Sugar Bowl

After leading the NFL linebackers in sacks, star linebacker Rickey Jackson from the New Orleans Saints has been selected as the Outstanding Professional Athlete from the Greater New Orleans area for 1983 as voted by the Sports Awards Committee of the Sugar Bowl.

Jackson led all National Football League linebackers in quarterback sacks (11) during the 1983 season and was the only Saints player to play in the Pro Bowl.

He had a banner season in 1983 making 168 tackles – 70 solo tackles – in addition to his 11 quarterback sacks. He also intercepted a pass and recovered two fumbles and was named the Saints ''Most Valuable Player on Defense" by a vote of his teammates.

Jackson has started every game since his rookie season – 1981 – when he was drafted as the first player in the second round out of the University of Pittsburgh.

The New Orleans Sports Awards Committee began in 1957 when James Collins spearheaded a group of sports journalists to form a sports awards committee to immortalize local sports history. For 13 years, the committee honored local athletes each month. In 1970, the Sugar Bowl stepped in to sponsor and revitalize the committee, leading to the creation of the New Orleans Sports Hall of Fame in 1971, honoring 10 legends from the Crescent City in its first induction class. While adding the responsibility of selecting Hall of Famers, the committee has continued to recognize the Sugar Bowl Athletes of the Month.