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Sam Cunningham

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Full Name: Samuel Lewis Cunningham, Jr. Primary Position: FB/HB/RB
Height/Weight: 6' 3"/226 College: University of Southern California
Birthdate: August 15, 1950 High School: Santa Barbara (CA)
Birthplace: Santa Barbara, California Nickname: Sam the Bam
Pro Experience: 9 years
Rate this Player
2.67
(21 votes)

Contents

  • 1 Biography
    • 1.1 College career
    • 1.2 Professional career
    • 1.3 Personal
  • 2 Scouting Report
  • 3 Statistics
    • 3.1 Rushing Stats
    • 3.2 Receiving Stats
    • 3.3 Fumble Recovery Stats
  • 4 Trivia
  • 5 Video Gallery
  • 6 Picture Gallery
  • 7 See Also
  • 8 Categories

[edit] Biography

Sam Cunningham is a retired NFL fullback who played for the New England Patriots during the 1970s.

[edit] College career

He was a USC All-American fullback in the 1970's who convinced (through his play) Bear Bryant to integrate Southern football after USC soundly beat University of Alabama 42-21 on September 12, 1970 in a primetime matchup. 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.

Most people believe that 1977 was Sam Cunningham's best year, as he ran for 1015 yards, ran in 4 TDs and hauled in 42 receptions.

[edit] Scouting Report

[edit] Statistics

[edit] Rushing Stats

year team league games ATT YDS AVG TD LNG
1973 NWE NFL 14 155 516 3.3 4 25
1974 NWE NFL 10 166 811 4.9 9 75t
1975 NWE NFL 13 169 666 3.9 6 17
1976 NWE NFL 11 172 824 4.8 3 24
1977 NWE NFL 14 270 1015 3.8 4 31t
1978 NWE NFL 16 199 768 3.9 8 52t
1979 NWE NFL 12 159 563 3.5 5 27
1981 NWE NFL 11 86 269 3.1 4 12
1982 NWE NFL 5 9 21 2.3 0 4
9 year NFL career 106 1385 5453 3.9 43 0

[edit] Receiving Stats

year team league games REC YDS AVG TD LNG
1973 NWE NFL 14 15 144 9.6 1 34t
1974 NWE NFL 10 22 214 9.7 2 37
1975 NWE NFL 13 32 253 7.9 2 24
1976 NWE NFL 11 27 299 11.1 0 41
1977 NWE NFL 14 42 370 8.8 1 35
1978 NWE NFL 16 31 297 9.6 0 31
1979 NWE NFL 12 29 236 8.1 0 20
1981 NWE NFL 11 12 92 7.7 0 12
1982 NWE NFL 5 0 0 0 0 0
9 year NFL career 106 210 1905 9.1 6 0

[edit] Fumble Recovery Stats

year team league games TOT OWR OPR YDS TD
1973 NWE NFL 14 10 2 0 0 0
1974 NWE NFL 10 2 0 0 0 0
1975 NWE NFL 13 12 2 0 0 0
1976 NWE NFL 11 5 1 0 0 0
1977 NWE NFL 14 10 2 0 0 0
1978 NWE NFL 16 4 0 0 0 0
1979 NWE NFL 12 4 0 0 0 0
1981 NWE NFL 11 2 0 0 0 0
1982 NWE NFL 5 0 0 0 0 0
9 year NFL career 106 49 7 0 0 0

[edit] Trivia

[edit] Video Gallery

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[edit] Picture Gallery

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[edit] See Also

[edit] Categories

Retrieved from "http://armchairgm.wikia.com/Sam_Cunningham"

This page was last modified 13:24, 16 December 2007. Content is available under the GFDL.

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