Ahmad Rashad
Encyclopedia
Ahmad Rashād is an American sportscaster (mostly with NBC Sports
) and former professional football
player. An All-America
n running back
and wide receiver
from Oregon
known as Bobby Moore, Rashad was the fourth overall pick in the 1972 NFL Draft
, drafted
by the St. Louis Cardinals
. He was the first skill-position player taken, following three linemen.
Rashād was converted back to wide receiver
while with the Cardinals, where he played for two seasons. He then played for the Buffalo Bills
(1974–1976), the Seattle Seahawks
(1976), and, most notably, the Minnesota Vikings
(1976–1982), where he earned four Pro Bowl
selections from 1978
to 1981
.
, Oregon
, he graduated from Mount Tahoma High School
in Tacoma, Washington
, in 1967 and accepted a football scholarship to the University of Oregon
.
, United Submitters International
, and changed his name to Ahmad Rashād, which means "Admirable One Led To Truth" in Arabic. His last name comes from his mentor in St. Louis, Rashad Khalifa
.
Rashād eventually graduated from the University of Oregon
, where he played wide receiver
as a sophomore in 1969; then was moved to running back where he was an All-America
n in 1971—playing with quarterback
Dan Fouts
. Rashād was named to the College Football Hall of Fame
on May 9, 2007.
During his pro football career, Rashād caught 495 passes for 6,831 yards and 44 touchdowns, while also rushing for 52 yards. The standout catch of his career came in a December 1980
game against the Cleveland Browns
. Vikings quarterback Tommy Kramer
threw a Hail Mary pass
to Rashād that resulted in a come-from-behind 28-23 victory and a Central Division
title for the Vikings. This became known as the Miracle Catch. Rashād also has the distinction of the longest play from scrimmage that didn't score a touchdown: 98 yards in a 1972 game against the Rams.
Rashād replaced the same receiver, John Gilliam
, in both St. Louis and Minnesota.
and NBA
televised contests as a studio anchor and game reporter for NBC
and ABC
, as well as hosting NBA Inside Stuff
. He also has hosted the video-clip show Real TV
in 2000, the reality show Celebrity Mole, the game show
Caesars Challenge
along with co-host Dan Doherty, and NBA Access with Ahmad Rashad
on the ABC network. He starred in an episode of Monsters
. Rashād has also guest starred on several TV shows, mainly ones that starred his then wife Phylicia. He used to interview long-time friend Michael Jordan
frequently while he was at NBC. Rashad worked on the NFL on NBC with O.J. Simpson.
In 1985, Rashād married Cosby Show
actress Phylicia Ayers-Allen
, to whom he proposed on national television during the pregame show of NBC
's broadcast of the Thanksgiving Day
football
game between the Detroit Lions
and the New York Jets
. It was a third marriage for both. Unlike many actresses, she adopted his surname shortly after the wedding, and uses the name "Phylicia Rashād" professionally to this day. Out of this marriage, he gained a stepson Billy Bowles (born 1973). After a year of marriage, Ahmad and Phylicia had a daughter, Condola Phylea Rashād (named after his mother). After nearly sixteen years of marriage, Ahmad and Phylicia divorced in 2001.
In 2007, Rashād wed his fourth wife, Sale Johnson, the ex-wife of Johnson & Johnson
billionaire and New York Jets
owner Woody Johnson. He has gained three stepdaughters from this marriage.
NBC Sports
NBC Sports is the sports division of the NBC television network. Formerly "a service of NBC News," it broadcasts a diverse array of programs, including the Olympic Games, the NFL, the NHL, MLS, Notre Dame football, the PGA Tour, the Triple Crown, and the French Open, among others...
) and former professional football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
player. An All-America
All-America
An All-America team is an honorary sports team composed of outstanding amateur players—those considered the best players of a specific season for each team position—who in turn are given the honorific "All-America" and typically referred to as "All-American athletes", or simply...
n running back
Running back
A running back is a gridiron football position, who is typically lined up in the offensive backfield. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback for a rushing play, to catch passes from out of the backfield, and to block.There are usually one or two running...
and wide receiver
Wide receiver
A wide receiver is an offensive position in American and Canadian football, and is the key player in most of the passing plays. Only players in the backfield or the ends on the line are eligible to catch a forward pass. The two players who begin play at the ends of the offensive line are eligible...
from Oregon
University of Oregon
-Colleges and schools:The University of Oregon is organized into eight schools and colleges—six professional schools and colleges, an Arts and Sciences College and an Honors College.- School of Architecture and Allied Arts :...
known as Bobby Moore, Rashad was the fourth overall pick in the 1972 NFL Draft
1972 NFL Draft
The 1972 National Football League Draft was held on February 1–2, 1972.-Player selections:-Round one:-Round two:-Round three:-Round four:-Round five:-Round six:-Round seven:-Round eight:-Round nine:-Round ten:...
, drafted
NFL Draft
The National Football League Draft is an annual event in which the National Football League teams select eligible college football players and it is their most common source of player recruitment. The basic design of the draft is each team is given a position in the drafting order in reverse order...
by the St. Louis Cardinals
Arizona Cardinals
The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in Glendale, Arizona, a suburb of Phoenix. They are currently members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
. He was the first skill-position player taken, following three linemen.
Rashād was converted back to wide receiver
Wide receiver
A wide receiver is an offensive position in American and Canadian football, and is the key player in most of the passing plays. Only players in the backfield or the ends on the line are eligible to catch a forward pass. The two players who begin play at the ends of the offensive line are eligible...
while with the Cardinals, where he played for two seasons. He then played for the Buffalo Bills
Buffalo Bills
The Buffalo Bills are a professional football team based in Buffalo, New York. They are currently members of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
(1974–1976), the Seattle Seahawks
Seattle Seahawks
The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle, Washington. They are currently members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team joined the NFL in 1976 as an expansion team...
(1976), and, most notably, the Minnesota Vikings
Minnesota Vikings
The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Vikings joined the National Football League as an expansion team in 1960...
(1976–1982), where he earned four Pro Bowl
Pro Bowl
In professional American football, the Pro Bowl is the all-star game of the National Football League . Since the merger with the rival American Football League in 1970, it has been officially called the AFC–NFC Pro Bowl, matching the top players in the American Football Conference against those...
selections from 1978
1978 NFL season
The 1978 NFL season was the 59th regular season of the National Football League. The league expanded the regular season from a 14-game schedule to 16. Furthermore, the playoff format was expanded from 8 teams to 10 teams by adding another wild card from each conference...
to 1981
1981 NFL season
The 1981 NFL season was the 62nd regular season of the National Football League. The season ended with Super Bowl XVI when the San Francisco 49ers defeated the Cincinnati Bengals.-Major rule changes:...
.
Early life
Born Robert Earl Moore in PortlandPortland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
, Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
, he graduated from Mount Tahoma High School
Mount Tahoma High School
Mount Tahoma High School is a high school in Tacoma, Washington. It opened in 1961 and is a part of the Tacoma Public School District. The school's mascot is the legendary Thunderbird.-History:...
in Tacoma, Washington
Tacoma, Washington
Tacoma is a mid-sized urban port city and the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. The city is on Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, northeast of the state capital, Olympia, and northwest of Mount Rainier National Park. The population was 198,397, according to...
, in 1967 and accepted a football scholarship to the University of Oregon
University of Oregon
-Colleges and schools:The University of Oregon is organized into eight schools and colleges—six professional schools and colleges, an Arts and Sciences College and an Honors College.- School of Architecture and Allied Arts :...
.
Conversion and football career
In 1972, Moore converted to an offshoot of IslamIslam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
, United Submitters International
United Submitters International
United Submitters International is a reformist moderate Islamic religious community, following the teachings of Rashad Khalifa who is regarded in this faith as God's messenger of the Covenant, who claims to be prophesied in the Old Testament, the New Testament, and the Quran. Majority of Muslims...
, and changed his name to Ahmad Rashād, which means "Admirable One Led To Truth" in Arabic. His last name comes from his mentor in St. Louis, Rashad Khalifa
Rashad Khalifa
Rashad Khalifa was an Egyptian-American biochemist, closely associated with the United Submitters International. He was assassinated in 1990.-Life:Khalifa was born in Egypt on November 19, 1935...
.
Rashād eventually graduated from the University of Oregon
University of Oregon
-Colleges and schools:The University of Oregon is organized into eight schools and colleges—six professional schools and colleges, an Arts and Sciences College and an Honors College.- School of Architecture and Allied Arts :...
, where he played wide receiver
Wide receiver
A wide receiver is an offensive position in American and Canadian football, and is the key player in most of the passing plays. Only players in the backfield or the ends on the line are eligible to catch a forward pass. The two players who begin play at the ends of the offensive line are eligible...
as a sophomore in 1969; then was moved to running back where he was an All-America
1971 College Football All-America Team
The 1971 College Football All-America team is composed of various organizations that choose College All-America teams that season. The organizations that chose the teams were Associated Press, United Press International, Newspaper Enterprise Association, Football Writers Association of America,...
n in 1971—playing with quarterback
Quarterback
Quarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line...
Dan Fouts
Dan Fouts
Daniel Francis Fouts is a retired Hall of Fame American football quarterback in the National Football League. Fouts played his entire professional career with the San Diego Chargers from 1973 through 1987...
. Rashād was named to the College Football Hall of Fame
College Football Hall of Fame
The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and museum devoted to college football. Located in South Bend, Indiana, it is connected to a convention center and situated in the city's renovated downtown district, two miles south of the University of Notre Dame campus. It is slated to move...
on May 9, 2007.
During his pro football career, Rashād caught 495 passes for 6,831 yards and 44 touchdowns, while also rushing for 52 yards. The standout catch of his career came in a December 1980
1980 NFL season
The 1980 NFL season was the 61st regular season of the National Football League.After the league declined to approve the proposed move by the Raiders from Oakland, California to Los Angeles, the team along with the Los Angeles Coliseum sued the NFL for violating antitrust laws...
game against the Cleveland Browns
Cleveland Browns
The Cleveland Browns are a professional football team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are currently members of the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
. Vikings quarterback Tommy Kramer
Tommy Kramer
Thomas Francis Kramer is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the NFL from 1977 to 1990...
threw a Hail Mary pass
Hail Mary pass
A Hail Mary pass or Hail Mary route in American football refers to any very long forward pass made in desperation with only a small chance of success, especially at or near the end of a half....
to Rashād that resulted in a come-from-behind 28-23 victory and a Central Division
NFC North
The NFC North is a division of the National Football League's National Football Conference, based in the Upper Midwest region of the United States...
title for the Vikings. This became known as the Miracle Catch. Rashād also has the distinction of the longest play from scrimmage that didn't score a touchdown: 98 yards in a 1972 game against the Rams.
Rashād replaced the same receiver, John Gilliam
John Gilliam
John Rally Gilliam was an American football wide receiver.Gilliam was a receiver out of South Carolina State University, and was drafted in the second round by the expansion New Orleans Saints. He played his first two seasons in New Orleans, and then had stints with the St...
, in both St. Louis and Minnesota.
Broadcasting and television career
After his football career, he covered NFLNational Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
and NBA
National Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America. It consists of thirty franchised member clubs, of which twenty-nine are located in the United States and one in Canada...
televised contests as a studio anchor and game reporter for NBC
NBC Sports
NBC Sports is the sports division of the NBC television network. Formerly "a service of NBC News," it broadcasts a diverse array of programs, including the Olympic Games, the NFL, the NHL, MLS, Notre Dame football, the PGA Tour, the Triple Crown, and the French Open, among others...
and ABC
ESPN on ABC
ESPN on ABC is the brand used for sports programming on the ABC television network. Officially the broadcast network retains its own sports division; however, for all practical purposes, ABC's sports division has been merged with ESPN, a sports cable network majority-owned by ABC's parent, The...
, as well as hosting NBA Inside Stuff
NBA Inside Stuff
NBA Inside Stuff is a television program that now airs on NBA TV and previously aired on NBC for many years, then on ABC, featuring behind the scenes activities of NBA players. The program also includes features on fitness and fundamentals of basketball...
. He also has hosted the video-clip show Real TV
Real TV
Real TV is a reality television program that ran in syndication from September 9, 1996 to September 7, 2001. It aired footage of extraordinary events that were not usually covered in mainstream news. It was often played on Spike TV and the Fox Reality Channel.-The Idea:Real TV usually showed home...
in 2000, the reality show Celebrity Mole, the game show
Game show
A game show is a type of radio or television program in which members of the public, television personalities or celebrities, sometimes as part of a team, play a game which involves answering questions or solving puzzles usually for money and/or prizes...
Caesars Challenge
Caesars Challenge
Caesars Challenge is an American game show that aired on NBC from June 14, 1993 to January 14, 1994. Ahmad Rashad hosted the show and Dan Doherty, dressed as a gladiator, served as the show's assistant. Chad Brown and Zach Ruby also served as assistants early in the show. Steve Day announced the...
along with co-host Dan Doherty, and NBA Access with Ahmad Rashad
NBA Access with Ahmad Rashad
NBA Access with Ahmad Rashad is an American television program which airs on Saturday afternoons on ABC. The program details the behind-the-scenes activities of NBA players, coaches and officials, and serves as a replacement for NBA Inside Stuff...
on the ABC network. He starred in an episode of Monsters
Monsters (TV series)
Monsters is a syndicated horror anthology series which originally ran from 1988 to 1991 and reran on the Sci-Fi Channel during the 1990s. As of 2011, Monsters airs on NBC Universal's horror/suspense-themed cable channel Chiller in sporadic weekday marathons.In a similar vein to Tales from the...
. Rashād has also guest starred on several TV shows, mainly ones that starred his then wife Phylicia. He used to interview long-time friend Michael Jordan
Michael Jordan
Michael Jeffrey Jordan is a former American professional basketball player, active entrepreneur, and majority owner of the Charlotte Bobcats...
frequently while he was at NBC. Rashad worked on the NFL on NBC with O.J. Simpson.
Personal life
Rashād has been married four times and divorced three. In 1969, he married his first wife Deidre Waters. They had a daughter, Keva, born in 1970. In addition he has a son, Sean, born out of wedlock also in 1970. In 1976, he married his second wife, Matilda Johnson. They had two children, daughter Maiyisha (born in 1986) and son Ahmad Jr. (born in 1978). They divorced in 1979.In 1985, Rashād married Cosby Show
The Cosby Show
The Cosby Show is an American television situation comedy starring Bill Cosby, which aired for eight seasons on NBC from September 20, 1984 until April 30, 1992...
actress Phylicia Ayers-Allen
Phylicia Rashad
Phylicia Rashād is an American Tony Award winning actress and singer, best known for her role as Clair Huxtable on the long-running NBC sitcom The Cosby Show....
, to whom he proposed on national television during the pregame show of NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
's broadcast of the Thanksgiving Day
Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving Day is a holiday celebrated primarily in the United States and Canada. Thanksgiving is celebrated each year on the second Monday of October in Canada and on the fourth Thursday of November in the United States. In Canada, Thanksgiving falls on the same day as Columbus Day in the...
football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
game between the Detroit Lions
1985 Detroit Lions season
The 1985 Detroit Lions season was their 56th in the National Football League. The team improved upon their previous season's output of 4–11–1, winning seven games. Despite the improvement, the team missed the playoffs for the second straight year.-Schedule:...
and the New York Jets
1985 New York Jets season
The 1985 New York Jets season was the 26th season for the team and the 16th in the National Football League. It began with the team trying to improve upon its 7–9 record from 1984 under head coach Joe Walton. Among quarterbacks, Ken O'Brien had the lowest rate of interceptions. He had 8...
. It was a third marriage for both. Unlike many actresses, she adopted his surname shortly after the wedding, and uses the name "Phylicia Rashād" professionally to this day. Out of this marriage, he gained a stepson Billy Bowles (born 1973). After a year of marriage, Ahmad and Phylicia had a daughter, Condola Phylea Rashād (named after his mother). After nearly sixteen years of marriage, Ahmad and Phylicia divorced in 2001.
In 2007, Rashād wed his fourth wife, Sale Johnson, the ex-wife of Johnson & Johnson
Johnson & Johnson
Johnson & Johnson is an American multinational pharmaceutical, medical devices and consumer packaged goods manufacturer founded in 1886. Its common stock is a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the company is listed among the Fortune 500....
billionaire and New York Jets
New York Jets
The New York Jets are a professional football team headquartered in Florham Park, New Jersey, representing the New York metropolitan area. The team is a member of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
owner Woody Johnson. He has gained three stepdaughters from this marriage.
- Casey JohnsonCasey JohnsonSale Trotter Case "Casey" Johnson was an American heiress, socialite and celebutante, as well as an occasional actress, model and author. She was one of the great-great-granddaughters of Robert Wood Johnson I .-Early life:Johnson was born in Florida...
(1979–2010) - Jamie Johnson (b. 1982)
- Daisy Johnson (b. 1987)
External links
- Ahmad Rashad, Executive Producer, NBA Inside Stuff
- College Football Hall of Fame - 2007 - Ahmad Rashad - (Bobby Moore)
- 1972 NFL Draft - from the Pro Football Hall of Fame
- TV acres.com - 1985 marriage
- NFL Stats - Career NFL Statistics