Ottis Anderson
_(cropped).jpg) Anderson in 2023 | |||||||||||||
| No. 32, 24 | |||||||||||||
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| Position: | Running back | ||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||
| Born: | January 19, 1957 West Palm Beach, Florida, U.S. | ||||||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | ||||||||||||
| Weight: | 220 lb (100 kg) | ||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||
| High school: | Forest Hill (West Palm Beach, Florida) | ||||||||||||
| College: | Miami (FL) (1975–1978) | ||||||||||||
| NFL draft: | 1979 / Round: 1 / Pick: 8 | ||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||||
| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||||||
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| Player stats at NFL.com · PFR | |||||||||||||
Ottis Jerome Anderson (born January 19, 1957) is an American former
In his first season, Anderson was named Offensive Rookie of the Year and received Pro Bowl and first-team All-Pro honors when he set the Cardinals all-time record for rushing yards. He also received a second Pro Bowl selection the following year. Traded to the Giants in 1986 amid a production decline, Anderson won two Super Bowl titles in Super Bowl XXI and Super Bowl XXV. Anderson was named MVP of the latter, in which he played a central part of the Giants ball-control offense that set the Super Bowl record for time of possession.
Early life
Ottis Jerome Anderson was born and raised in
College career
Anderson attended the
Anderson was inducted into the University of Miami Sports Hall of Fame in 1990.[2]
Statistics
| Season | Rushing | Receiving | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Att | Yds | TD | Rec | Yds | TD | |
| 1975 | 67 | 365 | 0 | 11 | 128 | 1 |
| 1976 | 213 | 918 | 6 | 10 | 121 | 0 |
| 1977 | 187 | 782 | 1 | 20 | 243 | 3 |
| 1978 | 224 | 1,266 | 8 | 14 | 47 | 0 |
| Career | 691 | 3,331 | 15 | 55 | 539 | 4 |
Professional career
Anderson was selected in the first round of the
In his first six seasons, Anderson rushed for over 1,000 yards in five seasons. The lone exception was in the 1982 strike-shortened season, when he rushed for 587 yards in eight games; a pace for well over 1,000 yards in a full 16 game season.[4]
The Cardinals made the playoffs in 1982, thanks to an expanded field due to the brevity of the season. It was the franchise's first postseason appearance since 1975 and last until 1998. Anderson rushed for 58 yards on eight carries against the Green Bay Packers in the team's lone playoff game.
Injuries drastically decreased the number of games Anderson played each season, and his explosiveness as a
In his first two and a half seasons with New York, Anderson did not
Anderson was replaced by Rodney Hampton in 1991. His last season was 1992. Anderson fumbled just three times in 739 touches as a Giant, from 1987–1992.
When he retired, Anderson ranked seventh in rushing TDs and eighth in rushing yards. At the
NFL career statistics
| Legend | |
|---|---|
| Won the Super Bowl | |
| Super Bowl MVP | |
| Bold | Career high |
Regular season
| Year | Team | Games | Rushing | Receiving | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Att | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Rec | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | ||
| 1979 | STL | 16 | 16 | 331 | 1,605 | 4.8 | 76 | 9 | 41 | 308 | 7.5 | 28 | 2 |
| 1980 | STL | 16 | 16 | 301 | 1,352 | 4.5 | 52 | 9 | 36 | 308 | 8.6 | 35 | 0 |
| 1981 | STL | 16 | 16 | 328 | 1,376 | 4.2 | 28 | 9 | 51 | 387 | 7.6 | 27 | 0 |
| 1982 | STL | 8 | 8 | 145 | 587 | 4.0 | 64 | 3 | 14 | 106 | 7.6 | 19 | 0 |
| 1983 | STL | 15 | 15 | 296 | 1,270 | 4.3 | 43 | 5 | 54 | 459 | 8.5 | 40 | 1 |
| 1984 | STL | 15 | 15 | 289 | 1,174 | 4.1 | 24 | 6 | 70 | 611 | 8.7 | 57 | 2 |
| 1985 | STL | 9 | 8 | 117 | 479 | 4.1 | 38 | 4 | 23 | 225 | 9.8 | 43 | 0 |
| 1986 | STL | 4 | 3 | 51 | 156 | 3.1 | 14 | 2 | 10 | 91 | 9.1 | 19 | 0 |
| NYG | 8 | 0 | 24 | 81 | 3.4 | 16 | 1 | 9 | 46 | 5.1 | 12 | 0 | |
| 1987 | NYG | 4 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 3.0 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 16 | 8.0 | 9 | 0 |
| 1988 | NYG | 16 | 0 | 65 | 208 | 3.2 | 11 | 8 | 9 | 57 | 6.3 | 13 | 0 |
| 1989 | NYG | 16 | 16 | 325 | 1,023 | 3.1 | 36 | 14 | 28 | 268 | 9.6 | 26 | 0 |
| 1990 | NYG | 16 | 11 | 225 | 784 | 3.5 | 28 | 11 | 18 | 139 | 7.7 | 18 | 0 |
| 1991 | NYG | 10 | 1 | 53 | 141 | 2.7 | 9 | 1 | 11 | 41 | 3.7 | 13 | 0 |
| 1992 | NYG | 13 | 0 | 10 | 31 | 3.1 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Career[5] | 182 | 125 | 2,562 | 10,273 | 4.0 | 76 | 81 | 376 | 3,062 | 8.1 | 57 | 5 | |
Life after football
The end of Anderson's 14-year football career[4] in 1993 marked the beginning of his career in entrepreneurship and motivational speaking.
Anderson has appeared on several major local and national radio and television shows, including The David Letterman Show and Good Morning America. He appeared on Comedy Central's Tosh.0 during the Crying Giants' Fan Web Redemption. Chris Cuomo of ABC News interviewed Anderson as part of One Moment in Time: The Life of Whitney Houston, a two-hour special on ABC shortly after the death of singer Whitney Houston. In Super Bowl XXV, Houston performed "The Star-Spangled Banner", and Anderson and then-Giants quarterback Jeff Hostetler, along with then-Buffalo Bills quarterback Frank Reich, reflected on Houston's performance in that game.
He was a broadcast analyst with
As president of Ottis J. Anderson Enterprises, Anderson is also involved in several ventures and is involved with writing benefits for municipalities, school boards and privately held businesses in New Jersey. In 2017, Anderson began working as the Vice President of Business Development for Metro Exhibits, selling trade show booths and services.
Anderson has been affiliated with many community organizations such as the
Anderson was inducted into the St. Louis Sports Hall of Fame on May 2, 2022. [8]
See also
- History of the New York Giants (1979–93)
References
- ^ a b c d e "Bio". ottisanderson.com. Ottis Anderson. Retrieved February 22, 2022.
- ^ "Ottis Anderson". umsportshalloffame.com. University Of Miami Sports Hall Of Fame. December 1, 1990.
- ^ "NFL First Game Records". goldenrankings.com. Retrieved August 7, 2013.
- ^ a b c "Profile on NFL's official site". nfl.com. Retrieved September 9, 2010.
- ^ "Ottis Anderson". Football-Reference.com. Retrieved January 29, 2020.
- ^ "Ottis "O.J." Anderson – VP of Business Development". https://metroexhibits.com. Metro Exhibits. Retrieved February 22, 2022.
{{cite web}}: External link in|website= - ^ "Ottis 'O.J.' Anderson Exclusive Interview". Best Artificial Grass. June 24, 2014. Archived from the original on December 5, 2021. Retrieved February 22, 2022 – via YouTube.
- ^ Underwood, Bob (July 3, 2022). "OJ Anderson inducted into the St. Louis Sports Hall of Fame". THE BIG RED ZONE. Retrieved October 31, 2023.
External links
- Career statistics and player information from NFL.com · Pro Football Reference
- Official Website for Ottis "OJ" Anderson