| No. 34 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position: | Running back | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born: | February 28, 1980 Houston, Texas, U.S. | ||||||||
| Died: | July 29, 2024 (aged 44) Colorado, U.S. | ||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | ||||||||
| Weight: | 227 lb (103 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school: | Spring (Spring, Texas) | ||||||||
| College: | Garden City CC | ||||||||
| Undrafted: | 2001 | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
| * Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |||||||||
| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||
| |||||||||
Benjamin Stevenson Gay Jr. (February 28, 1980 – July 29, 2024) was an American professional football player who was a running back for the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League (NFL) in 2001.
Born in Houston,[1] Gay was a star running back at Spring High School in Spring, Texas. As a senior in 1997, he was a USA Today first-team All-American.[2][3][4] He chose Baylor over Florida, Florida State, and Miami. However, five weeks into his freshman season in 1998, he was kicked off the team for rules violations. He eventually enrolled at Garden City Community College. Playing nine games in 1999, he rushed for 1,442 yards and 17 touchdowns but was dismissed from the team because of his grades and rules violations.[2][5] He took a job as a bouncer at a bar in Garden City, Kansas.[5]
In 2000, he was signed by the Edmonton Eskimos, but was released after the first preseason game. On July 20, 2001, he was signed by the Cleveland Browns.[6] He spent the 2001 season as a third-string RB behind James Jackson and Jamel White. His career game came in a 27–17 Browns win at Baltimore on November 18, when he had his first 18 NFL carries for 56 yards, including one touchdown.[7][8][9]
On April 24, 2002, the Browns waived Gay, and he signed with the Indianapolis Colts five days later.[10] The Colts released Gay on August 19.[11]
Gay died in a traffic collision on July 29, 2024, at the age of 44.[12]