NO ORDINARY SALLY: EX-NFL PLAYER IMPARTS TIPS AT CENTRAL CAMP

Jerome Sally issued instructions during warmup drills Monday at Cape Central High School.

The University of Missouri football team might have suffered through 13 straight losing seasons from 1984 through 1996 -- but Jerome Sally is always quick to tell people one thing.

"I always point out that I was part of the pre-losing era," said Sally with a laugh.

To be sure, Sally knows a few things about winning. After taking part in four bowl games while at Missouri, he went on to a seven-year National Football League career that saw him play for the 1987 Super Bowl champion New York Giants.

The former defensive lineman, who makes his home in Columbia, tried to impart some of his wisdom to the Cape Girardeau Central High School football team Monday evening during the first day of the Tigers' week-long summer camp.

Sally agreed to be a guest at the camp because of his association with first-year Central head coach Lawrence Brookins. The two were assistant coaches together at Columbia Hickman High School from 1993-96.

"I enjoy doing this type of thing," said Sally, who planned to not only help with the football instruction but also to tell the Tigers some things about life. "I love telling kids the way things really are. I'll tell them the honest to God truth about things.

"I stress how important education is. Even if you can't afford college, you can go to technical school and start in a profession that is going to help you grow."

Sally is certainly an example of somebody who has made quite a success out of his life despite a pretty humble background. Growing up in a rough environment in Chicago -- and coming from a family where nobody had ever graduated from college -- Sally was able to earn a football scholarship to Missouri.

At Mizzou, where he played under coach Warren Powers, Sally was part of Tiger teams that went a combined 31-17 and played in four bowl games from 1978-81.

Still, Sally received very few individual honors and wasn't even taken in the NFL draft. He signed as a free agent with New Orleans but was eventually cut.

Then, when two New York linemen went down, Sally was contacted by the Giants. He went on to be a key player for them for several seasons, capped by the Super Bowl victory.

"I feel like I had a great NFL career. I busted my hump," said the 40-year-old Sally, who last played in the NFL in 1989 but looks like he still might be able to. "I was always kind of overlooked in college so I really had to work hard."

Sally, who eventually did become the first in his family to earn a college degree, said sports have played such a big role in his life.

"Everything I know in terms of being successful, disciplined, goal-oriented, determined, all stems from my career," he said. "Football gave me an opportunity to enjoy life, not just to survive. And it allowed me to be the first person from my family to graduate from college."

Looking back on his NFL career, Sally has plenty of fond memories, led by the fact he played on what is regarded as one of the league's better defenses, led by the likes of Lawrence Taylor, Harry Carson, Leonard Marshall and other standouts.

"Being a member of that defense was my biggest thrill, just to be able to play with those guys," he said. "As for the Super Bowl, I appreciate it more now since I retired. As I meet older players who had great careers but never got to the big dance, I realize how tough it is."

Sally, a family man who still teaches at Hickman High School but no longer coaches, is glad to see his alma mater bounce back. Missouri's Tigers have now had two straight winning seasons and made consecutive bowl appearances after those 13 years of futility.

"It's nice to see them come back and I go to games whenever I can," he said, then added with a grin, "But I'm glad I didn't have to go through that."