Rufus Mayes

Rufus Lee Mayes (December 5, 1947 – January 9, 1990) was an

Mayes grew up in Toledo, Ohio, the son of Mr. and Mrs. Roosevelt Mayes, who also had three daughters.^[1] He attended Toledo Macomber High School in Toledo, where he led the team to the 1964 City League championship.

College career

Mayes attended

Following his senior season, Mayes was named Second-Team All-American by the Associated Press.^[3]

Professional career

Mayes was selected in the first round (14th overall) of the

In January 1970, he was traded by the Bears to the Cincinnati Bengals in return for defensive lineman Bill Staley and Harry Gunner.^[5] In 2004, the Chicago Tribune rated the trade of Mayes by the Bears to the Bengals the sixth-worst in Bears history.^[6]

Mayes' first season with the Bengals, 1970, was the Bengals' first in the NFL following the NFL/AFL merger. He proceeded to become a perennial starter at offensive left tackle for eight seasons with the Bengals. During his eight-year Bengals career, Mayes started 98 of the 110 games he played.

He played out his option and became a free agent. In June 1978, he signed with the Philadelphia Eagles,^[7] for whom he played his final NFL season. As a backup, he played in all 16 games.^[6][4]

Personal life

After football, Mayes was a marketing representative for Hewlett-Packard in Bellevue, Washington, and resided in Redmond, Washington, with his wife, Aishah, and son, Taysir.^[1]

In 1994, he was inducted into the Ohio State Men's Varsity "O" Hall of Fame^[2]

Rufus Mayes died on January 9, 1990, at age 42 of