Irv Pankey

Irvin Lee Pankey (born February 15, 1958) is an American former professional football player who was a offensive lineman for 12 seasons in the National Football League (NFL), mainly for the Los Angeles Rams. He played college football as a tight end and offensive tackle for the Penn State Nittany Lions and was a team captain in 1979. He attended Aberdeen High School in Aberdeen, Maryland.

Irv Pankey
No. 75
Position:Offensive tackle
Personal information
Born: (1958-02-15) February 15, 1958
Aberdeen, Maryland, U.S.
Height:6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Weight:277 lb (126 kg)
Career information
High school:Aberdeen
College:Penn State
NFL draft:1980 / Round: 2 / Pick: 50
Career history
Career NFL statistics
Games played:150
Games started:122
Fumble recoveries:6
Player stats at PFR

Personal life

During his playing career at Penn State, he reached out to Betsy Sailor, a student who had been raped by then-Penn State player Todd Hodne in 1978, and had experienced harassment after having testified against Hodne at his trial. In a 2022 ESPN story on Hodne, who would sexually assault nearly a dozen other women before being convicted of murder, Sailor recalled Pankey telling her, "I just wanted to let you know that I was in the courtroom today and I listened to what you had to say. And I believe every word that you said. And, you will never have to be afraid, or be alone again. I will be by your side." Pankey and Sailor would lose contact after they graduated from Penn State, but would be reunited while the ESPN story was being researched.[1]

Pankey has twin sons who played college football for Oregon State; Keith Pankey played linebacker, and his brother, Kevin, was a tight end.[2] He has a daughter, Kiley, who attended Mt. Whitney High School in Visalia, California. Pankey served as a professor and offensive line coach at the College of the Sequoias in Visalia, California.[2] Pankey also helps out at football camps such as Linemen Inc.

References
  1. Junod, Todd; Lavigne, Paula (April 11, 2022). "Untold". ESPN.com. Retrieved April 12, 2022.
  2. "Sporting News - Beyond the Score". Sporting News. Retrieved May 6, 2015.


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