ATLANTA – Former University of Missouri tight end Kellen Winslow was selected to the East-West Shrine Bowl All-Century Team, the organization announced on Tuesday.
The honor comes as the organization is celebrating the upcoming 100th edition of the oldest college football all-star game in the nation. Winslow joins a distinguished roster that features legendary players such as Tom Brady, Paul Hornung, Walter Payton, Roger Staubach, Lawrence Taylor, and Doak Walker.
A native of East St. Louis, Illinois, Winslow redefined the tight end position at the collegiate and professional levels during his playing career. At MU, he caught 71 passes for 1,089 yards and 10 touchdowns from 1976-78, earning All-Big Eight Conference honors in 1977 and 1978, and consensus All-America status as a senior. He went on to play in the East-West Shrine and Senior Bowls.
Along with having his number 83 Tigers jersey retired, Winslow was inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame in 1994 and the College Football Hall of Fame in 2002.
He was a first-round pick by the San Diego Chargers in the NFL Draft and caught more passes than any tight end in league history from 1979-88. He made five Pro Bowls, was named first-team All-Pro three times, led the NFL in receptions in 1980 and 1981 and was a member of the NFL’s all-decade team of the 1980s, the NFL’s 75th anniversary all-time team, the NFL’s 100th anniversary all-time team and the San Diego Chargers Hall of Fame. In addition, he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1995.
In a 1981–82 playoff game against the Miami Dolphins that became known as ‘The Epic in Miami’, Winslow caught a playoff-record 13 passes for 166 yards and a touchdown, while also blocking a field goal with seconds remaining to send the game to overtime in one of the greatest single player efforts in NFL history. Winslow’s yardage total stood as the playoff record for tight ends for 30 years. What made Winslow’s performance all the more memorable was the fact that during the game he was treated for a pinched nerve in his shoulder, dehydration, severe cramps, and received three stitches in his lower lip. After the game, a picture of Winslow being helped off the field by his teammates became an enduring image in NFL lore.
In his pro career, he caught 541 passes for 6,741 yards and 45 touchdowns. He spent a short time as color commentator on the Tiger Network radio team, then went on to work in athletic administration as athletics director at Central State University (Ohio) from 2008-12, vice president for athletics and wellness at Lakeland College from 2012-13 and as athletic director at Florida A&M University in 2014.
Since 1925, the East-West Shrine Bowl has benefited Shriners Children’s and its mission to provide advanced care for children with orthopedic conditions, burns, spinal cord injuries, and cleft lip and palate, regardless of the families’ ability to pay or insurance status.
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