Deron Leigh Cherry (born September 12, 1959) is an American former professional football player who was a free safety for the Kansas City Chiefs in the National Football League (NFL) from 1981 to 1991. Cherry was a free safety and punter at Rutgers University, intercepting a total of 9 passes over his three seasons, which he returned for 126 yards and two touchdowns. In 1979, he was named the team's MVP. In 1979 and 1980, Cherry earned AP All-East honors. In 1981, he was signed by the Kansas City Chiefs as a free agent but was released in the final teams cuts. Cherry rejoined the club as a safety, and made his first career interception against the Oakland Raiders.
Regarded as one of the best free safeties to have ever played the game, he was a six-time Pro Bowl selection from 1983 to 1988, starting in five of them in his 11 years with the Chiefs. Few other Chiefs players have been selected to this number of Pro Bowls. He had six 100 tackle seasons in his 11 years as a member of the Chiefs, with a career total of 927 tackles. He was a 5-time All-Pro in 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, and 1988. He was also a five-time 1st team All-AFC and two time 2nd team All-AFC selection. Cherry's 15 career fumble recoveries place him in a three-way tie for the Chiefs record. He ranks third on the Chiefs list of most interceptions, and is only the 26th player in the history of the NFL to reach the 50 interception plateau. In 1987, he was selected to the Chiefs 25 year All-Time Team.
He is actively involved in several civic organizations, including Special Olympics, Muscular Dystrophy Association, Project Warmth, Score 1 for Health, Camp Quality USA, and the United Negro College Fund.[citation needed] For the past 25 years, Cherry has hosted his Celebrity Invitational.[citation needed] This tournament has raised over $3 million to support the children of the Kansas City area. Cherry is a frequent guest speaker at civic, charitable, and corporate events throughout the country.
In 1995, Cherry became a limited ownership partner in one of the NFL's then-new expansion teams, the Jacksonville Jaguars. This made him the first minority owner of an NFL franchise in the league's history. Cherry is also a managing general partner with United Beverage, a local Anheuser-Busch distributor.
^"PFRA Hall of Very Good Class of 2019". Retrieved September 14, 2019.
March 03, 2023
deron, cherry, this, biography, living, person, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, adding, reliable, sources, contentious, material, about, living, persons, that, unsourced, poorly, sourced, must, removed, immediately, especially, potent. This biography of a living person needs additional citations for verification Please help by adding reliable sources Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately especially if potentially libelous or harmful Find sources Deron Cherry news newspapers books scholar JSTOR August 2007 Learn how and when to remove this template message Deron Leigh Cherry born September 12 1959 is an American former professional football player who was a free safety for the Kansas City Chiefs in the National Football League NFL from 1981 to 1991 Cherry was a free safety and punter at Rutgers University intercepting a total of 9 passes over his three seasons which he returned for 126 yards and two touchdowns In 1979 he was named the team s MVP In 1979 and 1980 Cherry earned AP All East honors In 1981 he was signed by the Kansas City Chiefs as a free agent but was released in the final teams cuts Cherry rejoined the club as a safety and made his first career interception against the Oakland Raiders Deron CherryCherry in 2014No 20Position Free safetyPersonal informationBorn 1959 09 12 September 12 1959 age 63 Riverside New Jersey U S Height 5 ft 11 in 1 80 m Weight 203 lb 92 kg Career informationHigh school Palmyra NJ College RutgersUndrafted 1981Career historyKansas City Chiefs 1981 1991 Career highlights and awards3 First team All Pro 1984 1986 1988 2 Second team All Pro 1983 1985 6 Pro Bowl 1983 1988 Whizzer White NFL Man of the Year Award 1988 NFL 1980s All Decade Team Kansas City Chiefs Hall of FameNFL recordMost passes intercepted in a single game 4 tied Career NFL statisticsTotal tackles 927Sacks 3 5Interceptions 50Fumble recoveries 15Touchdowns 1Player stats at NFL comCherry played high school football at Palmyra High School in Palmyra New Jersey 1 Regarded as one of the best free safeties to have ever played the game he was a six time Pro Bowl selection from 1983 to 1988 starting in five of them in his 11 years with the Chiefs Few other Chiefs players have been selected to this number of Pro Bowls He had six 100 tackle seasons in his 11 years as a member of the Chiefs with a career total of 927 tackles He was a 5 time All Pro in 1983 1984 1985 1986 and 1988 He was also a five time 1st team All AFC and two time 2nd team All AFC selection Cherry s 15 career fumble recoveries place him in a three way tie for the Chiefs record He ranks third on the Chiefs list of most interceptions and is only the 26th player in the history of the NFL to reach the 50 interception plateau In 1987 he was selected to the Chiefs 25 year All Time Team In 1987 he won the Byron Whizzer White NFL Man of the Year Award 2 Prior to receiving this award he was the Chiefs NFL Man of the Year selection in 1987 This is the most prestigious award given by the NFL Players Association 3 He is actively involved in several civic organizations including Special Olympics Muscular Dystrophy Association Project Warmth Score 1 for Health Camp Quality USA and the United Negro College Fund citation needed For the past 25 years Cherry has hosted his Celebrity Invitational citation needed This tournament has raised over 3 million to support the children of the Kansas City area Cherry is a frequent guest speaker at civic charitable and corporate events throughout the country In 1995 Cherry became a limited ownership partner in one of the NFL s then new expansion teams the Jacksonville Jaguars This made him the first minority owner of an NFL franchise in the league s history Cherry is also a managing general partner with United Beverage a local Anheuser Busch distributor In 2019 the Professional Football Researchers Association named Cherry to the PFRA Hall of Very Good Class of 2019 4 References Edit Deron Cherry Archived 2007 09 30 at the Wayback Machine Database Football Accessed January 24 2008 Byron Whizzer White Award Archived from the original on 2012 08 31 Retrieved 2012 10 13 NFL Man of the Year NFL com PFRA Hall of Very Good Class of 2019 Retrieved September 14 2019 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Deron Cherry amp oldid 1130200053, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
