Bonnie Ryan Sloan was the first deaf football player

American football

American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...

 in National Football League

National Football League

The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...

 history.

Sloan played four games at defensive tackle for the St. Louis Cardinals

Arizona Cardinals

The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in Glendale, Arizona, a suburb of Phoenix. They are currently members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...

 in the 1973 season

1973 NFL season

The 1973 NFL season was the 54th regular season of the National Football League. The season featured O.J. Simpson becoming the first man to rush for 2,000 yards in one season...

.

A native of Lebanon, Tennessee

Lebanon, Tennessee

Lebanon is a city in Wilson County, Tennessee, in the United States. The population was 20,235 at the 2000 census. It serves as the county seat of Wilson County. Lebanon is located in middle Tennessee, approximately 25 miles east of downtown Nashville. Local residents have also called it...

, Sloan starred at Austin Peay State University

Austin Peay State University

Austin Peay State University is a four-year public university located in Clarksville, Tennessee, and operated by the Tennessee Board of Regents. It is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools .-History:...

. He was a 10th round selection (242nd overall pick) of the 1973 NFL Draft

1973 NFL Draft

The 1973 National Football League Draft was held on January 30–31, 1973.-Player selections:-Round one:-Round two:-Round three:-Round four:-Round five:-Round six:-Round seven:-Round eight:-Round nine:-Round ten:...

 by the Cardinals, who released him after that one season due to a knee injury.

Former Denver Bronco

Denver Broncos

The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver, Colorado. They are currently members of the West Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...

 Kenny Walker

Kenny Walker (American football)

Kenny Wayne Walker is a former defensive lineman for the Denver Broncos.The youngest of six children, at the age of two, Walker became profoundly deaf from a bout with meningitis. He is one of only two deaf players in the history of the National Football League...

followed him into the NFL, in the early 1990s.