Steelers AFC Champion Defensive End Dies at 59
Former Pittsburgh Steelers defensive end Ray Seals has died at the age of 59, according to Syracuse.com.
Seals was one of the rare few NFL players to skip college football, going straight from Henninger High School in Syracuse, New York to the minor-league Syracuse Express of the Empire Football League.
He played two seasons for the express before being picked up by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 1989. Seals spent two seasons as a reserve for the Bucs and three as a part-time starter before joining the Steelers in 1994.
In three seasons in Pittsburgh, Seals started 27 games, including all 16 regular season games in 1995, and then another three in playoffs as the Steelers went all the way to Super Bowl XXX.
Seals had the best statistical season of his career that year, recording 47 tackles, 8.5 sacks, an interception, two forced fumbles and four fume recoveries — reaching or breaking his career high in every single category.
That stellar season came amid personal tragedy, as his cousin and business partner Johnny Gammage was killed during a struggle with police that October.
In training camp the following year, Seals suffered a torn rotator cuff and missed the entire season. He signed with the Carolina Panthers in 1997 and played 14 games. Seals spent time with the Cincinnati Bengals in 1998, but retired before the start of training camp.
Seals’ son Ramone just finished his freshman season as a guard for the Kennesaw State basketball team.
Seals’ cause of death was not immediately reported.
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