Abdul Salaam, a member of the Jets defensive line known as the New York Sack Exchange, has died at the age of 71.
Salaam was a defensive tackle for the Jets from 1976 to 1983. Alongside Joe Klecko, Mark Gastineau and Marty Lyons, they became one of the NFL’s best defensive lines, and received their nickname initially from a fan’s suggestion to a team magazine in 1981. The Jets’ public relations director liked it so much that he began using it in official team releases, fans and the media adopted it, and soon the four linemen were ringing the bell on the New York Stock Exchange.
Salaam was the first of the four to arrive on the Jets and also the first to depart, getting traded to the Chargers in 1984 but retiring before ever playing a game for them.
Born Larry Faulk, Salaam went by that name through his rookie year with the Jets before changing it to Abdul Salaam. The name is Arabic for servant of peace, and Salaam said it described his own world view.
After retiring from the NFL, Salaam battled health problems but remained close to his old New York Sack Exchange linemates.
“I feel like I lost my best friend,” Gastineau told ESPN. “If it wasn’t for Abdul, I wouldn’t have made it. He helped me through everything.”
“He was well-respected in the locker room, loved by his teammates,” Lyons told ESPN. “His name said it all: Solider of Peace. He was so soft-spoken, but he was a big part of what we accomplished.”
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