Elvis Patterson

Elvis Vernell "Toast" Patterson (born October 21, 1960) is a former American football defensive back who played in the National Football League for the New York Giants, San Diego Chargers, Los Angeles Raiders and Dallas Cowboys. He played college football at the University of Kansas.

Elvis Patterson
No. 34, 43
Position:Cornerback / Safety
Personal information
Born: (1960-10-21) October 21, 1960
Bryan, Texas
Height:5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Weight:193 lb (88 kg)
Career information
High school:Yates (Houston, Texas)
College:Kansas
Undrafted:1984
Career history
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics
Games played:151
Player stats at NFL.com
Player stats at PFR

Early years

Patterson attended Jack Yates High School. He accepted a football scholarship from the University of Kansas, where he began his career as a linebacker. As a senior, he was initially moved to defensive end, before being switched to cornerback.[1][2]

Professional career

New York Giants

He was selected by the Jacksonville Bulls in the tenth round (210th overall) of the 1984 USFL Draft.[3] He instead chose to sign as an undrafted free agent with the New York Giants on May 17, 1984. As a rookie, he played mainly on special teams.

In 1985, he was named the starter at left cornerback.

In 1986, he helped the team win Super Bowl XXI.[4]

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

On April 2, 1990, he signed as a Plan B free agent with the Los Angeles Raiders. 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]

On October 13, 1993, he was traded along with a seventh round pick (#216-Toddrick McIntosh) to the Dallas Cowboys, in exchange for a fifth round (#159-Roosevelt Patterson) and a seventh round draft choice (#217-Rob Holmberg).[11]

Dallas Cowboys

In 1993, he played mainly on special teams, registering 13 special teams tackles (fourth on the team) and was a part of the Super Bowl XXVIII Championship team.[12] He wasn't re-signed after the season.

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 2010, Elvis established a sporting events company, where he is CEO/Commissioner and head coach. His Assistant Head Coach/Co-Commissioner.

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References
  1. "Jayhawk's defense is a disaster area". Retrieved February 19, 2018.
  2. Brian Dunleavy; Stu Hackel; Allen St. John (October 20, 1998). "The Ghost of Toast". The Village Voice. Retrieved November 17, 2018.
  3. "Four ex-Jayhawks plan to join Express". Retrieved February 19, 2018.
  4. "Transactions". The New York Times. May 18, 1984. Retrieved February 19, 2018.
  5. "Patterson Is Dropped". The New York Times. September 16, 1987. Retrieved February 19, 2018.
  6. Litsky, Frank (September 17, 1987). "Patterson Conduct Seen as Factor". The New York Times. Retrieved February 19, 2018.
  7. Plaschke, Bill (October 19, 1987). "Chargers Stun Raiders; Take Division Lead". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 19, 2018.
  8. Holbreich, Curt (February 3, 1990). "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. Retrieved February 19, 2018.
  9. Baker, Chris (October 17, 1991). "He Goes From Toast to Ghost, but Patterson Still Feels Special". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 19, 2018.
  10. Baker, Chris (November 25, 1991). "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. Retrieved February 19, 2018.
  11. "SPORTS PEOPLE: FOOTBALL; Raiders Deal Patterson". The New York Times. October 14, 1993.
  12. "Both sides seek special delivery". Retrieved February 19, 2018.
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