Former Oklahoma star and Bengals DB Rickey Dixon dies after battle with ALS

Former Oklahoma DB Rickey Dixon has passed away.

The University of Oklahoma just lost one of the best defensive players in school history, as former defensive back Rickey Dixon has lost his battle with ALS.

Former Oklahoma head coach Barry Switzer confirmed that Dixon died at the age of 53, surrounded by his family, after a battle with Lou Gehrig’s disease.

Rickey Dixon was a phenomenal defensive back at Oklahoma.

Dixon arrived in Norman as a scrawny, under-recruited defensive back and left as one of the greatest players in school history. Despite standing just 5-11 and weighing a tick under 180 pounds, Dixon was blessed with incredible versatility and ball skills, which helped him become a star under Switzer.

A member of the 1985 national championship squad and a Jim Thorpe Award winner in 1987 after picking off nine passes, Dixon is best remembered for intercepting Nebraska quarterback Steve Taylor twice to lead No. 2 Oklahoma to an upset of the No. 1 Cornhuskers. Dixon’s 17 interceptions still rank second in school history. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2019.

Dixon was picked fifth overall by the Cincinnati Bengals in the 1988 NFL Draft, while Hall of Famer Tim Brown and former Packers star Sterling Sharpe went directly after him. He spent five of his six seasons in the NFL with Cincinnati and finished his career with the Los Angeles Raiders. He is best known for a standout 1989 season in which he intercepted three passes and helping teammate Ickey Woods come up with the famed “Ickey Shuffle” touchdown celebration.

Dixon’s loss is already being felt hard by those who played alongside him, as Switzer eulogized Dixon by calling him “one of the greatest players ever (for) the Sooners.”

While he failed to match his college stardom in the pros, Dixon’s legacy as one of the best to ever suit up in Sooner maroon remains intact. At just 53 years old, Dixon has been taken from us way too soon.

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