Rufus is a former professional football player who played for the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football league and for the Hamilton Tigercats of the Canadian Football League. He was honored as the 1980's Hamilton Tigercat player of the decade. Upon retirement from football in 1986, he began to pursue acting.
In 2008 Rufus was inducted into Virginia State University Sports Hall of Fame. On May 19, 2014, in his home town of Gastonia, North Carolina, he was inducted into the Gastonia County Sports Hall of Fame
