Thomas Rayam

Thomas Rayam

Thomas Rayam (born January 3, 1968 in Orlando, Florida) is a former University of Alabama and professional football player.

Rayam is best remembered for blocking a Penn State field goal which preserved the 1989 Alabama Crimson Tide football team's 17-16 victory. The play became the subject of a Daniel Moore painting. Rayam was drafted by the Washington Redskins, and played 2 NFL seasons with the Cincinnati Bengals. After an injury, he played for the CFL's Birmingham Barracudas and other CFL teams.

Rayam later settled in Alabaster where he holds the Thomas Rayam Football Camp. He also heads Team Rayam Outreach, which ministers to underprivileged children at Warrior Wrestling Complex in Saginaw. In 2012, Thomas' brother Curtis Rayam, an operatic tenor who once substituted for an ailing Luciano Pavarotti in Italy, performed a recital at Samford University’s Brock Recital Hall to raise funds and awareness for Team Rayam Outreach.

References

• Huebner, Michael (June 25, 2012) "Tenor Curtis Rayam to sing for brother Thomas' charity." The Birmingham News