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Mark May

 

Career Highlights

• Outland Trophy 1980
• First Round pick (20th overall) by Washington in 1981
• Two-time Super Bowl Champion
• Three Super Bowl appearances
• Selected to the Pro Bowl in 1988
• First center in NFL history to snap to three different Super Bowl winning quarterbacks

Awards

• Unanimous all American 1980
• Redskins Ring Of Fame
• Named to Redskins 90 Greatest Team
• Pittsburgh Panthers No. 73 Retired
• College Football Hall of Fame (2005)
• National Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame (2008)

Mark May’s Tales

Mark May played for the Washington Redskins, the San Diego Chargers, and the Phoenix Cardinals during his career in the NFL. He was born on November 2, 1959, in Oneonta, New York, and attended college at the University of Pittsburgh.

May was a standout player at Pittsburgh and was a two-time All-American. He is the only Pitt player to ever win the prestigious Outland Trophy. He is also one of only eight Pitt players to have their jersey retired. it was there that he first earned his nickname of May Day due to the distress that he caused opposing defensive ends.

He did not allow as single sack in his junior or senior season. (Dan Marino was the quarterback)

He was selected in the first round of the 1981 NFL Draft by the Washington Redskins, where he spent the first ten seasons of his professional career.

Despite starring offensive tackle at Pitt, a glut of offensive line talent in Washington forced May to move inside to Guard. He quickly adjusted and started in half of the games in his rookie season.

May immediately became one of the most important members of the Redskins’ offensive line. He and his fellow “Hogs” were widely considered to be one of, if not the best offensive line in NFL history. The group helped lead the Redskins to three Super Bowl appearances and two Super Bowl victories during May’s tenure with the team.

May could essentially play anywhere. When George Starke retired in 1984, he moved to right tackle. When Jim Lachey came to the Redskins in 1988, Joe Jacoby moved to right tackle, and May moved back to right guard. He was selected to the Pro Bowl that year after allowing just one sack. Talk about versatility! He was also the only Redskins offensive lineman to start every game that season.

“First Joe Jacoby went out and I went from right tackle to left tackle. Then Joe came back and i went back to right tackle. Then Russ (Grimm) got hurt and Ken huff went to left guard and I went to right guard and George Starke came back in at right tackle.” – Mark May

 

After leaving the Redskins in 1990, May spent two seasons with the San Diego Chargers.

He then finished his career with the Phoenix Cardinals in 1993 – where he was re-united with Joe Bugel.

May played in 159 career NFL games – starting 141 of them. He started 115 games for the Redskins. He also made 14 playoff appearances for the Redskins.

 

Life After Football

Since retiring from football, May has worked as a television analyst, providing commentary on college football and the NFL for ESPN and other networks. He has also been involved in several philanthropic endeavors, including working with the Starkey Hearing Foundation to provide hearing aids to people in need around the world.

May’s contributions to the game of football and his work off the field have earned him numerous accolades throughout his career. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2005 and the National Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame in 2008.

He wrote a book entitled Mark May’s Tales From the Washington Redskins in 2005 with close friend Dan O’Brien.

He also co-wrote a cookbook in 1983 called Mark May’s Hogs Cookbook. It featured such classics as Hog Balls and Aunt Jeanette’s Sweet Potato Pie.

In 2019, a man named Marcel Behnert tried to sell May’s stolen Super Bowl rings to Gold and Silver Pawn in Las Vegas – the show featured in Pawn Stars.

 

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