On October 13, 1962, the greatest receiver ever was born in the town of Starkville, Mississippi. He was Joe and Eddie B. Rices sixth child of eight. Jerry Lee Rice is the name they gave to their child that would later become a legend. They raised him in the countryside of a tiny town: Crawford, Mississippi. The town had fewer than 500 residents at the time that Jerry was in high school.

Jerry Rices seven siblings are Joe Nathan Jr., Tom, Jimmy, James, Zebedee, Eddie Dean, and Loistine. They were always expected to help at home and with their dads bricklaying business. They also had to pick cotton and corn in the process of making ends meet. During the summer months, Jerry and his brothers would often work from seven in the morning until five at night in 100-degree weather helping their dad lay bricks. His brothers would throw Jerry bricks, and of course, not catching them would result in broken bricks, or perhaps hands. Many people think this is how Jerry developed such good hand-eye coordination. Jerry and his siblings developed an early emphasis on hard work and its rewards.

As a child, he was always active and energetic; he loved to ride horses, run, and of course play sports. The horses he rode were far from tame. Jerry once said, We had to chase them down first, and it took 45 minutes to an hour at times, but we got rewarded because wed ride them for the rest of the day.

He loved to watch football on television and his favorite team was the Dallas Cowboys. He excelled at basketball and track and field at B.L. Moor High School. During his freshman year, Rice did not play on the football team. His mother refused to let him play football because she thought it was too rough. She says that she still doesnt like it today, because he is so skinny and all the big men hit him when he jumps for the ball.

During his sophomore year, Rice would sometimes play hooky. He had a spot behind a building at school where he would hide. One day the principal went on a campus sweep and snuck up behind Jerry. Jerry heard him coming and sprinted off out of sight. When Rice went to school the next morning, he was called to the principals office. The principal lashed him five or six times with a thick strap, but also told the football coach about Jerrys speed. His football coach talked him into playing on the high school football team.

Each day after football practice his coach, Charles Davis, would watch his players, in uniform, pads, and all, sprint up and down a hill 20 times. The hill was 40 yards from bottom to the top. One particular day, Jerry decided 11 was enough. His lungs were gasping for air and his legs were heavy. He said, To hell with this, and began a staggered walk to the locker room. He could have gotten away with it, but a voice in his head told him, Dont quit. Because once you get into that mode of quitting, then you feel like it is OK. So Rice went back and conquered the hill. A precedent had been established for himself.

Jerry made a pact with Tom, one of his older brothers, that one of them would become a professional athlete and buy their parents a brand-new house. During their senior years, they were both offered college football scholarships. Tom went to Jackson State. When he did not get drafted into the National Football League, Jerry was the only hope left from their pact. Jerry had a great deal of attention come his way from a number of colleges. He accepted a scholarship to play for Archie Cooley with the Mississippi Valley State Delta Devils.

Jerry went to college to get an electronics degree. He figured he would end up a television repairman or auto mechanic. Mississippi Valley State is in the town of Itta Bena, Mississippi, home of B.B. King. The school had around 2500 students. The town had only one stoplight and tons of mosquitoes. Before practice, the players would drench themselves with bug spray, but it never lasted long. Cooley ran a strong passing offense. His freshman year, Jerry had the nickname World, because he could catch anything in the world. The next year Willie Totten became the starting quarterback. Rice and Totten became known as the Satellite Express. Willie had red shirted the year before. During Rices junior year he caught 24 passes in a single game to set an all-division record.

In the same year the Delta Devils were playing a much-favored Tennessee State team. To confuse the defense, and not get double covered, Jerry switched jerseys with Ron Hill who wore number 45. He scored two touchdowns before they figured out it was Jerry. At half time, Jerry switched back to his number 88 jersey to confuse the Tennessee State defense even more. Mississippi Valley State upset Tennessee 51-38.

Jerrys senior year, he caught 112 receptions for 1845 yards and 28 touchdowns. He set 18 NCAA Division II records throughout his college career. He also ended up with 4693 career receiving yards.

While in college, Jackie Mitchell, a high school senior, was on a field trip to Itta Bena for a basketball game. Someone introduced her to Jerry, but they did not see eye-to-eye. She did not even know that he played football. They argued, but Jackie still gave him her phone number. Jerry called Jackie the day after the game and she invited him to her house to spend the day together. Jackies mother, Gloria, was completely won over by Jerrys manners. When he met her, he stood up and shook her hand. She thought that gesture was very impressive. This was the start of a great relationship; little did they know that they would later marry on September 8, 1987.

After his senior year for the Delta Devils, Jerry Rice played in the Blue-Gray game, a college game played for publicity. The game had mostly Division I players, and Jerry was Division II. Jerry played so well that he was named the games MVP. Pro scouts and experts were impressed with Rices outstanding performances on the field, his attitude, and his leadership abilities. However, they were not persuaded due to his lack of breakaway speed. He had a 4.6 second average in the 40-yard dash. San Franciscos head coach, Bill Walsh, saw game films and recognized Jerrys potential. Walshs team had just won the Super Bowl, so he had to trade his first, second, and third round draft picks to the New England Patriots for their 1st round 16th pick and 3rd round selection in order to have a chance to get Rice. In other words, it was a lot of trouble, but a good bargain. Walshs plan worked and the 49ers drafted Jerry Rice with the 16th pick in the 1985 NFL draft. This was perhaps the best draft pick in NFL history. Rice was the third wide receiver taken behind Al Toon and Eddie Brown.

The Dallas Cowboys, the team he loved to watch while growing up, said they were going to draft Rice with their 1st round 17th pick; but the 49ers beat them to the punch. In the years to come, Jerry showed all the teams that passed him up what they missed.

After the draft, reality set in for Jerry; he thought, Oh my God. Im going to San Francisco, a big city where Ive never been, the team that just won the Super Bowl. He also realized he was going to be playing with the great Joe Montana. Then, the 49ers started their post-draft mini-camp. Jerry was very nervous when he met Joe, almost in awe of him at first. All the members of the 49ers secondary had played in the Pro Bowl following the previous season, but Jerry kept beating them for big catches. This is when they knew he could make a big difference on the 49ers team.

Jerry struggled as a rookie at first; and in the whole season, he only started four games. Reporters referred to him as a potential bust and some teammates called him Butterfingers to his face. In one game, Rice dropped two wide open passes; then, during half time Frisbee-catching dogs took the field and a fan yelled, Rice, take notes!

Rice later said, Oh man, there were many games where I just went in and cried. I cried because I had always been able to catch a football and make a play, and now I was dropping footballs and I just couldnt pinpoint what was going on. I had never been booed before, and that was really hard. Bill (Walsh) and the coaches just kept telling me, Just keep working hard. In a situation like that, they could have slammed the door on me and said, Ok, bad draft choice, lets get rid of him. But I guess Bill saw something in me and stuck with me. He can see something in a football player that no one else can see.

Jerry finally had his coming out night during a Monday night game against the Los Angeles Rams. He brought in ten passes for 241 yards, which was a team receiving yard record at the time. This earned Rice instant respect. The frustration of the first 13 games disappeared in one night. He finished the year very strong and earned the rookie of the year honor. The 49ers made it to the playoffs, but lost in the first round.

Rice continued to grow in his second season and was named the NFL Player of the Year by Sports Illustrated. They lost in the first round of the playoffs again.

From then on, the records started flying in. The next year, Jerry set the NFL record for receiving touchdowns in a season with 22. It was four more than the previous record set by Mark Clayton in 16 games. Rice got the record despite only playing 12 games due to a players strike in 1987. Jerry was voted the leagues MVP, which is very extraordinary for a receiver. He also led the league in scoring; the last receiver to accomplish that feat was Elroy Crazy Legs Hirsh in 1951. He also extended his streak of straight games with at least one touchdown catch to a league-record 13 games.

This year he received the nickname Flash 80. Jerry celebrated his touchdown catches with a routine called the Cabbage Patch Dance. He drove fancy cars with personalized license plates. Jerry also hung a stylish towel from his belt of his uniform and grew poofy hair. Some teammates called him Fifi and 6-7, which included a height of five inches for his hair. This image Jerry was portraying was not the real Jerry Rice. He got where he is with his hard work and intense passion for running good routes and catching the ball, not his style. Rice told himself to be himself. He wanted to go on the field and just have fun. That year they got to the playoffs again, but for the third year in a row lost in the first round.

In the 1988 season, the 49ers met up with the Chicago Bears in the playoffs. The game was in Chicago and the temperature was 50 degrees below zero, with the wind-chill factor. Everyone thought it would be a huge advantage for the Bears. They were much more accustomed to the cold than were the Californian 49ers. Rice and a group of other guys went to warm-ups in short sleeves to show that they would not be psyched out by the weather. When they went back into the locker room, they all put on long sleeves, because they almost froze to death. However, it must have sent a message to the Bears. They won the game 28-3. Rice had a 61-yard touchdown and a 27-yard touchdown. The 49ers advanced to the Super Bowl for the third time in the 80s but for the first time with Jerry. Rice earned the Super Bowl XXIII MVP honor with 11 catches for 215 yards and a touchdown. He tore apart the Cincinnati Bengal defensive backs to help the 49ers win in a hard fought game.

The following year, San Francisco had a 14-2 regular season record and repeated as champions in Super Bowl XXIV versus the Denver Broncos. The 49ers recorded the biggest blowout in Super Bowl history with a score of 55-10. Jerry Rice had seven catches for 148 yards and three scores in the Super Bowl. In their quest for the Lombardi Trophy, they outscored their opponents by an amazing 126-23 throughout the playoffs.

The next year, the 49ers had a 14-2 record again. In a regular season game against the Falcons, Rice tied the NFL record of five touchdowns in one game. He recorded 100 receptions for 1502 yards and 15 touchdowns. The 49ers lost by a last second field goal to the New York Giants in the NFC championship game to end their Super Bowl streak.

In August of 1991, Joe Montana came up with an injured elbow. Rice had to adjust to Steve Young and Steve Bono as his new quarterbacks. They lost four of their six games and barely missed the playoffs with a 10-6 record. In the middle of the season, it was found out that Jerry had torn his posterior cruciate ligament in his right knee during the second week of the season. Most people would have sat out for at least two weeks, but Jerry did not even think about sitting. He had never missed a game at any level and did not want to start then.

In the 1992 season, the 49ers posted the best record in the league, 14-2. One of the losses came in a game at Phoenix, when Young hardly played due to the flu. The other loss came in a game against Buffalo. Rice was hit hard and had a concussion. Team doctors held him out the rest of the game and they lost, 34-31. They said that when he was unconscious on the field, he was snoring; then, when they took him to the sideline, he was drooling. In the middle of the season, he was on the verge of breaking Steve Largents record of 100 receiving touchdowns. Steve Largent was one of Rices biggest inspirations. He, like Rice, was not considered fast, but he was able to break loose for long gains. Largent, who retired after the 1989 season, had played for 14 seasons. This was only Rices eighth season; he tied the record on November 29, 1992 at Candlestick Park. The next week Jerry broke the record playing at home against the Miami Dolphins. They made it back to the NFC championship game, but lost to the Dallas Cowboys.

In 1993, Jerry received the NFL Offensive Player of the Year award. He caught 98 passes for 1503 yards for 15 touchdowns, but they met up with the Cowboys and came just short of the Super Bowl again.

Then, in 1994, Rice made two loud non-verbal statements. He showed up to training camp two days before veterans were required to report and practiced with the rookies and free agents in 100-degree heat. He also gave back $170,000 worth of incentive clauses that he would have easily earned. This eased up the teams salary cap. The 49ers ended up signing Deion Sanders, Ken Norton, and several other key free agents.

Early in the season, the 49ers hosted the L.A. Raiders, the only team Rice had not already scored a touchdown on. It was a Monday Night Football game and the 49ers won 44-14, but going into the game Rice had 124 career touchdowns, two short of the all-time mark set by Jim Brown. Since Jim Brown was a running back and had many more touches of the ball, this was amazing. On the fourth play of the game, Jerry caught a 69-yard touchdown pass from Young. Then at the beginning of the fourth quarter, Jerry caught a 23-yard touchdown to tie Brown. The 49ers had the ball on the Raiders 38-yard line with just over four minutes remaining. The balls going up, Young told Rice in the huddle, so just find it and bring it in. When Young threw the ball, Rice jumped up and grabbed it on the two yard line and lunged past the defenders into the end zone to become the sole owner of the record. Rice said that it was the ideal situation for such a record. The 49ers met the Cowboys for the third straight year in the NFC championship game. Rice had a 28 yard touchdown with just nine seconds left in the first half to turn the game around; they went on to win with a score of 38-28.

They went on to the Super Bowl for Rices third time playing the San Diego Chargers at Joe Robbie Stadium in Super Bowl XXIX. Jerry caught a 44-yard touchdown on the third play of the game to get the record of the fastest touchdown in Super Bowl history. On the third drive of the game, Rices shoulder was severely strained. He went to the locker room to have it checked out, and it would eventually take months to completely recover. He was not going to stay out though; he went back and scored two more touchdowns. After the game, Young said, Jerry Rice with one arm is better than everyone else in the league with two arms. He finished the game with 10 catches for 149 yards and three touchdowns. After the game, Jerry earned his third Super Bowl ring by winning 49-26.

The next year San Francisco lost several key players like Deion Sanders and Ricky Watters; but Rice had his best statistical season of his career so far. He finished with 122 receptions for 1848 receiving yards for 15 touchdowns. This was done with Steve Yong being injured a majority of the season. Jerry even threw a touchdown pass for 41 yards to J.J. Stokes.

In 1995, Jerry passed Art Monks record for career leader in receptions with 942, and passed James Loftons receiving yards record with 15,123. He also had 289 yards in a game against the Minnesota Vikings, which is his career best. They lost to the Green Bay Packers in their first game of the playoffs at Candlestick Park. The Packers had their entire defense designed to stop Rice.

He led the league in receptions with 108 in 1996 and started all 16 games for the ninth consecutive season. He also tied an NFL record with Reggie White and Anthony Munoz with his 11th consecutive Pro Bowl invitation. San Francisco made it to the playoffs but lost in the divisional playoffs.

During the season opener of the 1997 season against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Jerry tore the anterior cruciate and medial collateral ligaments in his left knee. This happened when Warren Sapp twisted him down by his facemask on a second quarter reverse. This injury broke his streak of 189 consecutive games played. Fourteen weeks later he made his return against the Broncos. This was much earlier than doctors wanted him to come back. He scored a crucial touchdown, but when he came down with the catch, he cracked the patella in his left kneecap.

Jerry had a total of two knee surgeries and many believed he would never play football again but in 1998 Rice made his comeback. He earned the right to play in the Pro Bowl and became the oldest player with over 1000 yard receiving (1157) in a season.

The 49ers missed the playoffs for the second time in his career in 1999. The following year, Jerry accepted a diminishing role for the 49ers, but still caught 75 passes for 805 yards and seven touchdowns.

The 2000 season marked the third different decade that Rice played in (80s, 90s, and 2000). He caught 75 passes for seven touchdowns. As the season end neared, it became known that Rice was going to leave San Francisco. In his final game at Candlestick Park, Rice caught a 20-yard pass to give the fans a final chance to cheer for him as a 49er.

During the off-season, Rice signed to play with the Oakland Raiders after playing 16 great seasons with the 49ers. His new team gave him the rejuvenation he needed in 2001. He broke the 1000 yard mark for the first time since 1998. He caught 83 receptions for 1139 yards and nine touchdowns.

In 2002, Jerry turned forty years old, and he brought in 92 receptions for 1211 yards and seven touchdowns. The Raiders also advanced to the Super Bowl, but lost to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. In the game, Jerry had five receptions and a 48-yard touchdown reception (all in the second half). Rice was voted to play in the Pro Bowl for 13th time in his career and the first time as an Oakland Raider

As much as Jerry loves to play football, his family has always been the biggest priority in his life. His wifes name is Jackie, whom he met in college. They have three children; Jaqui Bonet (6/7/87), Jerry Jr. (7/27/91), and Jada Symone (5/16/96). While giving birth to their third child, Jada, Jackie suffered severe complications and her other two births went smoothly. Jada was born healthy, but Jackie faced life-threatening surgery and spent a week and a half in extremely critical condition before beginning a long and draining recovery. This left a permanent scar with Jerry.

Its like nothing else is important in life anymore, he said, It was a very traumatic situation. It puts life in perspective. You cant live for tomorrow. The thought had never crossed my mind that I wouldnt wake up the next day, or that I could lose one of my loved ones, until now. And that's something thats really scary. He says that Jackie is the backbone of the family. She runs the household and makes sure the kids are taken care of. Jerry and Jackie work to pass the values their parents passed to them to their kids.

Rice also likes to play golf; he started playing in 1994. He has thought about trying to play in the Professional Golf Association tour when he retires. Jackie calls him an addict. He made the final cut at the 1997 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.

Jerry has also made sure to be active in helping out others. After scoring his 127th touchdown to break Jim Browns record in 1994, Rice established the 127 Foundation. It supports organizations such as the March of Dimes, Big Brothers, Big Sisters, and the Omega Boys Club (located in San Francisco). Jerry has also had many endorsements including Nike, Breathe Right nasal strips, All-Sport/Pepsi, Visa, Frito Lays, Wheaties, Upper Deck trading cards, and Sportsline USA.

Jerry continues to play in the NFL for the Raiders who are now in Oakland. He just finished his 2002 season playing in the Super Bowl, but the Raiders lost in the first Super Bowl Rice will lose.