Deron Cherry was a long shot to play in the NFL.
Undrafted in 1981, he was invited by the Kansas City Chiefs to try out as a punter during training camp.
Cherry didn’t make the team, and by all accounts, that should have been it.
Undeterred, he called the Chiefs and asked for a second chance, this time as a defensive back.
In college, Cherry was a record-setting punter for Rutgers and also collected nine interceptions as a safety, so his request wasn’t far-fetched.
Given a second chance by Kansas City, Cherry made the team.
Deron Cherry #ChiefsKingdom pic.twitter.com/PiUjpa2U51
— Vintage KCChiefs (@Vintage_Chiefs) April 14, 2024
A slow start to his career eventually led to 50 interceptions, six Pro Bowls, and five All-Pro selections.
By the time he retired, Cherry had cemented himself as one of the best safeties in Chiefs, and the NFL’s, history.
This is the story of Deron Cherry.
A Son of Educators
Deron Leigh Cherry was born on September 12, 1959, in Riverside Township, New Jersey.
Happy Birthday Deron Cherry, signed as a free agent punter out of Rutgers and later moved to safety, 11 year Professional Career, 927 tackles, 50 interceptions, 6X Pro Bowl, 5X 1st Team All Pro, 80’s All Decade Team, Kansas City Chiefs Hall of Fame; 60 Today… pic.twitter.com/eTxEKAELWg
— Larry in Missouri (@LarryInMissouri) September 12, 2019
Both of his parents were teachers which meant that education in the Cherry family was a priority.
“Education was really stressed in my family,” Cherry said.
Academics wasn’t the only focus of Cherry’s life, however.
He began playing sports at an early age and found baseball and football to be his favorites.
“I played football from the time I was nine. I also played baseball,” he said.
When he reached Palmyra High School, Cherry gave equal effort in the classroom as well as the playing fields.
Each year he dominated the competition and led the Panthers on the gridiron and the diamond with stunning athleticism.
Deron Cherry, a #SouthJersey native who was a star football player at Palmyra High School, was inducted into the Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame during a virtual ceremony last month: https://t.co/lc1GJG6GAc
Click to read more about him! pic.twitter.com/NBzY9d69H8
— South Jersey Magazine (@SouthJerseyMag) December 13, 2020
During a playoff game against Gloucester, Cherry anticipated an option play from his safety position.
Just as the Gloucester quarterback was preparing to toss the ball, Cherry swooped in, ripped the ball from the QB’s hands, and ran the opposite direction for a 50-yard touchdown.
The play immediately made Cherry a legend and made the highlight reels of local newscasts.
Multi-Sport Athlete for Rutgers
As a local legend, Rutgers University coaches knew the importance of signing such a skilled player from their own backyard.
Head coach Frank Burns offered Cherry a scholarship and the youngster enthusiastically accepted.
Back then, Rutgers played as an independent, and Burns’s teams did rather well.
In 1976, the program went 11-0 and two years later won nine games before losing to Arizona State in the Garden State Bowl.
Rutgers came up short vs Michigan, but, Kansas City has a couple of famous Rutgers alumni who are tied to big games Sunday: Current @SportingKC Head Coach Peter Vermes – playoff game – and @Chiefs Hall of Fame safety Deron Cherry – Raiders Week. #SportingKC #ChiefsKingdom pic.twitter.com/u87rJEDkWI
— Brad Porter (@bradkporter) November 22, 2020
Cherry was a member of those fabled teams as he became the Scarlet Knights’ punter and played safety.
Not only did he excel on the gridiron, Cherry played baseball for the school as well.
His brother, Duane, played alongside him for both squads.
Cherry Gives Up His Scholarship
Shortly into his collegiate career, Cherry shocked his coaches when he announced he wanted to give up his scholarship.
His future goal did not include playing professional sports.
“I always wanted to be a dentist, so I majored in biology at Rutgers,” he said.
The influence of his parents led to Cherry’s goal of getting high marks in his classes so he could become a dentist.
He was so adamant about finishing his degree that he turned down an offer to play Major League Baseball.
“While I was still in college I was offered a chance to play with the Phillies but decided against it,” Cherry explained years later.
After giving up his scholarship, Cherry received financial aid and worked a night job.
During the summers, he was a counselor at a youth camp.
Despite putting in extra time working off the field, Cherry didn’t shirk in his responsibilities as an athlete.
See our list of the greatest Rutgers Scarlet Knight football players of all-time. #1 is Deron Cherry. https://t.co/pXaWqcSxjA#CollegeFootball #Rutgers #ScarletKnights pic.twitter.com/b6N40lomFP
— AinsworthSports.com (@AinsworthSports) October 27, 2019
As the Scarlet Knight’s punter, Cherry averaged 39.3 yards per punt and set several program records booting the pigskin.
He was no slouch in the secondary either.
From 1978-1980, Cherry hauled in nine total picks from his safety position and returned two for touchdowns.
The ‘79 team named Cherry their team MVP, receiving the program’s Homer Hazel Award as a result.
One season later, he was named a team captain as Rutgers went 7-4.
Cherry was named second-team All-East both years.
Cut From the Chiefs
Rutgers was sad to see Cherry leave in 1981.
He had been a valuable player for the team as well as a model student in the classroom and citizen in the community.
Although he aspired to be a dentist, Cherry wanted to give pro football a try first.
NFL teams didn’t see anything special in the former Scarlet Knights star and deemed him too slow to play safety at the top level.
As a result, every franchise passed on him in the 1981 NFL Draft.
Thankfully, one of Cherry’s former college coaches, Ted Cottrell, had joined the staff of the Kansas City Chiefs.
Cottrell talked his boss, head coach Marv Levy, into giving Cherry a chance to make the team as a punter.
Levy agreed, but Cherry couldn’t unseat veteran Bob Grupp and was released during final team cuts.
When he returned home, Cherry could have begun the rest of his life.
Deron Cherry #ChiefsKingdom pic.twitter.com/VVsARowj91
— Vintage KCChiefs (@Vintage_Chiefs) August 27, 2023
However, he was still convinced he could make it in the NFL and called Levy.
“I’ve played 4 years of safety at Rutgers,” Cherry told Levy. “Do you think I can get a shot there? I can play both safety positions and also punt, too. That’s 3 positions on a 45-man roster.”
Levy gave Cherry another shot and he eventually made the roster.
“We only had a 45-man roster then, and there were no practice squads,” he said. “Somebody got hurt and they signed me.”
He appeared in 13 games in 1981 and pulled in one interception as the Chiefs went 9-7.
“Had I not made that call, my life would have been a lot different,” Cherry said in 2020. “Never give up on yourself. That’s the moral of that story. You never know when you’re going to get an opportunity and you’ve got to take advantage of it.”
Cherry Comes into His Own
Making the team as an undrafted free agent was great, but Cherry knew he had to put into the effort to stay long-term.
“I worked with track men in the off-season and got my speed down into the 4.6’s,” said Cherry in 1987. “My bench press went from 250 to 335. My weight went from 185 to a solid 195.”
In 1982, he played in seven games while Kansas City went 3-6 in the strike-shortened season.
After the year, Levy was fired and replaced by John Mackovic.
Deron Cherry #Chiefs pic.twitter.com/EqVOp2eILj
— Old Time Football 🏈 (@Ol_TimeFootball) February 24, 2024
Cherry was still stuck as a backup when he caught a break in 1983.
“I was playing behind Gary Barbaro, a two-time All-Pro,” Cherry said. “The USFL was getting ready to launch, and Gary had an agent who was notorious for holding his clients out. Lamar Hunt didn’t want to deal with that. Gary went to the USFL.”
With Barbaro out of the way, Cherry took over and started every game that season.
While the Chiefs had trouble winning games from ‘83-1985, Cherry quickly became one of the best safeties in the NFL.
The former undrafted free agent who washed out as a punter was selected for the Pro Bowl all three years while bagging no less than seven interceptions each season including his only career pick-six in 1985.
Additionally, four of his interceptions in ‘85 came in one game against the Seattle Seahawks.
Deron Cherry was a BALLHAWK, especially when he got 4 INTs in one game 🏈@CocaCola | #ChiefsKingdom pic.twitter.com/X6OjQN57lS
— Kansas City Chiefs (@Chiefs) September 6, 2019
That equaled an NFL record for the most interceptions in one contest.
Talented Secondary
Finally, in 1986, Kansas City made the playoffs with a 10-6 record, although the team was bounced in the wild-card round by the New York Jets, 35-15.
The Chiefs boasted one of the more talented defensive backfields in football with Cherry, Lloyd Burress, Albert Lewis, and Kevin Ross.
“After our second year together, in 1985, we knew we had something special,” said Cherry. “We knew we could be a great unit. It’s an unspoken kind of thing, but we feel we could be as good as anyone who’s ever played the game.”
As the Chiefs were marching to the postseason for the first time since 1971, Cherry made opposing quarterbacks nervous.
Deron Cherry #ChiefsKingdom pic.twitter.com/tRMpYRsdPo
— Vintage KCChiefs (@Vintage_Chiefs) January 27, 2024
He snagged a career-high nine interceptions in 1986, was selected as a first-team All-Pro for the second time, and made his fourth consecutive Pro Bowl.
“We’re the patrol cops,” Lewis said, “and Deron’s our switchboard operator. Without him, we wouldn’t know where the crimes are.”
Schottenheimer Arrives
Coach Mackovic was gone after 1986 and replaced by Frank Gansz in 1987, who could only muster eight total wins in two seasons.
Cherry continued to play at an All-Pro level despite the constant losing.
He returned to the Pro Bowl in ‘87 and 1988 with a combined 10 picks and also received the NFL’s “Whizzer” White Award for his community contributions off the field.
Deron Cherry #ChiefsKingdom pic.twitter.com/PCAR4qxbJV
— Vintage KCChiefs (@Vintage_Chiefs) November 30, 2023
Along the way, he continued to amaze his coaches.
“Before the snap we’re asking him to look through the guard and tackle into the backfield triangle,” said defensive backfield coach Dave Brazil. “He has to see five players before the snap, and he can do that. If it’s a run, he has to call it instantly. If it’s a pass he has to see the quarterback and all five receivers. I’d never been around anyone who could see all five, but he can. In the past three years, there have been maybe 10 blown coverages exploited by the other team, but Deron reacted and covered them. He sees everything, every mistake.”
Thankfully, the fate of the franchise turned around almost instantly when former Cleveland Browns head coach Marty Schottenheimer arrived in 1989.
Joining Schottenheimer in KC was former Pittsburgh Steelers defensive coordinator Tony Dungy.
Deron Cherry #ChiefsKingdom pic.twitter.com/C7AIXKMMKT
— Vintage KCChiefs (@Vintage_Chiefs) January 4, 2024
Dungy became the Chiefs’ defensive backs coach and was a valuable sounding board for Cherry.
“Great coach, one of the best I ever had,” said Cherry. “He had a special ability to be able to put you in the right position and make you feel comfortable about what you were doing from a defensive standpoint.”
Kansas City didn’t make the playoffs that year, but the organization drafted Alabama linebacker Derrick Thomas in the first round of the ‘89 draft and the defense thrived.
In 1990, the Chiefs went to the playoffs with an 11-5 record before losing to Miami in the wild-card round.
Cherry was limited to only six starts, but still had three interceptions.
Cherry Retires
In 1991, Cherry was back on the field for every game and snagged four picks in 15 starts.
Kansas City went 10-6, beat the LA Raiders for the organization’s first postseason win since 1969, and then lost to Marv Levy and the Buffalo Bills in the divisional round.
Deron Cherry #ChiefsKingdom pic.twitter.com/c8pWQnqk5u
— Vintage KCChiefs (@Vintage_Chiefs) March 15, 2024
Not long after the contest, Cherry shocked teammates when he announced his retirement.
“You know deep inside that you can still play, that you’ve still got another year or two left in you,” Cherry said. “That decision went down to the wire. There are so many things that are much more important than the issue of money.”
Cherry then shared with the sports world that his decision ultimately came down to injuries that nagged him throughout the ‘91 season.
“I was numb the entire season when I went to tackle people,” he said. “I didn’t really have any feeling in three of my fingertips for the entire year. Reality starts to sink in — you’ve played 11 years and pretty much gone through with just one serious injury and you have some problems with your neck. You have the ability to make your own decision to leave the game or stay in the game.”
During his career, Cherry had 50 interceptions, one pick-six, 14 fumble recoveries, 3.5 sacks, and a boatload of tackles.
At the time, his interception total put him in the company of only 25 others who had 50 career picks.
He was a five-time All-Pro, six-time Pro Bowler, “Whizzer” White Man of the Year, and was later named to the NFL’s 1980s All-Decade Team and placed in the Chiefs’ Hall of Fame.
“I’m proud of what I accomplished in my career,” Cherry said. “I’m proud of the numbers I put up, all with the idea of trying to help my team win. I wanted to be the best at my position and always give 100 percent for my team.”
Second Career in Business
Since his retirement, Cherry has continued to stay active in charities and give back to his local communities by helping with such organizations as The Muscular Dystrophy Association, Special Olympics, and Project Warmth.
Thank you to Kansas City Chiefs Hall of Fame safety Deron Cherry and the Deron Cherry Foundation for your match gift to KCU's Score 1 for Health! We are thrilled to announce we have met the challenge! You can help us exceed the goal with a gift today at https://t.co/zJQoiqdZtA. pic.twitter.com/5NazsILp7C
— Kansas City University (@KansasCityU) February 16, 2022
Not long after leaving the NFL, Cherry bought a stake in an Anheuser-Busch beer distribution business in Kansas City.
“The experience of being an NFL player, I really treated like a business,” said Cherry. “Managing my income, appearances, negotiations. I learned a lot about business from that. I also had the opportunity to meet many business leaders who became great mentors to me.”
His success in the business world helped Cherry become a part owner of the expansion Jacksonville Jaguars in 1994 as one of the first African-American owners of an NFL franchise.
The team began play in 1995.
Not only was Cherry excited to be a part of an NFL team again, he believed his position as a minority owner would help lead to more minority candidates becoming NFL head coaches.
“Why don’t we have enough black head coaches?” Cherry rhetorically asked SportsLine. “When an owner gets ready to hire a head coach, he goes around and polls his inner circle and that’s where we don’t have very strong representation.”
Although he is content with his life, there has been a groundswell of fans and former NFL players and coaches who believe Cherry belongs in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
✅ 6 Pro Bowls
✅ 5 Time All-Pro
✅ NFL 1980s All-Decade Team#TBT Deron Cherry pic.twitter.com/3icPCbO4qP— Kansas City Chiefs (@Chiefs) June 15, 2017
The former safety’s career numbers place him as one of the best in the history of the game, but Cherry ultimately believes he won’t get in because of one primary reason.
“I can tell you this: There are a number of great players who don’t get that look just because they (voters) look at championships, and I think that is an injustice to the players who play the game the right way, do things the right way (and) accomplish things for their team to win,” said Cherry in 2018.
Whether he is inducted into the Hall or not, Cherry is living proof that good things can happen if you believe in yourself.
References
https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/cherry-deron-1959
https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1988-10-29-sp-306-story.html
https://www.upi.com/Archives/1992/07/27/Chiefs-Cherry-retires/1770712209600/
https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/players/deron-cherry-1.html
https://talkoffametwo.com/nfl/deron-cherry-the-part-of-hall-process-that-is-frustrating
https://scarletknights.com/honors/rutgers-athletics-hall-of-fame/deron-cherry/41
https://www.deroncherryfoundation.org/about-us.html
https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/C/CherDe00.htm
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