Ron Jessie

Ron Ray Jessie (February 4, 1948 – January 13, 2006) was an American professional football player who played wide receiver in the National Football League for the Detroit Lions, Los Angeles Rams, and Buffalo Bills. He played college football for the Kansas Jayhawks.

Jessie attended Yuma High School, where he was a three-sport athlete, earning all-division honors in basketball and all-state recognition in both football and track and field. He initially enrolled at Arizona Western College before transferring to Imperial Valley College, where he played wide receiver and competed in track and field. He then received a scholarship from the University of Kansas, where he continued in both sports. Jessie was part of the school's national championship track team in 1969, winning the NCAA indoor long jump championship with a leap of 25 feet, 2.5 inches and earning All-American honors. In other meets he high jumped 6 feet, 6 inches and was timed at 13.8 seconds in the 110 metres hurdles.

In football at Kansas, he played running back in the same backfield as John Riggins and was also used as a split end. He finished his college career with 33 receptions for 644 yards, more than 1,500 total yards of offense, and 5 touchdowns. He went on to play wide receiver in the NFL for Detroit, Los Angeles, and Buffalo.