Christian Okoye
Christian Okoye was born in Enugu, Enugu State, Nigeria on August 16th, 1961 and is the Football Player. At the age of 62, Christian Okoye biography, profession, age, height, weight, eye color, hair color, build, measurements, education, career, dating/affair, family, news updates, and networth are available.
At 62 years old, Christian Okoye has this physical status:
Christian Emeka Okoye (born August 16, 1961), is a Nigerian-American former American football fullback for the Kansas City Chiefs from 1987 to 1992.
Nicknamed the "Nigerian Nightmare," Okoye was known for his powerful running style and ability to break tackles.
Okoye's six seasons in the NFL saw a league rushing title in 1989, two Pro Bowl appearances (1989, 1991), and three playoff appearances.
He ended his NFL career due to multiple injuries.
Personal life
As a child in Nigeria, Okoye became good friends with Olympian Innocent Egbunike. When Innocent began attending Azusa, he recommended Okoye on discus ability, to track and field coaches who offered Okoye a scholarship.
Okoye married his college sweetheart Lauren Brown in 1990, and divorced in 1996. They had two children together, Michael Emeka Okoye born July 12, 1990, who died shortly after birth due to neonatal asphyxia, and Tiana Chinwe Okoye born August 26, 1991.
Okoye has given his “blessing” to former UFC Champion Kamaru Usman to use Okoye's trademarked name “The Nigerian Nightmare”.
College career
Okoye, a member of the Igbo ethnic group, was born in Enugu, Nigeria. He came to the United States at the age of 21 but didn't play American football until age 23, when he joined the Azusa Pacific University in California. He excelled in track and field, winning seven college titles in the shot put, discus, and hammer throw. He thought the game was boring for the first time when he played in an American football match.
Since the Nigerian government delayed Okoye for the Olympics, he began looking elsewhere and headed out for American football. He didn't like the roughness of football and considered quitting, but friends convinced him to keep playing. His speed (4.45 seconds in the 40-yard dash) was rare for someone his size (6'1" and 260 lbs), and the Kansas City Chiefs selected him in the second round of the 1987 NFL Draft.
Professional career
Okoye rushed for 660 yards on 157 attempts in his rookie year. He played in nine games this year after a thumb injury, and he ended the season with 473 yards.
Okoye had his best NFL season by far in 1989, leading the league in both rushing attempts (370) and rushing yards (1,480), making him the first Chiefs player to lead the NFL in rushing. Despite the fact that the Chiefs did not qualify for the playoffs, Okoye was named by UPI as the American Football Conference's Offensive Player of the Year and received an invite to the Pro Bowl in Hawaii by UPI.
In 1990, the remainder of Okoye's career was marked by a nagging knee injury, which restricted him to 805 yards and a 3.3 yard average per carry. Despite his 1991 appearance (1,031 yards and 4.6 yards per carry) earning him his second Pro Bowl appearance, his 1992 attempts were mostly restricted to goal-line situations. An 8-yard touchdown was his last game as a professional football running back.
The Chiefs placed him on injured reserve on August 25, 1993, right before the regular season because of knee injuries. He underwent knee surgery on both knees and was released as a result of an injury settlement in September. He returned to California to begin rehabilitating his knee. He wanted to work out for other teams before retiring. He's claimed that he ended his NFL career because he was sick of workouts and that football was a sport.
In his six seasons, Okoye retired as the Chiefs' all-time rush leader, with 4,897 yards, 1,246 attempts, and 14 games with at least 100 yards rushing. Priest Holmes has since surpassed those team records. He has scored 40 touchdowns in his career as a member of the Chiefs, only Holmes and Marcus Allen. Larry Johnson surpassed his Chiefs' records for carrying a game and rushing attempts in a season. In 1989, Okoye was the team MVP, and he was inducted into the Chiefs Hall of Fame in 2000.
Okoye is well-known in video games for his appearance in Tecmo Super Bowl (1991), in which he's nearly impossible to beat.
Post-NFL career
Okoye was a Golden Baseball League investor and owner of Okoye Health and Fitness, a company that sells nutritional supplements. On the FX Network's Celebrity Boxing special, he appeared as a boxer. He founded the California Sports Hall of Fame, which is president.
On the second episode of his slow speed in the Expedition, he was voted out by his shipmates, earning no gold. In its third season, he appeared on Pros vs. Joes.
The Christian Okoye Foundation is a sponsor of the Ontario Mills 5K and 10K run, benefiting local after-school athletic programs in the Inland Empire.