When the NFL stars make headlines: Christy Mack in her own words
The NFL is one of the most successful professional sports leagues in the world.
In its 30-year history, the league has won more than 1,500 championships and more than 3,500 playoff games.
While the league also has a rich history of superstars, there is one star that has always been a star in the league: Christy “Big Christy” Mack.
Christy Mack was born on October 10, 1955 in Nashville, Tennessee, to Joyce and William Mack.
She played on the women’s football team at Vanderbilt University and at Alabama before signing with the Los Angeles Rams in 1982.
The Rams drafted her first overall pick in 1983 and she played in every game that year, earning a Pro Bowl spot in 1985 and becoming the first player in NFL history to record 300 career tackles.
In 1985, she was named MVP of the All-American Bowl, but the Rams ultimately lost to the Seattle Seahawks in the playoffs.
In 1986, she left the Rams and went to college at the University of Tennessee.
At Tennessee, she started her career as the starting fullback for the Volunteers, before moving to the offensive line, where she would later serve as the offensive coordinator.
She was named first-team All-America in 1987, and again in 1988, when she was honored with the prestigious Pro Football Hall of Fame.
After Tennessee, Mack became a full-time star in professional football.
She had two Super Bowl rings with the Rams, one as a fullback and the other as an offensive lineman.
The first one came in 1987 against the Minnesota Vikings.
She also was a finalist for the Pro Bowl in 1992.
While in Nashville in 1992, Mack was the only Tennessee player to record at least 100 tackles in a season.
She won the Pro Football Writers Association of America (PFWA) Most Valuable Player award that year.
Mack also played a key role in the development of quarterback Peyton Manning.
After spending two seasons in Indianapolis, Manning decided to return to Tennessee to play for her hometown team, the Titans.
In 1996, she signed a five-year contract extension with the Titans, and they named her the team’s first-ever women’s quarterback.
She became the first Tennessee player ever to lead the team to a Super Bowl win.
Mack’s tenure in Tennessee included an unprecedented nine seasons as the team captain.
She led the Titans to four consecutive winning seasons, the first team since the 1970s and the first time in franchise history.
In 2000, she retired as the Titans’ all-time leading rusher with 1,839 yards.
She retired as Tennessee’s all-Time leading passer, the longest active single-season rushing record in the NFL.
In 2015, Mack won the NFL’s Walter Payton Man of the Year Award.