Chuck Foreman

Chuck Foreman

Position(s) Running back Jersey #(s) 44
Born	October 26, 1950 (1950-10-26) (age 61) Frederick, Maryland, United States
Career information
Year(s)	1973–1980
NFL Draft	1973 / Round: 1 / Pick: 12
College	University of Miami
Professional teams
Minnesota Vikings (1973-1979) New England Patriots (1980)
Career stats
Rushing Yards	5,950
Average	3.8
Touchdowns	53
Stats at NFL.com
Career highlights and awards
5x Pro Bowl selection (1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977) 4x All-Pro selection (1974, 1975, 1976, 1977) 1973 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year

Chuck Foreman (born Walter E. Forman on October 26, 1950 in Frederick, Maryland) is a retired NFL football player. He was a running back during his NFL career, although he often caught passes out of the backfield.

Early career

Foreman was a standout athlete in football, basketball and track at Frederick High School in Frederick, Maryland. His ability in football to catch passes out of the backfield was evident throughout his years on varsity at Frederick High School. He played center on Frederick High's outstanding basketball team, which narrowly missed the state title his senior year.

Foreman attended the University of Miami, where he played defensive back, wide receiver and running back.

Professional career

The Minnesota Vikings first round draft choice in 1973, Chuck Foreman was selected with the 12th overall pick in the draft. He was a consensus choice as the National Football Conference (NFC) Rookie of the Year in 1973, when he rushed for 801 yards on 182 attempts and caught 37 passes for 362 yards.

Foreman was named NFC player of the year by The Sporting News in 1974 and by UPI in 1976. He was named All-Pro in 1975 and played in five consecutive Pro Bowls (1973–1977). Foreman had 3 straight seasons rushing for 1,000+ yards (1975–1977) and scored a then NFC record 22 Touchdowns in 14 games during the 1975 campaign. Foreman just missed a rare NFC 'Triple Crown' (rushing yards, receptions & TDs) in 1975 as well. During the last regular season game of 1975 the Vikings were playing the Buffalo Bills at Rich Stadium on Saturday, December 20 --- a nationally televised game on CBS --- during a classic Buffalo, NY snowstorm. Foreman was having a fantastic game despite the conditions. He would finish with 85 yards rushing, 10 receptions and four TDs in less than three quarters. After Foreman's third score (which gave him 21 TDs for the year, one shy of the NFL mark), Fran Tarkenton joked in the huddle, "Anybody who gets to the one-yard line, go out of bounds. We want some touchdowns for Chuck."

The crowd was getting ornery. Not only were the Bills being clobbered, 28-6, but it was looking like Foreman and not hometown hero O.J. Simpson might walk away with the TD record. Simpson had gotten his 22nd TD of the season in the first half, equaling Gale Sayer's 1965 total, but Foreman and the Vikes were really on a roll.

Late in the 3rd quarter Foreman was chasing a pass thrown out of the end zone when he was hit in the eye by a snowball. He went out of the game for a couple of plays, then returned with blurred vision and caught a six-yard touchdown pass to tie Sayers and Simpson with 22 TDs. That was it, though. He spent the last quarter on the bench.

Less than a minute later, Simpson scored on a 54-yard reception to surpass Sayers & Foreman. The next day, St. Louis' Jim Otis, playing only the first half, gained 69 yards in 14 carries to edge Foreman for conference rushing honors, 1,076 to 1,070. During that same season, Foreman also led the NFL in receptions with 73, a record for receptions by a running back. Foreman amassed 51 touchdowns over a 3 year span (1974–1976). Foreman played in 3 Super Bowls with the Vikings. Injuries plagued him throughout the 1978 and 1979 seasons and Foreman was subsequently traded to the New England Patriots, where he spent the 1980 season before retiring.

His pass-catching ability out of the backfield, combined with the ability to make the first tackler miss, was a key in the Minnesota Viking offense, which was sort of a pre-cursor of the West Coast Offense which became popular in the following decades. Chuck is widely known as "The Spin Doctor" for his elusive way of avoiding would-be tacklers.

Personal life

• Chuck's son Jay Foreman played linebacker in the NFL from 1999 to 2006
• Chuck is a substitute teacher in Minnesota at Bloomington Kennedy High School in Bloomington, Minnesota
• Chuck hosts a weekly internet radio talk show called SPIN IT! with Chuck Foreman

Giving Back

Sound Advice For Life, a student development program established by Chuck Foreman to provide positive reinforcement and guidelines for a productive life.

Awards and honors

• 1973 NFL Rookie of the Year
• 2005, College Football Hall of Fame honored Chuck with the Community Service Award
• 2007,Inducted to the Minnesota Vikings Ring of Honor

Career statistics:

• Rushing: 5,950 total yards. 1,556 carries (3.8 yard average); 53 touchdowns
• Pass receptions: 350 passes for 3,156 yards (9.0 yard average); 23 touchdowns

Preceded by Franco Harris

AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year 1973

Succeeded by Don Woods

External links

• Official Website of Chuck Foreman
• Official Twitter of Chuck Foreman
• SPIN IT! with Chuck Foreman Live Internet Talk Show

Persondata
Name	Foreman, Chuck
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	October 26, 1950
Place of birth
Date of death
Place of death