Jerry Rice

Jerry Rice is widely considered the greatest wide receiver in NFL history and one of the greatest players ever to play the game Born October 13 1962 in Starkville Mississippi Rice grew up in Crawford working alongside his father a brick mason catching bricks on scaffoldingtraining that would develop his legendary hands At Mississippi Valley State University he shattered NCAA records with 27 touchdown receptions as a senior in 1984 earning the nickname World for his ability to catch anything thrown near him Drafted 16th overall by the San Francisco 49ers in 1985 after Bill Walsh traded up to select him Rice spent 15 seasons with the team before finishing his 20year career with the Oakland Raiders Seattle Seahawks and briefly the Denver Broncos He won three Super Bowls with San Francisco XXIII XXIV XXIX and was named Super Bowl XXIII MVP Rices strengths defined excellence meticulous route running that coaches called the best theyd ever seen legendary work ethic including offseason sprints up The Hill in Edgewood Park reliable hands forged catching bricks as a youth and unmatched clutch performance in critical moments His durability was remarkableplaying 303 games over 20 seasons while missing only 17 regular season games His greatest moments showcase his dominance Super Bowl XXIII MVP11 receptions for a Super Bowlrecord 215 yards including a crucial catch on The Drive to set up the gamewinning touchdown with under a minute remaining October 14 1990 versus Atlantacareerbest five receiving touchdowns with 13 catches for 225 yards and December 18 1995 versus Minnesotacareerhigh 289 receiving yards fifthmost in NFL history at the time with 14 receptions and three touchdowns Rice retired holding virtually every major receiving record 1549 receptions 22895 receiving yards and 197 receiving touchdownsmarks still considered unbreakable He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2010 on his first ballot After football Rice competed on Dancing with the Stars finishing runnerup in 2005 played competitive golf and coauthored books including Americas Game The NFL at 100 He launched GOAT Fuel lifestyle brand in 2019 and serves as brand ambassador for Nike and other companies