Webster Melvin Slaughter (born October 19, 1964) is a former American football

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...

 who played 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...

 from 1986 to 1998.

Slaughter was born in Stockton, California

Stockton, California

Stockton, California, the seat of San Joaquin County, is the fourth-largest city in the Central Valley of the U.S. state of California. With a population of 291,707 at the 2010 census, Stockton ranks as this state's 13th largest city...

, where he attended Franklin High School

Franklin High School (Stockton, California)

Benjamin Franklin Senior High School is located at 300 N. Gertrude Ave. in Stockton, California. Their school mascot is the yellow jacket. They are one of the many schools that has the I.B...

. Upon graduating, he attended San Joaquin Delta College

San Joaquin Delta College

San Joaquin Delta College is a community college in Stockton, California. It is the successor of the Stockton Junior College which was formed in 1935.Part of Disney's 1973 film The World's Greatest Athlete was shot here.-Description:...

 and San Diego State University

San Diego State University

San Diego State University , founded in 1897 as San Diego Normal School, is the largest and oldest higher education facility in the greater San Diego area , and is part of the California State University system...

 prior to his professional football career. Cleveland Browns

Cleveland Browns

The Cleveland Browns are a professional football team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are currently members of the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...

 general manager Ernie Accorsi

Ernie Accorsi

Ernie Accorsi is the former General Manager of the NFL's New York Giants football team. Accorsi had held the position from January 8, 1998, when he took over for the legendary George Young until his retirement on January 16, 2007...

 drafted

NFL Draft

The National Football League Draft is an annual event in which the National Football League teams select eligible college football players and it is their most common source of player recruitment. The basic design of the draft is each team is given a position in the drafting order in reverse order...

 Slaughter in the 2nd round (43rd overall) of the 1986 NFL Draft

1986 NFL Draft

The 1986 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 29–30, 1986...

, based on the strong recommendation of the Browns' Hall of Fame receiver Paul Warfield

Paul Warfield

Paul Dryden Warfield is a former professional American football wide receiver in the 1960s and 1970s known for his speed, fluid moves, grace, jumping ability and hands.- Football career :...

, who was an unofficial scout for the team in 1986. During his 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...

 season he was listed at 6'0" and 175 lbs, and played in all sixteen games. As a Cleveland Brown, Slaughter would catch 305 passes and 27 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 in six seasons, earning the praise of Accorsi who stated "(He was) one of the best receivers the Browns ever had."

Webster continued his career with the Houston Oilers

Tennessee Titans

The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. They are members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Previously known as the Houston Oilers, the team began play in 1960 as a charter...

, the Kansas City Chiefs

Kansas City Chiefs

The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. They are a member of the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Originally named the Dallas Texans, the club was founded by Lamar Hunt in 1960 as a...

, the New York Jets

New York Jets

The New York Jets are a professional football team headquartered in Florham Park, New Jersey, representing the New York metropolitan area. The team is a member of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...

 and finally with the San Diego Chargers

San Diego Chargers

The San Diego Chargers are a professional American football team based in San Diego, California. they were members of the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...

. He was selected to the Pro Bowl

Pro Bowl

In professional American football, the Pro Bowl is the all-star game of the National Football League . Since the merger with the rival American Football League in 1970, it has been officially called the AFC–NFC Pro Bowl, matching the top players in the American Football Conference against those...

 in 1989 and 1993. In 1989, while playing with the Cleveland Browns, he averaged 19 yards per reception

Reception (American football)

In American football, a reception is part of a play in which a forward pass from behind the line of scrimmage is received by a player in bounds, who, after the catch, proceeds to either score a touchdown or be downed. Yards gained from the receiving play are credited to the player as receiving...

 and a season total of 1236 yards (a franchise record that would stand until Braylon Edwards

Braylon Edwards

-Cleveland Browns:-2005:Edwards began his rookie season as Cleveland's third wide receiver – he would have started higher, but a hold-out caused him to miss the beginning of training camp. Early in the season Edwards revealed that he had a staph infection, and missed a few weeks as a result of it....

broke it in 2007 with 1289 yards) and 6 touchdowns. Slaughter finished his career with 563 receptions for 8,111 yards and 44 touchdowns, along with 9 carries for 50 yards.

External links

• Pro-Football-Reference.com - career statistics