scholarship program, Jordan took night classes at

. He was convinced by coaches to join the football team. He played football with the

Washington University Bears The Washington University Bears are the athletic teams of Washington University in St. Louis, located in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Washington University is currently a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association at the NCAA Di ...

as a linebacker from 1969 to 1972 and led the team in tackles for three consecutive seasons. In 1974, he graduated from the university with a degree in psychology. He was inducted into the

in 2013 and has been considered Washington University's greatest defensive player of all time.

Professional career

The

Houston Oilers The Houston Oilers were a professional American football team that played in Houston, Texas, from its founding in 1960 Houston Oilers season, 1960 to 1996 Houston Oilers season, 1996. The Houston Oilers began play as a charter member of the Ame ...

selected Jordan in the seventh round, with the 157th overall selection, of the

1973 NFL draft The 1973 NFL draft was held January 30–31, 1973, at the Americana Hotel in New York City, New York. With the first overall pick of the draft, the Houston Oilers selected defensive end John Matuszak. Player selections Round one ...

. The Oilers cut Jordan during training camp. He went to work for

Service Merchandise Service Merchandise was a retail chain of catalog showrooms carrying jewelry, toys, sporting goods and electronics. The company, which first began in 1934 as a five-and-dime store, was in existence for 68 years before ceasing operations in 2002 ...

. In 1974, Jordan signed with the

after a try-out. He went on the

injured reserve The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in ...

list before the season due to a knee injury, ruling him out for the 1974 season. Jordan debuted with the Patriots in 1975. In August 1975, Jordan was arrested for the possession and sale of

cocaine Cocaine is a tropane alkaloid and central nervous system stimulant, derived primarily from the leaves of two South American coca plants, ''Erythroxylum coca'' and ''Erythroxylum novogranatense, E. novogranatense'', which are cultivated a ...

. He was sentenced to two years in prison in May 1976. Jordan missed the 1976 season. He was released after serving over a year and was reinstated to the Patriots roster in July 1977. Jordan played for the Patriots for seven seasons and started in 87 games. In 1983, he signed a four-year contract with the

worth $1.6 million. The Raiders won

later that season. During his four seasons with the Raiders, Jordan played in 56 games, five of which he started. The Raiders placed Jordan on the injured reserve list before the 1987 season, and he crossed the picket line during the

1987 NFL strike The National Football League Players Association (NFLPA) is the labor union representing National Football League (NFL) players. The NFLPA, which has headquarters in Washington, D.C., is led by executive director Lloyd Howell Jr. and president J ...

Personal life

Together with his wife, Donzella, Jordan funded and directed a

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

-based nonprofit corporation that provided affordable urban housing. Jordan died on September 9, 2022.

References

External links

Profile at NFL.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jordan, Shelby 1952 births 2022 deaths American football offensive linemen Washington University Bears football players New England Patriots players Los Angeles Raiders players College Football Hall of Fame inductees Players of American football from St. Louis Players of American football from Missouri