Otis Sistrunk
Encyclopedia
Otis Sistrunk is a former professional football
player who played seven seasons as a defensive lineman, from 1972 to 1978. He played his entire National Football League
(NFL) career with the Oakland Raiders
. Sistrunk later became a professional wrestler in the National Wrestling Alliance
(NWA). He is a distant cousin to former NFL player Manny Sistrunk
.
to the United States Marines. After leaving the military, the 21-year-old played two years of semi-pro football in West Allis, Wisconsin
before joining the Norfolk
Neptunes of the Continental Football League
in 1969.
Sistrunk played three years for the Neptunes (the last two in the semi-pro Atlantic Coast Football League after the CPFL folded); in 1971, a Los Angeles Rams
scout spotted Sistrunk and believed he could play in the NFL. During a team practice, he was observed by representatives of the Oakland Raiders
, who brought Sistrunk to their team in 1972.
Otis Sistrunk was inducted into the American Football Association's Semi Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1982
commentator and ex-NFL player Alex Karras
to suggest that the extraterrestrial-looking Sistrunk's alma mater was the "University of Mars."
Sistrunk was named to the Pro Bowl
in 1974
. In 1976, playing under coach John Madden
, Sistrunk was part of the Raiders team that won Super Bowl XI
against the Minnesota Vikings
. He retired after the 1978 season, finishing his career with seven fumbles recovered and three interceptions in 98 games played.
's "Babyface" (1977).
Sistrunk had a brief wrestling career in the National Wrestling Alliance
. Following the breakup of the Fabulous Freebirds
, Michael Hayes
was in need of a partner and teamed up with Sistrunk. Together, they defeated Jimmy Snuka
and Hayes' former tag team
partner Terry Gordy
to win the NWA National Tag Team Championship
on September 27, 1981. Sistrunk soon retired after deciding that he did not enjoy wrestling, however, and the title was vacated in late 1981.
After leaving football, Sistrunk spent two years as a beer
salesman. He was then approached about working with the Army
as a civilian employee. He spent twelve years working at Fort Benning
, Georgia
. Sistrunk now manages Cowan Memorial Stadium at Joint Base Lewis-McChord
, Washington and helps with athletic training programs.
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 who played seven seasons as a defensive lineman, from 1972 to 1978. He played his entire National Football League
National 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...
(NFL) career with the Oakland Raiders
Oakland Raiders
The Oakland Raiders are a professional American football team based in Oakland, California. They currently play in the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
. Sistrunk later became a professional wrestler in the National Wrestling Alliance
National Wrestling Alliance
The National Wrestling Alliance is a wrestling promotion company and sanctions various NWA championships in the United States. The NWA has been in operation since 1948...
(NWA). He is a distant cousin to former NFL player Manny Sistrunk
Manny Sistrunk
Manuel Sistrunk is a former American football defensive lineman who played ten seasons in the National Football League. He played college football for Arkansas AM&N and was drafted in the fifth round of the 1970 NFL Draft.He is a distant cousin to former NFL player Otis Sistrunk....
.
Football career
Sistrunk was one of the few NFL players of his day to not play college football, going directly from William H. Spencer High School in Columbus, GeorgiaColumbus, Georgia
Columbus is a city in and the county seat of Muscogee County, Georgia, United States, with which it is consolidated. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 189,885. It is the principal city of the Columbus, Georgia metropolitan area, which, in 2009, had an estimated population of 292,795...
to the United States Marines. After leaving the military, the 21-year-old played two years of semi-pro football in West Allis, Wisconsin
West Allis, Wisconsin
West Allis is a city in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, United States. It is part of the Milwaukee metropolitan area. The population was 61,254 at the 2000 census. Its name derives from Edward P. Allis, who started the Allis-Chalmers Manufacturing Company in the 19th century. The site of the town was...
before joining the Norfolk
Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. With a population of 242,803 as of the 2010 Census, it is Virginia's second-largest city behind neighboring Virginia Beach....
Neptunes of the Continental Football League
Continental Football League
The Continental Football League was a professional minor American football league that operated in North America from 1965 through 1969. It was established following the collapse of the original United Football League, and hoped to become the major force in professional football outside of the...
in 1969.
Sistrunk played three years for the Neptunes (the last two in the semi-pro Atlantic Coast Football League after the CPFL folded); in 1971, a Los Angeles Rams
St. Louis Rams
The St. Louis Rams are a professional American football team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are currently members of the West Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Rams have won three NFL Championships .The Rams began playing in 1936 in Cleveland,...
scout spotted Sistrunk and believed he could play in the NFL. During a team practice, he was observed by representatives of the Oakland Raiders
Oakland Raiders
The Oakland Raiders are a professional American football team based in Oakland, California. They currently play in the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
, who brought Sistrunk to their team in 1972.
Otis Sistrunk was inducted into the American Football Association's Semi Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1982
"University of Mars"
During a Monday Night Football telecast, a television camera beamed a sideline shot of the 6'5", 265-pound Sistrunk's steaming bald head to the nation. That, along with his lack of a college education resulting in the team program listing Sistrunk's academic background as "U.S. Mars" (short for U.S. Marines), prompted ABCAmerican Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
commentator and ex-NFL player Alex Karras
Alex Karras
Alexander George "Alex" Karras , nicknamed "The Mad Duck", is a former football player, professional wrestler, and actor, best known for his stint with the Detroit Lions of the National Football League from 1958–1962 and 1964-1970 and for his role as Mongo in the film Blazing Saddles...
to suggest that the extraterrestrial-looking Sistrunk's alma mater was the "University of Mars."
Sistrunk was named to the 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...
in 1974
1974 NFL season
The 1974 NFL season was the 55th regular season of the National Football League. The season ended with Super Bowl IX when the Pittsburgh Steelers defeated the Minnesota Vikings...
. In 1976, playing under coach John Madden
John Madden (American football)
John Earl Madden is a former American professional football player in the National Football League, a former Super Bowl-winning head coach with the Oakland Raiders in the American Football League and later the NFL, and a former color commentator for NFL telecasts. In 2006, he was inducted into...
, Sistrunk was part of the Raiders team that won Super Bowl XI
Super Bowl XI
Super Bowl XI was a football game played on January 9, 1977 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California to decide the National Football League champion following the 1976 regular season...
against 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...
. He retired after the 1978 season, finishing his career with seven fumbles recovered and three interceptions in 98 games played.
Beyond football
He also had a brief movie career, appearing in Car Wash (1976) and as a police officer in Alex de RenzyAlex de Renzy
Alexander de Renzy was an American director and producer of pornographic movies.Born in Brooklyn, New York, Alex de Renzy served in the United States Air Force, serving as a Survival Instructor. Back in the United States, he began making documentary films in San Francisco...
's "Babyface" (1977).
Sistrunk had a brief wrestling career in the National Wrestling Alliance
National Wrestling Alliance
The National Wrestling Alliance is a wrestling promotion company and sanctions various NWA championships in the United States. The NWA has been in operation since 1948...
. Following the breakup of the Fabulous Freebirds
Fabulous Freebirds
The Fabulous Freebirds were a professional wrestling tag team that attained fame in the 1980s, performing into the 1990s. The team usually consisted of three wrestlers, although in different situations and points in its history, just two performed under the Freebirds name.-History:The Fabulous...
, Michael Hayes
Michael Hayes (wrestler)
Michael Seitz is a retired American professional wrestler and former musician. Seitz is best known for leading The Fabulous Freebirds under the ring name Michael "P.S." Hayes and for his role as the announcer Dok Hendrix in the World Wrestling Federation...
was in need of a partner and teamed up with Sistrunk. Together, they defeated Jimmy Snuka
Jimmy Snuka
James William "Jimmy" Reiher is a semi-retired Fijian professional wrestler and actor, better known by his ring name Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka. Originally from the Fiji Islands, Snuka wrestled for several promotions in the 1970s and 1980s. Snuka is a two-time world heavyweight champion, having been a...
and Hayes' former tag team
Tag team
Tag team professional wrestling is a variation in which matches are contested between teams of multiple wrestlers. A tag team may comprise two wrestlers who normally wrestle in singles competition, but more commonly are made of established teams who wrestle regularly as a unit and have a team name...
partner Terry Gordy
Terry Gordy
Terry Ray 'Bam Bam' Gordy, Sr. was a professional wrestler who was best known in North America for being a member of the Fabulous Freebirds.-Career:...
to win the NWA National Tag Team Championship
NWA National Tag Team Championship
The NWA National Tag Team Championship was the major tag team title in the NWA-affiliated Georgia Championship Wrestling from 1980 until 1986.The championship was introduced in November 1980 when Georgia Tag Team Champions the Fabulous Freebirds won a tournament to determine the first champions,...
on September 27, 1981. Sistrunk soon retired after deciding that he did not enjoy wrestling, however, and the title was vacated in late 1981.
After leaving football, Sistrunk spent two years as a beer
Beer
Beer is the world's most widely consumed andprobably oldest alcoholic beverage; it is the third most popular drink overall, after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of sugars, mainly derived from malted cereal grains, most commonly malted barley and malted wheat...
salesman. He was then approached about working with the Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
as a civilian employee. He spent twelve years working at Fort Benning
Fort Benning
Fort Benning is a United States Army post located southeast of the city of Columbus in Muscogee and Chattahoochee counties in Georgia and Russell County, Alabama...
, Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
. Sistrunk now manages Cowan Memorial Stadium at Joint Base Lewis-McChord
Joint Base Lewis-McChord
Joint Base Lewis-McChord is a United States military facility located south-southwest of Tacoma, Washington. The facility is under the jurisdiction of the United States Army Joint Base Garrison, Joint Base Lewis-McChord....
, Washington and helps with athletic training programs.
Championships and accomplishments
- Georgia Championship WrestlingGeorgia Championship WrestlingGeorgia Championship Wrestling was a professional wrestling promotion whose self-titled TV program aired in the 1970s and 1980s on Atlanta, U.S., superstation WTBS. Though based in Atlanta, the company also ran live wrestling shows throughout its geographic "territory" of Georgia Georgia...
- NWA National Tag Team ChampionshipNWA National Tag Team ChampionshipThe NWA National Tag Team Championship was the major tag team title in the NWA-affiliated Georgia Championship Wrestling from 1980 until 1986.The championship was introduced in November 1980 when Georgia Tag Team Champions the Fabulous Freebirds won a tournament to determine the first champions,...
(1 time) - with Michael HayesMichael Hayes (wrestler)Michael Seitz is a retired American professional wrestler and former musician. Seitz is best known for leading The Fabulous Freebirds under the ring name Michael "P.S." Hayes and for his role as the announcer Dok Hendrix in the World Wrestling Federation...