Ricky Proehl
Encyclopedia
Richard Scott Proehl is a former American football
wide receiver
in the National Football League
. Proehl played 17 seasons with the Phoenix/Arizona Cardinals
, Seattle Seahawks
, Chicago Bears
, St. Louis Rams
, Carolina Panthers
, and Indianapolis Colts
. He played in four Super Bowl
s and won two: Super Bowl XXXIV
with the Rams and Super Bowl XLI
with the Colts.
Proehl is currently an offensive coaching consultant for the Carolina Panthers.
in Hillsborough, New Jersey
, where he starred in both football and baseball. During his senior season in football, he caught 42 passes for 900+ yards and 13 touchdowns. For his efforts that year, he was named a New York
All-Metro selection, the Somerset County
Player of the Year, and an All-State pick.
at Wake Forest University
, where he was a four-year letterman in football. He holds the school record for receiving yards (2,949 yards), and touchdown
s (25), as well as ranking in the top five in receptions and receiving average. He ended his college years playing in the Blue-Gray Football Classic
and the East-West All-Star Game.
. He set the Cardinal rookie
record for receptions and became the first rookie to lead the team in receptions since Bob Shaw
in 1950. He played four more seasons for the Cardinals before being traded to Seattle for a draft pick. He spent two seasons with the Seahawks, signed with Chicago for one year, and ended up with the Rams for the start of the 1998 NFL season
. As part of "The Greatest Show on Turf
," he helped lead the Rams to a championship in the 1999 season at Super Bowl XXXIV
. He spent three more seasons with St. Louis before signing with Carolina as a free agent
at the start of the 2003 season
. He was talked out of retirement
for a 16th season by Panther quarterback
Jake Delhomme
and coach John Fox
. Proehl retired and worked as a color analyst with the Rams' television pre-season games and the Rams radio network on various shows and pre-games. On November 29, 2006, Proehl came out of retirement to join the Indianapolis Colts
, replacing injured WR Brandon Stokley
.
. The couple has three children: one daughter named Alex, and two sons named Austin and Blake.
He owns, manages, and coaches at Proehlific Park, a world-class sports performance complex and fitness center he built in Greensboro, North Carolina.
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
wide receiver
Wide receiver
A wide receiver is an offensive position in American and Canadian football, and is the key player in most of the passing plays. Only players in the backfield or the ends on the line are eligible to catch a forward pass. The two players who begin play at the ends of the offensive line are eligible...
in the National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
. Proehl played 17 seasons with the Phoenix/Arizona Cardinals
Arizona Cardinals
The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in Glendale, Arizona, a suburb of Phoenix. They are currently members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
, Seattle Seahawks
Seattle Seahawks
The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle, Washington. They are currently members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team joined the NFL in 1976 as an expansion team...
, Chicago Bears
Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
, St. Louis Rams
St. Louis Rams
The St. Louis Rams are a professional American football team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are currently members of the West Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Rams have won three NFL Championships .The Rams began playing in 1936 in Cleveland,...
, Carolina Panthers
Carolina Panthers
The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. They are currently members of the South Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Panthers, along with the Jacksonville Jaguars, joined the NFL as expansion...
, and Indianapolis Colts
Indianapolis Colts
The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. They are currently members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League ....
. He played in four Super Bowl
Super Bowl
The Super Bowl is the championship game of the National Football League , the highest level of professional American football in the United States, culminating a season that begins in the late summer of the previous calendar year. The Super Bowl uses Roman numerals to identify each game, rather...
s and won two: Super Bowl XXXIV
Super Bowl XXXIV
Super Bowl XXXIV featured the National Football Conference champion St. Louis Rams and the American Football Conference champion Tennessee Titans in an American football game to decide the National Football League champion for the 1999 regular season...
with the Rams and Super Bowl XLI
Super Bowl XLI
Super Bowl XLI was an American football game that featured the American Football Conference champion Indianapolis Colts and the National Football Conference champion Chicago Bears to decide the National Football League champion for the 2006 season...
with the Colts.
Proehl is currently an offensive coaching consultant for the Carolina Panthers.
High school career
Proehl attended Hillsborough High SchoolHillsborough High School (New Jersey)
Hillsborough High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school that serves students from Hillsborough Township in Somerset County, New Jersey, United States, operating as part of the Hillsborough Township School District...
in Hillsborough, New Jersey
Hillsborough Township, New Jersey
Hillsborough Township is a Township in Somerset County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township population was 38,303....
, where he starred in both football and baseball. During his senior season in football, he caught 42 passes for 900+ yards and 13 touchdowns. For his efforts that year, he was named a New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
All-Metro selection, the Somerset County
Somerset County, New Jersey
Somerset County is a county located in the U.S. state of New Jersey. In 2010, the population was 323,444. It is part of the New York Metropolitan Area. Its county seat is Somerville....
Player of the Year, and an All-State pick.
College career
Proehl played college footballCollege football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
at Wake Forest University
Wake Forest University
Wake Forest University is a private, coeducational university in the U.S. state of North Carolina, founded in 1834. The university received its name from its original location in Wake Forest, north of Raleigh, North Carolina, the state capital. The Reynolda Campus, the university's main campus, is...
, where he was a four-year letterman in football. He holds the school record for receiving yards (2,949 yards), and touchdown
Touchdown
A touchdown is a means of scoring in American and Canadian football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone.-Description:...
s (25), as well as ranking in the top five in receptions and receiving average. He ended his college years playing in the Blue-Gray Football Classic
Blue-Gray Football Classic
The Blue–Gray Football Classic was an annual American college football all-star game held in Alabama usually on Christmas Day. It was begun in 1939 and held annually through 2001 at the Cramton Bowl in Montgomery, Alabama. The game was not contested in 2002 and was subsequently revived in 2003 in...
and the East-West All-Star Game.
Professional career
Proehl was taken in the third round (58th overall) of the 1990 NFL Draft1990 NFL Draft
The 1990 NFL Draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 22–23, 1990...
. He set the Cardinal rookie
Rookie
Rookie is a term for a person who is in his or her first year of play of their sport or has little or no professional experience. The term also has the more general meaning of anyone new to a profession, training or activity Rookie is a term for a person who is in his or her first year of play of...
record for receptions and became the first rookie to lead the team in receptions since Bob Shaw
Bob Shaw (football player)
Robert Shaw was an American football tight end in the National Football League.His parents were the late Fred and Lucy Shaw. Mr. Shaw's athletic skill was evident as early as high school, when he lettered three times each in football, basketball and track at Fremont Ross High School...
in 1950. He played four more seasons for the Cardinals before being traded to Seattle for a draft pick. He spent two seasons with the Seahawks, signed with Chicago for one year, and ended up with the Rams for the start of the 1998 NFL season
1998 NFL season
The 1998 NFL season was the 79th regular season of the National Football League.The Tennessee Oilers moved their home games from Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium in Memphis to Vanderbilt Stadium in Nashville, still awaiting construction on a new stadium in Nashville.This was the first season that CBS...
. As part of "The Greatest Show on Turf
The Greatest Show on Turf
"The Greatest Show on Turf" was the nickname for the St. Louis Rams' considerably talented and famous record-breaking offense during the 1999, 2000, and 2001 National Football League seasons. The offense was designed by attack oriented offensive coordinator Mike Martz who advocated an unrelenting...
," he helped lead the Rams to a championship in the 1999 season at Super Bowl XXXIV
Super Bowl XXXIV
Super Bowl XXXIV featured the National Football Conference champion St. Louis Rams and the American Football Conference champion Tennessee Titans in an American football game to decide the National Football League champion for the 1999 regular season...
. He spent three more seasons with St. Louis before signing with Carolina as a free agent
Free agent
In professional sports, a free agent is a player whose contract with a team has expired and who is thus eligible to sign with another club or franchise....
at the start of the 2003 season
2003 NFL season
-Milestones:The following teams and players set all-time NFL records during the season:-Team:-Individual:-Awards:-External Links:**-References:*NFL Record and Fact Book *...
. He was talked out of retirement
Retirement
Retirement is the point where a person stops employment completely. A person may also semi-retire by reducing work hours.Many people choose to retire when they are eligible for private or public pension benefits, although some are forced to retire when physical conditions don't allow the person to...
for a 16th season by Panther quarterback
Quarterback
Quarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line...
Jake Delhomme
Jake Delhomme
Jake Christopher Delhomme is an American football quarterback for the Houston Texans of the National Football League. Delhomme played college football at Louisiana-Lafayette before being signed by the New Orleans Saints as an undrafted free agent in 1997...
and coach John Fox
John Fox (NFL)
John Fox is an American football coach who is currently head coach of the Denver Broncos of the National Football League....
. Proehl retired and worked as a color analyst with the Rams' television pre-season games and the Rams radio network on various shows and pre-games. On November 29, 2006, Proehl came out of retirement to join the Indianapolis Colts
Indianapolis Colts
The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. They are currently members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League ....
, replacing injured WR Brandon Stokley
Brandon Stokley
Brandon Stokley is an American football wide receiver who is currently a free agent. He was drafted by the Baltimore Ravens in the fourth round of the 1999 NFL Draft...
.
Coaching
Proehl was hired by the Carolina Panthers on February 1, 2011 as a Offensive Consultant. He was hired to primarily work with the wide receivers.Achievements
Proehl is known for his role in three memorable playoff games:- As a Ram in the 1999 NFC Championship Game against the Tampa Bay BuccaneersTampa Bay BuccaneersThe Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football franchise based in Tampa, Florida, U.S. They are currently members of the Southern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League – they are the only team in the division not to come from the old NFC West...
, Proehl recorded six receptions for 100 yards and caught the game-winning touchdown pass with 4:44 to play. The Rams won 11-6 and went on to win the Super Bowl. - Two years later, in Super Bowl XXXVISuper Bowl XXXVISuper Bowl XXXVI was an American football game played on February 3, 2002 at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana to decide the National Football League champion following the 2001 regular season. The American Football Conference champion New England Patriots won their first Super...
against the New England PatriotsNew England PatriotsThe New England Patriots, commonly called the "Pats", are a professional football team based in the Greater Boston area, playing their home games in the town of Foxborough, Massachusetts at Gillette Stadium. The team is part of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National...
, with the Rams trailing 17-10, Proehl caught a touchdown pass with 1:30 to play to tie the game, but the Patriots won on a last-second field goal by Adam VinatieriAdam VinatieriAdam Matthew Vinatieri is an American football placekicker currently playing for the Indianapolis Colts. He has played in six Super Bowls, four with the New England Patriots and two with the Colts, winning four. Vinatieri won a Super Bowl in 2006 with Indianapolis and won Super Bowls in 2001,...
, 20-17. - Two years after that, in Super Bowl XXXVIIISuper Bowl XXXVIIISuper Bowl XXXVIII was an American football game played on February 1, 2004 at Reliant Stadium in Houston, Texas to decide the National Football League champion following the 2003 regular season....
against New England, this time as a member of the Panthers, Proehl again caught a touchdown pass with 1:08 remaining in the fourth quarter to tie the game. However, the Patriots won the game on another last-second field goal by Vinatieri, 32-29. - Proehl and Vinatieri became teammates in Indianapolis and were part of the Colts team that won Super Bowl XLISuper Bowl XLISuper Bowl XLI was an American football game that featured the American Football Conference champion Indianapolis Colts and the National Football Conference champion Chicago Bears to decide the National Football League champion for the 2006 season...
.
Super Bowl statistics
- Super Bowl XXXIVSuper Bowl XXXIVSuper Bowl XXXIV featured the National Football Conference champion St. Louis Rams and the American Football Conference champion Tennessee Titans in an American football game to decide the National Football League champion for the 1999 regular season...
: 1 reception, 11 yards - St. Louis 23, Tennessee 16 - Super Bowl XXXVISuper Bowl XXXVISuper Bowl XXXVI was an American football game played on February 3, 2002 at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana to decide the National Football League champion following the 2001 regular season. The American Football Conference champion New England Patriots won their first Super...
: 3 receptions, 71 yards, 1 TD - New England 20, St. Louis 17 - Super Bowl XXXVIIISuper Bowl XXXVIIISuper Bowl XXXVIII was an American football game played on February 1, 2004 at Reliant Stadium in Houston, Texas to decide the National Football League champion following the 2003 regular season....
: 4 receptions, 71 yards, 1 TD - New England 32, Carolina 29 - Proehl did not catch a pass in Super Bowl XLISuper Bowl XLISuper Bowl XLI was an American football game that featured the American Football Conference champion Indianapolis Colts and the National Football Conference champion Chicago Bears to decide the National Football League champion for the 2006 season...
.
Stats
| Year | Team | Rec. | Yds | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | Phoenix Cardinals | 56 | 802 | 4 |
| 1991 | Phoenix Cardinals | 55 | 766 | 2 |
| 1992 | Phoenix Cardinals | 60 | 744 | 3 |
| 1993 | Phoenix Cardinals | 65 | 877 | 7 |
| 1994 | Arizona Cardinals | 51 | 651 | 5 |
| 1995 | Seattle Seahawks | 5 | 29 | 0 |
| 1996 | Seattle Seahawks | 23 | 309 | 2 |
| 1997 | Chicago Bears | 58 | 753 | 7 |
| 1998 | St. Louis Rams | 60 | 771 | 3 |
| 1999 | St. Louis Rams | 33 | 349 | 0 |
| 2000 | St. Louis Rams | 31 | 441 | 4 |
| 2001 | St. Louis Rams | 40 | 563 | 5 |
| 2002 | St. Louis Rams | 43 | 466 | 4 |
| 2003 | Carolina Panthers | 27 | 389 | 4 |
| 2004 | Carolina Panthers | 34 | 497 | 0 |
| 2005 | Carolina Panthers | 25 | 441 | 4 |
| 2006 | Indianapolis Colts | 3 | 31 | 0 |
| 669 | 8878 | 54 |
Personal life
Proehl and his wife, Kelly, live in Greensboro, North CarolinaNorth Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
. The couple has three children: one daughter named Alex, and two sons named Austin and Blake.
He owns, manages, and coaches at Proehlific Park, a world-class sports performance complex and fitness center he built in Greensboro, North Carolina.