Lance Alworth

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Lance Dwight Alworth (born August 3, 1940) is a former American football wide receiver. He is a member of the College Football Hall of Fame and the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He retired as a player after the 1972 season.

Born in Houston, Texas, Alworth was raised in Brookhaven, Mississippi, where played football at Brookhaven High School before attending the University of Arkansas.^[1] At the University of Arkansas, the six-foot (1.83 m), 180-pound (82 kg) Alworth was a running back who led all colleges in punt return yardage in 1960 and 1961. He also was a track star: running the 100 and 220 yard dashes (9.6 seconds and 21.3 seconds) and long jump. He is a member of the Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity. Alworth is a member of the University of Arkansas Hall of Honor and the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame. Plus, he was named to the University of Arkansas' 1960's All-Decade Team, and the schools' All-Century Team in 1994.

He was taken 8th overall in the first round of the 1962 NFL Draft by the San Francisco 49ers. The American Football League's Oakland Raiders drafted him as their first pick (ninth overall) in the second round of the 1962 AFL draft, and then traded his rights to the San Diego Chargers in return for halfback Bo Roberson, quarterback Hunter Enis, and offensive tackle Gene Selawski.^[2] Alworth opted to sign with the Chargers instead of the 49ers. The Chargers moved Alworth to wide receiver. His slender build, speed, grace, and leaping ability earned him the nickname "Bambi."

Alworth was an AFL Western Division All-Star in seven consecutive seasons, from 1963 through 1969, and was an AFL All-League flanker the same seven seasons, selected by his peers from 1963-1966, and by newspaper wire services from 1967-1964. Alworth was the UPI's 1969 AFL Most Valuable Player and is a member of the AFL All-Time Team. He scored on a 48-yard touchdown pass in the Chargers' 1963 AFL Championship Game victory over the Boston Patriots. In Alworth's 8 AFL seasons, he led the league in receiving yards and receptions 3 times. He also set a Chargers record with 83 touchdowns.

He held records for the most consecutive games with a reception (96), and still holds the record for the most games with 200+ yards receiving,(5) and was the only receiver to average more than 100 yards a game in three consecutive seasons (1964–1966). Alworth formed a formidable tandem along with Chargers quarterback John Hadl, and is considered by many to be the best wide receiver in all professional football during the 1960s. He was one of the few American Football League stars to be featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated (SI), which like other media of the 1960s, showed a distinct bias for the NFL. SI even went so far in 1965 as to declare Alworth "Pro Football's Top Receiver", this, a year before the AFL-NFL merger, and two years before the Common Draft, before which many claimed the AFL had inferior players.

In 1971, Alworth was traded to the Dallas Cowboys, for his final two seasons (1971 and 1972), with some fans believing the controversial transaction spawned the San Diego Sports Curse [1]. In Super Bowl VI, he would catch a touchdown pass for the Cowboys in a 24-3 victory over the Miami Dolphins. Alworth would later call the two receptions he made in Super Bowl VI (one that converted a third and long and the other for the touchdown), the two most important catches of his career. He had all the statistics and an AFL Championship ring, and now was also an NFL champion.

Alworth finished his 11 AFL/NFL seasons with 543 receptions for 10,266 yards. He also rushed for 129 yards, returned 29 punts for 309 yards, gained 216 yards on 10 kickoff returns, and scored 87 touchdowns (85 receiving and 2 rushing).

In 1972, he was inducted to the San Diego Hall of Champions' Breitbart Hall of Fame. In 1977, he was inducted in the Chargers Hall of Fame. In 1978 he became the first San Diego Charger and the first player who had played in the AFL to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He chose to be presented at the Canton, Ohio ceremony by Oakland Raiders owner Al Davis, his former position coach at San Diego, who had much to do with the success of the AFL.

Alworth's #19 is retired by the Chargers, only the second number ever retired by the team. (It was, however, issued to Johnny Unitas when he played his final NFL season with the Chargers in 1973.) In 1970, he was selected as a member of the AFL All-Time Team, and in 1994, he was named to the NFL 75th Anniversary All-Time Team, the only player to be named to both teams.

In 1999, he was ranked number 31 on The Sporting News' list of the 100 Greatest Football Players, making him the highest-ranking Charger and the highest-ranking player to have spent more than one season in the AFL.

[edit] See also

• Other American Football League players
• San Diego Sports Curse

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Alworth's Pro Football Hall of Fame page
• Breitbard Hall of Fame bio
• Alworth's 1967 Topps Football card
• Gallery of Lance Alworth football cards