O. J. McDuffie

O. J. McDuffie

McDuffie in 2008
Position(s) Wide Receiver Jersey #(s) 81
Born	December 2, 1969 (1969-12-02) (age 41) Marion, Ohio
Career information
Year(s)	1993–2001
NFL Draft	1993 / Round: 1 / Pick: 25
College	Penn State
Professional teams
Miami Dolphins (1993-2001)
Career stats
Receptions	415
Receiving Yards	5,074
Touchdowns	29
Stats at NFL.com
Career highlights and awards
All-American, 1992 1992 Fiesta Bowl MVP Ed Block Courage Award (1997) NFL receptions leader (1998)

Otis James McDuffie (born December 2, 1969) is a former American Football player who played wide receiver for the Miami Dolphins from 1993 to 2000. In college, McDuffie was an All-American at Penn State University. He was formerly a radio personality for WAXY, an AM sports radio station in South Florida and is now a sports blogger at OPENSports.com.

McDuffie is also the founder and chairman of the Catch 81 Foundation, an organization created to raise money for children’s charitable causes in the South Florida metropolitan area.^[1]

High school

McDuffie attended Hawken School in Gates Mills, Ohio, excelling in football, basketball, track and field and baseball. He set Hawken's record for all-purpose yards with 7,302 in his high school career. In 1986, McDuffie returned an interception 108 yards, an unofficial Ohio state record.^[2] During his senior year in 1987, he was named the A-AA Ohio Player of the year. For the 1987 high school football season, he scored 136 points (21 touchdowns) ahead of future professional football players Desmond Howard and Robert Smith.^[3]

His number 32 is retired at Hawken School and The News-Herald named McDuffie the number 3 player of the 20th century in Northeast Ohio.^[3] Memorabilia from McDuffie's days playing Marion Midget Football are featured in an exhibit entitled "A Passion to Play" at the Marion County Historical Society.^[4]

Penn State

McDuffie played college football for legendary coach Joe Paterno at Penn State. He wore the number 24 for the Nittany Lions. He set many single-season and career receiving records, as well as all-purpose yard records. His performance in Penn State's 1992 Fiesta Bowl victory over Tennessee on January 1, 1992 garnered him the game's offensive MVP.

McDuffie also played baseball while at Penn State. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Labor and Industrial Relations from Penn State in 1992.

Professional career

McDuffie was selected in the first round (25th pick overall) of the 1993 NFL Draft. He returned punts and was a reserve wide receiver before earning the starting spot for the Dolphins. During his formative years with the Dolphins, McDuffie became known as Dan Marino's favorite receiver. His 415 career catches are fourth all-time in Dolphins history. In 1998, McDuffie caught 90 passes, leading the NFL in that category. He is the only Dolphin to achieve this feat. McDuffie played his entire career in Miami, retiring in 2000 because of a nagging toe injury.

Nearly ten years later, McDuffie would win a Medical malpractice lawsuit related to that career-ending toe injury.^[5] On May 5, 2010, Miami-Dade County, Florida jurors ordered a former Dolphins team physician, Dr. John Uribe, to pay McDuffie $11.5 million in damages.^[6] The lawsuit alleged Uribe told McDuffie he was safe to continue playing football, despite MRIs showing damage to the tendons in his toe.^[6] On September 30, 2010, Judge Michael Genden of Miami-Dade County tossed out that verdict due to the improper use of a medical manual as evidence. The judge also ordered a new trial.

References

1. ^ "About Catch 81". Catch 81 Foundation. http://www.catch81foundation.org/about_oj.html. Retrieved 2010-04-21. 
2. ^ Kyre, Brenda (2008-11-24). "State Records, Football". The Ohio High School Athletic Association. http://www.ohsaa.org/sports/records/ftrecrd.htm. Retrieved 2008-11-30. 
3. ^ ^{a b} News-herald.com
4. ^ Steven, James (2008-11-30). "A Passion to Play". The Marion Star. http://www.marionstar.com/article/20081130/NEWS01/811300308/1002. Retrieved 2008-11-30. ^{[dead link]}
5. ^ "McDuffie awarded $11.5M in toe lawsuit". Associated Press. 2010-05-05. http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=5165835. 
6. ^ ^{a b} Neal, David (2010-05-06). "Former Miami Dolphins' O.J. McDuffie gets $11.5 million". The Miami Herald. http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/05/06/1615345/former-miami-dolphins-oj-mcduffie.html. 

External links

• "About O.J. McDuffie", on SportsTalk 790
• "McDuffie Biography", OPENSports.com
• McDuffie's McBlog, OPEN Sports Network
• Catch 81 Foundation

Persondata
Name	Macduffie, O. J.
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	1969-12-02
Place of birth
Date of death
Place of death