Ex-Pahokee High and Saints great Rickey Jackson, a Hall of Fame finalist, went from hurting people on field to helping them off it
BY JOSEPH GOODMAN
jgoodman@MiamiHerald.com
Standard issue football pants in the NFL come with pockets sewn inside the legs. That’s where the pads go. That’s where Rickey Jackson stuffed sponges.
Jackson played in the NFL for 15 years. He didn’t wear sponges the whole time. That would be crazy. No, usually, Jackson didn’t wear anything. The sponges just came in handy when he needed to trick the NFL in order to avoid a fine.
Ricky Jackson
“Pads — I wasn’t about all that,” Jackson said. “The only time I wore pads was when the NFL made me.”
What were you about, Rickey?
“Hurting people,” Jackson said.
A career outside linebacker, Jackson played for the New Orleans Saints for 13 years and for the San Francisco 49ers for two. He hurt a lot of people, earned six Pro Bowl selections and finished his career with 128 sacks. He’s a member of The Miami Herald’s Champions Club by way of Super Bowl XXIX, when San Francisco beat San Diego 49-26 at Joe Robbie Stadium on Jan. 29, 1995.
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