Jimmy Edwards (gridiron football)

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Jimmy Edwards
No. 20
Date of birthSeptember 19, 1952
Place of birth
Shreveport Steamers (WFL)
19761978Hamilton Tiger-Cats (CFL)
1979Minnesota Vikings (NFL)
1981Winnipeg Blue Bombers (CFL)
1982Saskatchewan Roughriders (CFL)
Career highlights and awards
CFL All-Star1976, 1977
CFL East All-Star1976, 1977
Awards
Career stats

Jimmy Edwards (September 19, 1952–July 3, 2002) was a running back for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the Canadian Football League.

Early life

Edwards was born in

Classen High School in Oklahoma City.[1] He married Elaine June Sheets. He played college football at the University of Oklahoma and the University of Louisiana at Monroe.[2] He was selected by the Associated Press as a first-team running back on the 1972 Little All-America college football team.[3]

Professional career

He began his professional career in the

Shreveport Steamers
, where he rushed for only 163 yards on 49 carries and scoring 3 TDs. In the short existence of the WFL Edwards was the 20th all-time leading rusher.

He starred with the Tiger-Cats from 1976 to 1978. He was an all star each season and won the CFL's Most Outstanding Player Award in 1977 when he led the league in rushing with 1581 yards. This remained a team record until 2004, when Troy Davis broke it. He also rushed for 1046 yards in 1976, with 7 touchdowns, and for 800 yards in 1978. He finished in Hamilton with 3467 yards on 641 carries.

In 1979, he played 14 games with the

NFL's Minnesota Vikings, where he led the league in kickoff return yardage average (25.1 on 44 returns.) He also returned 33 punts, but caught only one pass and did not rush the ball.[4]

He returned to the CFL briefly, playing with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in 1981 and the Saskatchewan Roughriders in 1982.

Death

Jimmy Edwards died on July 3, 2002, in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The NewsOK.com website announced his death and subsequent funeral service, which was held on July 10.[5]

References

  1. ^ "Jimmy LaRoy Edwards". databaseFootball.com. Archived from the original on October 12, 2012. Retrieved November 26, 2012.
  2. ^ "Jimmy Edwards". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved November 26, 2012.
  3. Newspapers.com
    .
  4. ^ "Jimmy Edwards". NFL Enterprises LLC. Retrieved November 26, 2012.
  5. ^ "Services today for Classen standout Edwards". NewsOK.com. Retrieved February 17, 2018.


External links