Sam Cunningham
No. 39 | |||||
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Position: | Fullback | ||||
Personal information | |||||
Born: | Santa Barbara, California, U.S. | August 15, 1950||||
Died: | September 7, 2021 Inglewood, California, U.S. | (aged 71)||||
Height: | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | ||||
Weight: | 226 lb (103 kg) | ||||
Career information | |||||
High school: | Santa Barbara | ||||
College: | USC | ||||
NFL draft: | 1973 / Round: 1 / Pick: 11 | ||||
Career history | |||||
Career highlights and awards | |||||
Career NFL statistics | |||||
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Player stats at NFL.com · PFR | |||||
Samuel Lewis Cunningham Jr (August 15, 1950 – September 7, 2021), nicknamed "Bam",[1] was an American professional football player who was a fullback for 10 seasons with the New England Patriots of the National Football League (NFL).[2] He played college football for the USC Trojans, where he earned first-team All-American honors and was the MVP of the 1973 Rose Bowl.
Selected in the first round of the 1973 NFL draft by the Patriots, Cunningham became the franchise's all-time leading rusher. He was inducted to the College Football Hall of Fame in 2010. The same year, he was also inducted to the Patriots Hall of Fame.
College career
Cunningham was a letterman for
In 1970, he was part of
Professional career
In only his second year 1974, Cunningham gained 811 yards and nine touchdowns as he led the New England Patriots to a surprising 5–0 start before faltering to a 7–7 finish. In 1977, he gained a career-high 1,015 yards and scored four touchdowns, and also caught 42 receptions for 370 yards and a touchdown. He played his entire career (1973–1982) with the Patriots and was a 1978 Pro Bowl selection. Cunningham was an integral part of the 1978 Patriots, who set an NFL record for rushing yards as a team with 3,165. This record stood for more than forty years and was not broken until the 2019 Baltimore Ravens.[7]
Cunningham finished his career with 5,453 rushing yards, 210 receptions for 1,905 yards, and 49 touchdowns. He was the older brother of former UNLV and NFL quarterback Randall Cunningham and uncle of Randall Cunningham II and world champion high jumper Vashti Cunningham.
Cunningham was the 2010 Inductee to the Patriots Hall of Fame.
NFL career statistics
Legend | |
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Led the league | |
Bold | Career high |
Year | Team | Games | Rushing | Receiving | Fumbles | |||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
GP | GS | Att | Yds | Avg | Y/G | Lng | TD | Rec | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Fum | FR | ||
1973 | NE | 14 | 10 | 155 | 516 | 3.3 | 36.9 | 25 | 4 | 15 | 144 | 9.6 | 34 | 1 | 10 | 2 |
1974 | NE | 10 | 10 | 166 | 811 | 4.9 | 81.1 | 75 | 9 | 22 | 214 | 9.7 | 37 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
1975 | NE | 13 | 13 | 169 | 666 | 3.9 | 51.2 | 17 | 6 | 32 | 253 | 7.9 | 24 | 2 | 12 | 2 |
1976 | NE | 11 | 11 | 172 | 824 | 4.8 | 74.9 | 24 | 3 | 27 | 299 | 11.1 | 41 | 0 | 5 | 1 |
1977 | NE | 14 | 14 | 270 | 1,015 | 3.8 | 72.5 | 31 | 4 | 42 | 370 | 8.8 | 35 | 1 | 10 | 2 |
1978 | NE | 16 | 14 | 199 | 768 | 3.9 | 48.0 | 52 | 8 | 31 | 297 | 9.6 | 31 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
1979 | NE | 12 | 12 | 159 | 563 | 3.5 | 46.9 | 27 | 5 | 29 | 236 | 8.1 | 20 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
1980 | NE | Missed season due to contract dispute | ||||||||||||||
1981 | NE | 11 | 8 | 86 | 269 | 3.1 | 24.5 | 12 | 4 | 12 | 92 | 7.7 | 12 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
1982 | NE | 6 | 2 | 9 | 21 | 2.3 | 3.5 | 4 | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
Career | 107 | 94 | 1,385 | 5,453 | 3.9 | 51.0 | 75 | 43 | 210 | 1,905 | 9.1 | 41 | 6 | 49 | 7 |
Death
Cunningham died on September 7, 2021, at the age of 71.[8]
References
- ^ Chapin, Dwight - McKay's Message Puts the Bam Back in Sam. Los Angeles Times, October 15, 1971. "The name-Sam (Bam) Cunningham--makes you think of a big guy crunching through tacklers like a truck going through a plate glass window."
- ^ Ex-USC, New England Patriots Star Fullback Sam "Bam" Cunningham Dies At 71
- ^ "Rose Bowl Game Hall of Fame". tournamentofroses.com. September 8, 2021.
- ^ Schoen, David (April 11, 2013). "Gorman siblings not burdened by celebrated name". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved September 6, 2013.
- ^ USC Legends: Sam Cunningham
- ^ Rose Bowl Legends: Sam Cunningham Archived January 5, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Ravens set single season rushing record". Matthew Stevens USA Today Ravens Wire. December 29, 2019.
- ^ "USC icon, Patriots HOFer Cunningham, 71, dies". September 7, 2021.