NFL · Draftees

Keith Gary

1981 · Round 1 · Pick 17 · DE · Pittsburgh Steelers

Keith Gary was born in Bethesda, Maryland, and played at Chantilly High School in Virginia. He started his college career at Ferrum College before transferring to Oklahoma, where he was second-team All-Big Eight in 1980. Pittsburgh drafted him in the first round, 17th overall, in 1981, but he didn't sign and played two seasons in Montreal first. He then played six seasons for the Steelers (1983–1988) and finished with 25 sacks. He is best known for a 1983 facemask penalty in which he wrenched Bengals quarterback Ken Anderson down by the facemask, causing a severe neck sprain. Bengals general manager Paul Brown called it as vicious a play as he had ever seen. Note: public sources on him are thin, so this bio is short. Pro Football Reference has a player page for him (linked below), but its stats weren't pulled for this bio. The Oklahoman wrote on November 4, 1981: "Being an import from a junior college (Cowley County, Kan.), Singletary is reminiscent of Keith Gary, who did such a good job at defensive tackle for the Sooners in 1979 and '80."

Sources

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keith_Gary | https://grokipedia.com/page/Keith_Gary | https://soonersports.com/sports/2019/8/13/208798496 | https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/G/GaryKe20.htm | The Oklahoman, 1981-11-04, "K-State defender worrying Sooners" (via NewsBank The Oklahoman)

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