Elvis Patterson

Elvis Patterson
No. 34, 43
Position: Cornerback
Safety
Personal information
Date of birth: (1960-10-21) October 21, 1960
Place of birth: Bryan, Texas
Height: 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Weight: 193 lb (88 kg)
Career information
High school: Jack Yates (TX)
College: Kansas
Undrafted: 1984
Career history
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics
Games played: 151
Player stats at NFL.com
Player stats at PFR

Elvis Vernell "Toast"[1] Patterson (born October 21, 1960 in Bryan, Texas) is a former American football defensive back who played ten seasons in the National Football League, mainly for the New York Giants. He played in Super Bowl XXI for the Giants. He then played for the San Diego Chargers, Los Angeles Raiders and Dallas Cowboys. He retired after playing in Super Bowl XXVIII as a part of the Cowboys' winning team.

Early years

Patterson accepted a scholarship from the University of Kansas, where he played cornerback until his senior season, when he was moved to defensive end and later switched back to cornerback.[2]

Professional career

New York Giants

He was selected in the tenth round of the 1984 USFL Collegiate Draft by the Jacksonville Bulls.[3] He was signed as an undrafted free agent in 1984 by the New York Giants.[4] He helped the team win Super Bowl XXI.

Patterson's nickname of "Toast" is a rather unflattering one that was given to him by Bill Parcells during his days as a Giant; the name comes from his knack for allowing wide receivers to make big plays while he was covering them. He was surprisingly waived on September 15, 1987, after a Monday Night Football performance against the Chicago Bears where he had to leave the game in two occasions with leg cramps and his coverage was badly beaten by Willie Gault (it was later claimed that the night before he was out partying).[5][6]

San Diego Chargers

After the players went on a strike on the third week of the 1987 season, those games were canceled (reducing the 16 game season to 15) and the NFL decided that the games would be played with replacement players. Patterson was signed to be a part of the San Diego Chargers replacement team. He ended up playing well as the left cornerback starter,[7] and was kept for the rest of the year, recording 8 additional starts. After three inconsistent seasons, he was left unprotected in Plan B free agency in 1990.[8]

Los Angeles Raiders

In 1990, he signed as a Plan B free agent with the Los Angeles Raiders. Although he was waived on September 3 and later re-signed, he became a special teams standout and earned the nickname Ghost.[9] He was a special teams captain for three years.[10]

Dallas Cowboys

On October 13, 1993, he was traded from the Oakland Raiders to the Dallas Cowboys in exchange for a fifth round draft choice.[11] He played mainly on special teams and registered 13 special teams tackles (fourth on the team) and was a part of the Super Bowl XXVIII Championship team.[12]

Personal life

After his successful career as an NFL defensive back, he soon found success in coaching. In 2005 Patterson coached a middle school football team, the Lakewood Cougars, to a winning 5-2 season. In 2009 he was the head coach for Northeast H.S. (KCMO) Placing 1st in the division(5A)-Interscholastic League, Awarded Coach of the year by the Kansas City Chiefs Alumni (Kimble Anders) along with his Assistant Coaching staff. Head Coach-Elvis Patterson / Assist. Head Coach-Gregory Martin Jr. (Greg Martin). Elvis Patterson defense coordinator, Gregory Martin, Jr. offensive coordinator came together and these coaches gave Northeast their first All-American/ All-State player (Kawann Parrish) along with two candidates for All-American, and their first winning season in twenty years. Regular season (3-4), Districts (0-3) due to technicalities.

In late 2009, early 2010, Elvis established a sporting events company, where he is CEO/Commissioner and head coach. His Assistant Head Coach/Co-Commissioner, Gregory Martin Jr. is his star pupil,(born 4-30-78) Kansas City, Missouri. Elvis and Greg run football camps and provide training year round using fundamentals and demonstration to teach the youth.

References

  1. ↑ Brian Dunleavy; Stu Hackel; Allen St. John (1998-10-20). "The Ghost of Toast". The Village Voice. Retrieved 2010-11-17.
  2. ↑ https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2199&dat=19831103&id=kCUzAAAAIBAJ&sjid=XOgFAAAAIBAJ&pg=3316,571670&hl=en
  3. ↑ https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2199&dat=19840118&id=FqoyAAAAIBAJ&sjid=i-gFAAAAIBAJ&pg=3379,3010654&hl=en
  4. ↑ Moran, Malcolm (1987-01-11). "N.F.C. CHAMPIONSHIP: GIANTS vs. REDSKINS; Tradition, Pride and Now Glory: Secondary". The New York Times.
  5. ↑ "Patterson Is Dropped". The New York Times. 1987-09-16.
  6. ↑ Litsky, Frank (1987-09-17). "Patterson Conduct Seen as Factor". The New York Times.
  7. ↑ Plaschke, Bill (1987-10-19). "Chargers Stun Raiders; Take Division Lead". Los Angeles Times.
  8. ↑ Holbreich, Curt (1990-02-03). "Charger Careers Over for Three : Pro football: James FitzPatrick, Elvis Patterson and Jim Collins are among those left unprotected under Plan B free-agency, and Bobby Beathard says they won't be back". Los Angeles Times.
  9. ↑ Baker, Chris (1991-10-17). "He Goes From Toast to Ghost, but Patterson Still Feels Special". Los Angeles Times.
  10. ↑ Baker, Chris (1991-11-25). "This Elvis Alive and Well on Special Teams : Raiders: Patterson picks up blocked punt and scores and also has key block on Brown's punt return for touchdown". Los Angeles Times.
  11. ↑ "SPORTS PEOPLE: FOOTBALL; Raiders Deal Patterson". The New York Times. 1993-10-14.
  12. ↑ https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1298&dat=19940128&id=oOYyAAAAIBAJ&sjid=lwcGAAAAIBAJ&pg=3407,4703287&hl=en
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