Whatever happened to Ickey Woods?

[korme]

I mean, I could probably ask someone around here but I would like these wise football thoughts. The man goes from 15 touchdowns, 1000 yards, and a Superbowl to next to nothing and out of football by the age of 26. He dazzled with the Ickey Shuffle and he was gone only years later.



+--------------------------+-------------------------+
| Rushing | Receiving |
+----------+-----+--------------------------+-------------------------+
| Year TM | G | Att Yards Y/A TD | Rec Yards Y/R TD |
+----------+-----+--------------------------+-------------------------+
| 1988 (http://www.pro-football-reference.com/years/1988.htm) cin (http://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/cin1988.htm) | 16 | 203 1066 5.3 15 | 21 199 9.5 0 |
| 1989 (http://www.pro-football-reference.com/years/1989.htm) cin (http://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/cin1989.htm) | 2 | 29 94 3.2 2 | 0 0 0.0 0 |
| 1990 (http://www.pro-football-reference.com/years/1990.htm) cin (http://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/cin1990.htm) | 10 | 64 268 4.2 6 | 20 162 8.1 0 |
| 1991 (http://www.pro-football-reference.com/years/1991.htm) cin (http://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/cin1991.htm) | 9 | 36 97 2.7 4 | 6 36 6.0 0 |
+----------+-----+--------------------------+-------------------------+
| TOTAL | 37 | 332 1525 4.6 27 | 47 397 8.4 0 |
+----------+-----+--------------------------+-------------------------+

So, was it injury, or what?

[LastWhiteSoxFanStanding]

He was never the same after his much publicized affair with Dean Houston.

[The_herd]

Blew out his knee. Now he's an insurance salesman.

[MrIllini]

no WAY Ickey gets in the HoF...no WAY ;)

[MacroGuru]

Boom!

http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/1998/Jan-24-Sat-1998/sports/6831078.html

[Chappy]

I heard at one point he was selling seafood door to door. That was shortly after he left the NFL though. As strange as it seems, I think it's true......

[JeeberD]

I thought it was steaks, not seafood. But I certainly could be wrong...

[Glengoyne]

I ran into him at a youth football camp a couple of years ago. He didn't exactly seem to be "living the life". I honestly felt bad for him. I don't think he got much of an initial contract, and didn't last long enough for his on field performances to pay off. Selling sea food seems a more likely scenario than insurance. He wasn't exactly polished when I talked with him.

[BigJohn&TheLions]

He had a fairly typical FOF career...

[TroyF]

Icky is now a professional football owner. Womens football. . .


EDIT: Forgot the link, it's a reg site: http://www.daytondailynews.com/sports/content/sports/daily/0625sizzle.html


CINCINNATI | With a touchdown dance known as the "Ickey Shuffle," he wowed Bengals' fans as an NFL rookie phenom in 1988, helping Cincinnati reach the Super Bowl.

Nowadays, Ickey Woods is trying to work more magic as owner, general manager and head coach of the Cincinnati Sizzle women's professional football team.

Woods and wife Chandra — a tight end and defensive tackle — will introduce full-contact women's football to Tri-State fans when they lead the Sizzle against the Kentucky Karma in a National Women's Football Association exhibition game Saturday at 7 p.m. at LaSalle High School.

The Sizzle and Karma are NWFA expansion franchises that begin regular-season league play in April 2005, so Saturday's game will serve as more than just a curiosity, but a barometer of what to expect next year.

"The gals are very determined to make this work," Woods said. "They've worked hard, three to four days a week, getting themselves ready to play. We'll put it on the field and see what happens.

"They'll show fans a real good game. We've got a lot of ladies who can actually play the game of football. With what we've been teaching them since November, they've learned a lot. Now it's time to go out and execute, and see how well they can get it done."

Woods, who turns 39 on Feb. 28, 2005, is a personal trainer at Schwartz Laboratories in Cincinnati. He's held a variety of jobs since his Bengals career (1988-91) was cut short by three knee operations, from selling high-quality meat to selling low-cost attorney services. So how did he land as a women's football coach?

"I was coaching my son's youth team when my wife heard about the women's football league and said she was going to try out," Woods said. "I told her if she tries out and they need coaches, that I would help coach. I was just being sarcastic, really.

"Then she came back and said, 'Hon-ee, guess what? They need a coach.' I said, 'Aagghh.' Then she said, 'Well, you told me you would coach. You promised me.' So I said OK. I'm happy I did it. We've got a lot of great ladies out there, and we're having a lot of fun."

The NWFA, a fourth-year league headquartered in Madison, Tenn., bills itself as the largest full-contact football league in the world for women.

The 2004 World Championship Game is scheduled for July 31 at the Papa John's Cardinal Stadium in Louisville.

Woods said his biggest challenge is fund-raising. He said the club needs an additional $25,000 for equipment, travel, salaries and other expenses. But the money can wait because there's a game to play.

"I'm like (Oakland Raiders owner) Al Davis," Woods said. "Just win, baby. I tell 'em: 'Just go out and give it your all.' As long as they're giving me 110 percent and playing hard, I can live with that.

"I told the ladies when we first started that we're not going to lose a game in the fourth quarter because we're fatigued. If we lose a game, it's because we played a better team."

Woods doesn't have to teach any of his players the "Ickey Shuffle." They already know it.

"I talked to the officials, and there's no infraction for celebrating in our league, so the girls can pretty much have some fun with it," he said.

[Vince]

So how did he land as a women's football coach?

"I was coaching my son's youth team when my wife heard about the women's football league and said she was going to try out," Woods said. "I told her if she tries out and they need coaches, that I would help coach. I was just being sarcastic, really.

"Then she came back and said, 'Hon-ee, guess what? They need a coach.' I said, 'Aagghh.'
That's awesome :)

[samifan24]

I remember watching the Ickey shuffle when I was very young. Ickey was the reason I liked the Bengals- ok well Ickey and those awesome helmets. As an avid autograph collector, Ickey is one guy I'd really like to add to my collection but he has proven quite elusive and tough to track down.

[Schmidty]

He's held a variety of jobs since his Bengals career (1988-91) was cut short by three knee operations, from selling high-quality meat to selling low-cost attorney services. So how did he land as a women's football coach?

In other words, he was a uptown pimp and a downtown ambulance chaser. Sounds to me like he's perfect for women's football.

[Rizon]

I thought he sold Icky Dogs inside the stadium.

[Sun Tzu]

Two words.

Ronnie Lott.

[Senator]

IW is the poster boy for all those athletes who spend more time refining and thinking about the post TD dance number than game prep. And after Billy White Shoes Johnson, all others pale in comparison.

[korme]

I did like Merton Hanks little dance he did. But he was defense and didn't display it much since scoring a TD is a little more difficult.

[Senator]

I did like Merton Hanks little dance he did. But he was defense and didn't display it much since scoring a TD is a little more difficult.

But didn't he do it with as simple a thing as a change of possession?

[Rich1033]

I like dancing. I say we get rid of kickers and make guys dance for an extra point. :D

[JeeberD]

I did like Merton Hanks little dance he did. But he was defense and didn't display it much since scoring a TD is a little more difficult.

He did the Pigeon. Burt was his idol... ;)

[B & B]

Did anyone else refer to Merton Hanks as "The Neck"?

[Sun Tzu]

Did anyone else refer to Merton Hanks as "The Neck"?


OH, uh...no.

[scooper]

Poor Ickey. It was a blown out knee, then the door to door meat thing. At one point, he was installing flooring, now he's doing the personal training gig. Ickey sparked this town in a short time like very few athletes ever have. We've had long time love affairs with players like Pete Rose, Johnny Bench, Boomer Esiason, etc., but never has an athlete burned so bright for such a short time here. He's still a bit of a folk hero here and is recognized wherever he goes. People still love him. One of the stories from last season was Ickey leading a group of Bengals fans in the stands in Pittsburg in a rendition of the Ickey Shuffle after Kitna threw the winning TD. The fact that he wasn't bitter over his misfortune and stuck around and remained a Bengals fan probably helps endear him to fans today.

[Ksyrup]

Reminds me of Barry Foster...

+--------------------------+-------------------------+
| Rushing | Receiving |
+----------+-----+--------------------------+-------------------------+
| Year TM | G | Att Yards Y/A TD | Rec Yards Y/R TD |
+----------+-----+--------------------------+-------------------------+
| 1990 (http://www.pro-football-reference.com/years/1990.htm) pit (http://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/pit1990.htm) | 16 | 36 203 5.6 1 | 1 2 2.0 0 |
| 1991 (http://www.pro-football-reference.com/years/1991.htm) pit (http://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/pit1991.htm) | 10 | 96 488 5.1 1 | 9 117 13.0 1 |
| 1992 (http://www.pro-football-reference.com/years/1992.htm) pit (http://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/pit1992.htm) | 16 | 390 1690 4.3 11 | 36 344 9.6 0 |
| 1993 (http://www.pro-football-reference.com/years/1993.htm) pit (http://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/pit1993.htm) | 9 | 177 711 4.0 8 | 27 217 8.0 1 |
| 1994 (http://www.pro-football-reference.com/years/1994.htm) pit (http://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/pit1994.htm) | 11 | 216 851 3.9 5 | 20 124 6.2 0 |
+----------+-----+--------------------------+-------------------------+
| TOTAL | 62 | 915 3943 4.3 26 | 93 804 8.6 2 |
+----------+-----+--------------------------+-------------------------+


From incredible to cut by an expansion team in 3 years. What happened to him? Even in his worst years, he had a yards per rush average that Eddie George would kill for.

Last I heard, he was coaching in NFL Europe.

[Karlifornia]

I had lunch with Merton Hanks during the season when the Niners had Jim Druckenmiller at QB for a few games. He didn't like Druckenmiller, and openly said the offense was at fault for the bad start to the season.

[The Afoci]

Ickey Woods gave up his good genes to Tiger so black people could golf.

[Noble_Platypus]

Can you imagine opening the door and seeing Icky shuffling back and forth saying I got hamburgers....I got hot dogs....I got sirloins...."
Creepy

[judicial clerk]

Wasn't there a "Whatever happened to ..." thread for pro football players a while back? Speaking of which, whatever happened to Barry Word or that good running back for the Lions in the early 80's, his name escapes me.

Foster had a pretty nice year in 92.

[Tom E]

What happen to a lot of guy's in the mid 80's to early 90's, was being part of the explosion of cocaine abuse...

[Router Help]

that good running back for the Lions in the early 80's, his name escapes me.
.

Billy Sims

Great start to a career, bad knees ended it prematurely.