University of Missouri Athletics

A native of East St. Louis, Illinois, Kellen Winslow redefined the tight end position at the collegiate and professional levels during his playing career. At MU, he caught 71 passes for 1,089 yards and 10 touchdowns from 1976-78, earning all-Big Eight Conference honors in 1977 and `78, and consensus all-America status as a senior. He went on to play in the East-West Shrine and Senior Bowls. His number 83 at Missouri is retired. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2002 and the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame in 1994. He was a first-round pick by the San Diego Chargers in the NFL Draft and caught more passes than any tight end in league history from 1979-88. He made five Pro Bowls, was named first-team all-Pro three times, led the NFL in receptions in 1980 and ’81 and was a member of the NFL’s all-decade team of the 1980s, the NFL’s 75^th anniversary all-time team, the NFL’s 100^th anniversary all-time team and the San Diego Chargers Hall of Fame. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1995. In a 1981–82 playoff game against the Miami Dolphins that became known as The Epic in Miami, Winslow caught a playoff-record 13 passes for 166 yards and a touchdown, while also blocking a field goal with seconds remaining to send the game to overtime in one of the greatest single player efforts in NFL history. Winslow’s yardage total stood as the playoff record for tight ends for 30 years. What made Winslow’s performance all the more memorable was the fact that during the game he was treated for a pinched nerve in his shoulder, dehydration, severe cramps, and received three stitches in his lower lip. After the game, a picture of Winslow being helped off the field by his teammates became an enduring image in NFL lore. In his pro career, he caught 541 passes for 6,741 yards and 45 touchdowns. He spent a short time as color commentator on the Tiger Network radio team, then went on to work in athletic administration as athletics director at Central State (Ohio) from 2008-2012, vice president for athletics and wellness at Lakeland College from 2012-13 and as athletic director at Florida A&M in 2014.