Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl officials are celebrating 50 years of competition this year and they’re doing it in a big way.
The organization is releasing the top 50 all-time players in I-Bowl history, and they’ve been releasing them in five-player increments. But now that the All-Time list has reached the Top 20, the individual athletes are receiving stand-alone stories. The athlete residing at No. 18 is former Texas A&M defensive lineman Ray Childress.
The list was voted on by a local panel of media members, including the Shreveport Times, and I-Bowl representatives.
Here is the I-Bowl’s take on Childress and his success in both Shreveport and beyond:
One of the earliest College Football Hall of Famers to play in the I-Bowl, Texas A&M’s Ray Childress, is the number 18 player on the game’s 50th Anniversary All-Time Team.
NO. 20: Former Missouri QB Brad Smith is No. 20 on I-Bowl’s all-time list
NO. 19 South Carolina's Sidney Rice is No. 19 on I-Bowl’s all-time list
Childress played in the I-Bowl before defensive stats were recorded, but he was a freshman star on the Aggies squad that defeated future College and Pro Football Hall of Fame coach Jimmy Johnson and his Oklahoma State Cowboys in the 1981 I-Bowl. Childress and the Texas A&M defense held Oklahoma State to 257 yards and 16 points in the victory.
In his junior season in 1983, Childress recorded 117 total tackles and a Texas A&M-record 15 sacks on his way to being named second-team All-American. That tremendous season was followed by another standout collegiate campaign his 1984 senior season, in which he tallied 124 tackles and 10 sacks. He was named first-team All-American. The Richardson, Texas native was also named first-team All-Southwest Conference in 1983 and 1984.
A star all four years in College Station, Childress is fifth on the Texas A&M all-time list for both career tackles and sacks. He was inducted into the Texas A&M Athletic Hall of Fame in 1990 in the midst of his thriving NFL career, and into the Texas Sports Hall of Fame in 2008. He became the sixth I-Bowl alumnus inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a member of the Class of 2010.
Childress became the ninth I-Bowl player selected in the first round of the NFL Draft when he went third overall to the Houston Oilers in the 1985 NFL Draft, selected two spots after fellow I-Bowl alum and first-overall pick Bruce Smith. Childress was one of six I-Bowl players selected in the top 20 picks of the 1985 NFL Draft.
Playing all but one of his 12 NFL seasons in Houston, Childress was the leader of the Oilers defense as a 3-4 defensive end for the first five seasons of his career and a 4-3 defensive tackle for the remainder of his career. He finished his NFL tenure with 887 tackles, 76.5 sacks and 19 forced fumbles. He made one Pro Bowl as a defensive end in 1988, when he had 60 tackles, 8.5 sacks and seven fumble recoveries. He made four additional Pro Bowl teams as a defensive tackle to bring his career total to five.
The best season of his career came in 1992, when he was named first-team All-Pro. That season, he had 90 tackles and 13 sacks – the only season in his career with double-digit sacks. Childress was no stranger to All-Pro nods, however, as he was named second-team All-Pro four times. Averaging over 70 tackles and six sacks per season, Childress was considered the premier defensive tackle in football during his prime.
Players were nominated and evaluated based on the following criteria: 40% weight on their I-Bowl performance; 30% on their college career; 30% on their pro career and accomplishments.
Jimmy Watson covers Louisiana sports for the USA TODAY Network. Email him at jwatson@shreveporttimes.com and follow him on Twitter @JimmyWatson6.
This article originally appeared on Shreveport Times: Texas A&M's Ray Childress is No. 18 on I-Bowl’s 50th All-Time Team