Sam Cunningham

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Sam Cunningham
Date of birth August 15, 1950
Place of birth Santa Barbara, California
Position(s) FB
College Southern California
NFL Draft 1973 / Round 1 / Pick 11
Pro Bowls 1
Statistics
Team(s)
1973-1982 New England Patriots

Sam Cunningham (born August 15, 1950, in Santa Barbara, CA) is a retired American football fullback.

Contents

[edit] College career

He was a USC All-American fullback in the 1970's whose performance led his team to beat an all-white University of Alabama 42-21 at Birmingham on September 12, 1970 in a primetime matchup and convinced (through his play) Bear Bryant to integrate Southern football. Like most great athletes of that era, he somehow managed to avoid military service in Vietnam. Bear Bryant allegedly brought Cunningham into the all-white Alabama locker room after the game and said "This is what a football player looks like." The story has been well researched, however, and does not seem to be true. Cunningham himself has even stated publicly that he has no recollection of the event and that he only heard about the story second-hand. Even so, his performance in the game was incredible and it cannot be denied that his dominance against Alabama was an important moment. Jerry Claiborne, a Bryant assistant, said, "Sam Cunningham did more to integrate Alabama in 60 minutes than Martin Luther King did in 20 years."

[edit] Professional career

In only his second year 1974, he gained 811 yards and 9 touchdowns as he led the New England Patriots to a surprising 4-0 start before faltering to a 7-7 finish. In 1977 he gained a career high 1,015 yards and scored 4 touchdowns, and also caught 42 receptions for 370 yards and a touchdown. He played his entire career (1973 through 1982) with the Patriots and was a 1978 Pro Bowl selection.

Cunningham finished his career with 5,453 rushing yards, 210 receptions for 1,905 yards, and 49 touchdowns.

[edit] Personal

He was known as "Bam" because of his running style, and is the older brother of NFL star quarterback Randall Cunningham. Cunningham is a member of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc.

He is now retired to a beach community in Southern California and enjoys golfing at the local courses.

[edit] External links

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