Ray Childress Raymond Clay Childress , Jr . ( born October 20 , 1962 ) is a former American football defensive lineman in the NFL for the Houston Oilers from 1985 – 1996 , earning Pro Bowl honors five times . He shares the NFL record for fumble recoveries in a single game , having recovered three from the Washington Redskins on October 30 , 1988 . While playing college football at Texas A & M , Childress was twice named an All - America n , and he ranks fifth all - time at the university in both career tackles and career sacks . He was recently inducted into the Texas Sports Hall of Fame . College . As a junior , Childress posted 15 quarterback sacks and 117 tackles and was as a First - team All - America in 1983 . As a senior in 1984 he was a consensus All - America selection . He was also a two - time All - Southwest Conference pick . As a senior , he anchored an Aggie defense that ranked No . 5 nationally in pass defense ( 127 . 5 yards per game ) . That year , he recorded 124 tackles and 10 sacks . His 25 career sacks was then a school record for a non - linebacker and his 360 tackles then ranked fourth on A & M ’ s career list . Ray was named to the College Football Hall of Fame in the class of 2010 . NFL . Drafted from Texas A & M with the third overall pick in the 1985 draft to play defensive end , Childress moved to defensive tackle in 1990 when defensive coordinator Jim Eddy switched from a 3 - 4 defense to a 4 - 3 scheme , necessitating an extra lineman . Childress was already a Pro Bowl end and had even filled in at nose guard on occasion . After the move , he would end up as a Pro Bowl selection in Hawaii four more times as a defensive tackle . As a testament to his excellence , four of the eight lowest single - season rushing totals allowed in Oilers history came between 1990 and 1993 , with Childress at tackle . Childress was not a one - dimensional player — he was as effective against the pass as he was against the run . He finished his Oiler career ranked second all - time in quarterback sacks and sixth all - time in tackles , joining Elvin Bethea as the only defensive linemen among the Oilers ' top 10 in both categories . Childress led or shared the team sack lead from 1986 – 1989 and finished with the most single - season sacks for a defensive tackle ( 13 ) in 1992 . For his 11 - year career , Childress registered 13 multi - sack games . Childress may be best remembered for coming up with huge plays at crucial moments of games . He had an incredible seven fumble recoveries in 1988 , two shy of the NFL single - season record . Three of those came in the Oilers ' memorable 41 - 17 whipping of the Redskins , broadcast on ESPN October 30 , 1988 . Childress was the foundation of a remarkable defensive unit saw Houston make seven consecutive playoff appearances . During the prime of his career , he was considered by many to be the best defensive tackle in football . With the Oilers unable to fit his salary in under the newly founded salary cap system , he was forced to play one season as a backup for Dallas in 1996 before retiring . Childress will always be remembered by his fans as not only a star , but also a blue - collar iron man . Until a shoulder separation ended his season ( an injury that would thereafter be the determining factor in his decision to retire ) in his final season with the Cowboys , Childress missed only 3 non - strike games due to injury , playing 154 games along the defensive line from 1985 - 1994 . Philanthropy . Along with his wife , Kara , Childress established the Childress Foundation in Houston , Texas in 1992 . The foundation provides programs to enhance student success , promote productive citizenship through community service , and develop effective life skills . Since its inception , the Childress Foundation has provided over $ 1 . 7 million in college scholarship s and has benefited more than 1 , 300 students . Business . Following his 12 year career in the NFL , Childress served as chairman and CEO for ten years of the Ray Childress Auto Group and a limited partner in the NFL franchise , Houston Texans . RCAG operated the Lawrence Marshall auto dealerships in Houston , Texas and the small town of Hempstead , Texas , approximately fifty miles from Houston , where Childress gained notoriety through television advertisement s in which he promised to " clobber big - city prices . " Lawrence Marshall dealerships closed its doors Feb . 4 , 2009 . The corporation closing can apparently be traced back to the national credit crunch when General Motors and Chrysler Corporation filed for bankruptcy . As car buyers are unable to get loans , dealerships are unable to make sales and are forced to close their doors . Ray recently formed Childress Directional Drilling , LLC .