Gene Mingo

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Gene Mingo
Date of birth	September 22, 1938
Place of birth	Akron, OH
Position(s)	Running back, Placekicker
College	None
Pro Bowls	AFL All-Star 1960, 1962
Records	Most td passes by a halfback, game (2)
Statistics	DatabaseFootball
Team(s)
1960-1964 1964, 1965 1966, 1967 1967 1969-1970	AFL Denver Broncos AFL Oakland Raiders AFL Miami Dolphins NFL Washington Redskins NFL Pittsburgh Steelers

Eugene Mingo (born September 22, 1938 in Akron, Ohio) was the first black field goal kicker in professional football in the United States, and was a very versatile American football player, playing several positions including halfback, kicker, and kickoff/punt returner.

In 1960, he had the first punt return for a touchdown in the American Football League, for the Denver Broncos. That touchdown won the first-ever American Football League game, as the Broncos defeated the Boston Patriots. Mingo also scored the first points in Mile High Stadium, then called Bears Stadium, with an 18-yard field goal. In the 1961 season opener at War Memorial Stadium against the Buffalo Bills, Mingo threw two touchdown passes , from the halfback position, to help the Broncos win 22-10: a 50-yarder to fellow Hall of Famer Lionel Taylor in the first quarter, and a 52-yarder to Taylor in the third. Mingo kicked the PATs after each score. He led the American Football League in scoring as a rookie in 1960 with 123 points and in 1962 with 137 points. Gene Mingo holds the Broncos' franchise record for the longest touchdown run, an 82-yarder against the Raiders in 1961. He also played for the AFL's Oakland Raiders and the Miami Dolphins.