On March 15, a deceased man was found at the north bus stop at Englewood Parkway and South Acoma Street in Englewood. Officials said the man was “likely a transient” and that his death did not seem criminal in nature.
Little did they know, the man was Jeff Gaylord, a prominent football player, professional wrestler, brother and friend.
At his memorial service at Southeast Christian Church in Parker, dozens gathered to share stories of Jeff’s life and memories of their time with him.
“As I’m looking around this room today, I see many familiar faces, as well as new ones,” said Angelia Anderson, executive director of a program called Treasure House of Hope that Jeff participated in. “This isn’t surprising to me because Jeff never met a stranger … He always was so generous and outgoing.”
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Athletic history
Jeff, who was born in 1958, grew up in the suburbs of Kansas City as the middle child of five. From a young age, he was an impressive athlete, showing specific strengths as a discus thrower and football player during his high school years.
“During his senior year, he was able to bench press 610 pounds,” his brother, Tim Gaylord, said at the service. “Many colleges were offering him a full-ride scholarship (for football) … Jeff chose Missouri.”
In college, Jeff became a four-year letterman and was named All-Big Eight and All-American in the early 1980s.
Jeff’s success as a college athlete drew attention to him, inspiring the Los Angeles Rams to draft him in 1982. Released prior to the start of their season, he was picked up by the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League. With this team, he competed in the league’s championship game called the Grey Cup.
He later played for the Boston Breakers and the San Antonio Gunslingers of the United States Football League and was named First Team All-American USFL nose tackle by the Pro Football Review in 1984, Tim said. Jeff then suffered a major knee injury, bringing his football career to a close. But as an athlete, he was only getting started.
At a gym in San Antonio, Jeff was offered the opportunity to train to be a wrestler.
“Jeff, with his impressive physique, had done some bodybuilding competitions,” Tim said. “He trained for four months for his debut in professional wrestling in 1985.”
He carried the nickname “The Missouri Tiger” into the new sport, competing for the Universal Wrestling Federation, World Class Champion Wrestling, United States Wrestling Association and American Wrestling Federation.
Among many accomplishments, he won the USWA World Tag Team Championship twice with Jeff Jarrett.
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From stardom to the streets
After 12 years as a professional wrestler, Jeff decided to start a career that would take less of a toll on his body. He worked successfully in the automobile field, but after a few years, he began to face some personal and financial struggles.
“In 1999, Jeff left Gaylord Sales and Leasing and went to work for another dealer,” Tim said. “Things didn’t work out well for Jeff and he blamed his personal financial conditions and turned to becoming a bank robber.”
Jeff committed a couple bank robberies and served about 12 years in prison, Tim said at the service. While Jeff was in prison, his wife passed away.
“That was a crushing blow to my brother,” Tim said. “After his release from prison, with no hope, Jeff went to live on the streets while self-medicating with whatever he could find.”
Treasure House of Hope
For about two decades, Tim said, he prayed for his brother. In 2020, Jeff said he was ready for a change. This is when he started participating in the Christian-based recovery program, Treasure House of Hope.
“It’s a house and it’s a safe place where broken, hurt … people come, voluntarily come here, and we saturate them with love, compassion, and give them hope for a better future, a better tomorrow,” said Anderson, the executive director.
At the home, Jeff joined other men who were struggling with addiction, mental health, homelessness and other challenges in a journey to improve themselves physically, mentally and spiritually.
During the year-long program, Jeff developed an identity in Christianity and was baptized. For his family and many in his church community, these decisions were monumental.
“The best parts of the Jeff Gaylord story have been the last two years,” his nephew TJ Gaylord said at the memorial. “Jeff Gaylord finally coming to the Lord … makes the story complete, makes it a story of joy instead of one of tragedy.”
After graduating from Treasure House of Hope in Aurora, Jeff stayed at the house to support the men by providing nutrition guidance and physical training.
“Everybody just loved Jeff, you know?” Anderson said. “He was just that kind of guy. He just always tried to help somebody else … that’s just who he was.”[cqmedia layout=”panel” content=”eyJwaG90byI6W3sibWVkaWFfdHlwZSI6InBob3RvIiwicGhvdG9faWQiOiIzMTYwMTYiLCJwaG90b19jYXB0aW9uIjoiSmVmZiBHYXlsb3JkIGRldmVsb3BlZCBhbiBpZGVudGl0eSBpbiBDaHJpc3RpYW5pdHkgZHVyaW5nIGhpcyB0aW1lIGF0IFRyZWFzdXJlIEhvdXNlIG9mIEhvcGUsIGEgQ2hyaXN0aWFuLWJhc2VkIHJlY292ZXJ5IHByb2dyYW0uIiwicGhvdG9fY3JlZGl0IjoiQ291cnRlc3kgb2YgVGltIEdheWxvcmQifV0sInZpZGVvIjpbXSwiZmlsZSI6W119″]
Living at Treasure House came with its challenges for Jeff, however. He was older than most of the other program participants and he tended to bottle up his frustration and pain, said housing director Rick Alston.
As time went on, Jeff began drinking again, Alston said, turning to alcohol as a remedy for significant pain from his athletic career.
This resurfaced behavior was against house rules and began to impact others who also struggled with alcoholism.
“The biggest problem that we began to have is that it started to affect others in the home,” Alston said. “It did get to the point where we just could not have him in the home.”
The Treasure House team found several alternative treatment facility options for Jeff, but he decided to return to living on the streets, Alston said.
Champion of love
On the day Jeff died, Tina Hayhurst, executive director of the Englewood organization Movement 5280, informed his family of his passing.
Movement 5280 acts as a support system for many who are unhoused, offering shelter, food, clothing, showers, mental health support, housing navigation, health and dental services, addiction recovery services, Christian Bible studies and more.
Hayhurst said she wishes more people would recognize that those who struggle with homelessness are human.
“When you get to know them, they’re a person and they’re somebody’s son and daughter and uncle — and they’re not that much different from us,” she said. “We have a fear of what people on the streets are like. And when you sit with them and you have a cup of coffee with them, you realize that they’re just the same (as) us.”
During the last year of his life, Jeff re-started using several services that he relied on before Treasure House, including Movement 5280. Not only was he a part of the community, but he constantly brought others to help connect them with services.
“You can talk about a lot about his days in football … The champion I saw in him was, while he was on the street, he was helping others on the street to get services,” said Jim Hayhurst, a board member for the organization. “I don’t know that, if I was living on the streets, I could be as selflessly generous as he was in trying to help others.”
Jeff leaves behind the legacy of a gentle giant who, despite his challenges and mistakes, lived hard and loved even harder.
For Anderson, who has experienced homelessness herself, people like Jeff are worth getting to know.
“People are so beautiful,” she said. “Before you judge, before you be critical and stereotype, take a moment. It takes just as much energy to be negative and to be judgmental as it does to go and say ‘Hey, what’s your name? How did you get here? What could we do to get you out of here?’ … Just share some compassion. Just share some love. That’s all it takes.”