Alvin Powell
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| Position: | Offensive lineman | ||||||||
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| Date of birth: | November 19, 1959[1] | ||||||||
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| College: | Winston-Salem State University[1] | ||||||||
| NFL Draft: | 1984 / Round: Second / Pick: 49 | ||||||||
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| Player stats at ArenaFan.com | |||||||||
Alvin Robert Powell II (born November 19, 1959),[2] commonly known as Alvin Powell, is a former NFL offensive lineman.[3][4] He currently speaks about drug awareness and substance abuse.[5][6] He was born on November 17, 1959 in Panama City, Panama.[2]
Football career
Powell spent the 1984 USFL season with the Oklahoma Outlaws based in Tulsa and then moved with the team in 1985 to become one of the Arizona Outlaws based in Tempe, Arizona after Oklahoma had merged with the Arizona Wranglers. He blocked for among others, quarterback Doug Williams (American football) who would later win Super Bowl XXII with the Washington Redskins. Powell was drafted into the NFL in 1984 by the Seattle Seahawks, in the second round of the 1984 NFL Supplemental Draft of USFL and CFL Players (49th overall).[2] Powell joined the NFL in 1987 with the Seattle Seahawks.[7] The team was moderately successful that year, winning nine games, and losing six, before losing to the Houston Oilers in the AFC Wildcard playoff.[8] The next year, the team won nine games, and lost seven, before losing to the Cincinnati Bengals in the AFC Divisional Playoff.[9]
He joined the Miami Dolphins in 1989, but only played in two games[7] before resigning.[3]
He played with the London Monarchs of the World Football League from 1991 to 1992.[10]
In his first season with the Seattle Seahawks (1987), he was involved in three kickoffs, gaining 23 yards. However, 14 of those came from one kickoff. He also fumbled the ball once. After that season, he never was involved in another NFL kickoff. In 1987, he played in a career-high twelve games.[7] That number sank to six the next year, and to two by 1989.
Drug addiction and counseling
Powell started using crack cocaine in 1985,[3] and by 1988 was addicted to cocaine, and was smoking marijuana and drinking significant amounts of alcohol.[3]
Powell currently is a substance abuse counselor, helping people combat their drug problems.[5] He also speaks at schools about drugs.[5][6] Despite the fact that he is a devout Christian, he says that he never forces the people who he helps to believe in God.[5]
He runs the Saving Station Foundation, which teaches people about the dangers of drugs. It is based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.[11]
References
- 1 2 "Alvin Powell". National Football League. Retrieved 2009-03-26.
- 1 2 3 "Alvin Powell". Retrieved 2009-03-27.
- 1 2 3 4 "Alvin Powell". Saving Station Foundation. Retrieved 2009-03-25.
- ↑ "Alvin Powell - Drug Awareness". Stanstead, Quebec, Canada: Stanstead College. 2005-10-25. Archived from the original on October 9, 2008. Retrieved 2009-03-25.
- 1 2 3 4 Chris Barry (2005). "Life After Crack". Montreal, Quebec, Canada: Montreal Mirror. Retrieved 2009-03-26.
- 1 2 Stephannie Johnson (2006-05-17). "Former NFL all-star Alvin Powell bombarded with emails from teens". Parry Sound, Ontario, Canada. Retrieved 2009-03-26.
- 1 2 3 "Alvin Powell". Retrieved 2009-03-26.
- ↑ "1987 Seattle Seahawks". Retrieved 2009-03-26.
- ↑ "1988 Seattle Seahawks". Retrieved 2009-03-26.
- ↑ "Biography for Alvin Powell". IMDb. Retrieved 2009-03-27.
- ↑ McGregor, Glen (May 18, 2009). "Ex-NFL player inspires Cree teens". Ottawa Citizen. Archived from the original on 20 May 2009. Retrieved 2009-05-18.