LaDainian Tomlinson

Infobox NFLactive

---

caption=Tomlinson running the ball during practice on August 2, 2008
currentteam=San Diego Chargers
currentnumber=21
currentposition=Running back
birthdate=birth date and age|1979|06|23
birthplace=Rosebud, Texas
heightft=5
heightin=10
weight=221
debutyear=2001
debutteam=San Diego Chargers
highlights=
* Mobile Alabama Bowl MVP (2000)
* Doak Walker Award (2000)
* Senior Bowl Most Valuable Player (2001)
* AP NFL MVP (2006)
* PFWA NFL MVP (2006)
* Co-Walter Payton M.O.Y Winner (2006)
* Best NFL Player ESPY Award (2007)
* Best Record-Breaking Performance ESPY Award (2007)
* Best Male Athlete ESPY Award (2007)
* 5x Pro Bowl selection (2002, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007)
* 4x First-team All-Pro selection (2004, 2005, 2006, 2007)
* 2x Second-team All-Pro (2002, 2003)
* List of records
college=Texas Christian
draftyear=2001
draftround=1
draftpick=5
pastteams=
* San Diego Chargers (2001-Present)
statweek=5
statseason=2008
statlabel1=Rushing yards
statvalue1=10,981
statlabel2=Rushing average
statvalue2=4.5
statlabel3=Rushing TDs
statvalue3=119
nfl=TOM683150

LaDainian Tomlinson (born June 23, 1979) is an American football player who currently plays running back for the San Diego Chargers of the National Football League. Tomlinson, frequently called "LT", [ [http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16144049/ LT sets TD mark as Chargers clinch AFC West] from 10 December, 2006.] set several records during the 2006 NFL season by scoring a league-leading 186 points. He received additional honors by winning the NFL’s Most Valuable Player Award and the Associated Press’ Offensive Player of the Year Award. [http://www.chargers.com/news/headlines/win-yields-title.htm Win yields title, date with history] obtained 17 December, 2006.]

Early years

LaDainian Tomlinson was born to Loreane Chappelle and Oliver Tomlinson in Rosebud, Texas. His early life was full of adversity; his brother and grandfather both died when he was a child, forced to support the remaining members of the family by himself. However before leaving, his father instilled an affection for football in his son.

Tomlinson attended University High School in Waco, Texas, where he played basketball, baseball, and football. Tomlinson began his football career as a linebacker, but blossomed on the offensive side of the ball. Tomlinson amassed 2,554 yards and 39 touchdowns his senior year, earning honors as the District 25-4A Most Valuable Player, Super Centex Offensive Player of the Year.cite web |url=http://www.jockbio.com/Bios/Tomlinson/Tomlinson_bio.html|title=Jock Bio: LaDainian Tomlinson] cite web |url= http://www.nflplayers.com/players/player.aspx?id=30043 |title= LaDainian Tomlinson #21 bio]

Tomlinson was an avid Dallas Cowboys and Miami Hurricanes fan during his youth. He especially idolized Walter Payton, Jim Brown, and Emmitt Smith. He trained with Smith during a summer camp. In a later interview with ESPN, Tomlinson stated that his playing style and mentality were influenced by the three running backs.cite web |url=http://www.jockbio.com/Bios/Tomlinson/Tomlinson_bio.html|title=Jock Bio: LaDainian Tomlinson] [cite web|url=http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20050202/news_1s2emmitside.html |title=Tomlinson among those shocked by Smith news] [cite web|url=http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=neel/061214|title=IS LT the best ever?]

College career

Tomlinson was recruited by many schools, but was not considered one of the nation's top backs coming out of high school. Many have felt this was because Tomlinson didn't play running back until his senior year in high school and many top colleges had already made their recruiting choices by then. Thus, Tomlinson signed with Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, Texas, a small school then in the Western Athletic Conference. Prior to Tomlinson's arrival, TCU had appeared in only one bowl game in the previous 12 seasons (and 2 in the previous 34), and had recently been "downgraded" to a minor conference (the Western Athletic Conference) after the breakup of the long-standing Southwest Conference. TCU is now part of the Mountain West Conference.

During Tomlinson's freshman and sophomore years, he split time with Basil Mitchell. In the 1998 season he helped the Horned Frogs win its first bowl game in 41 years against the University of Southern California in the Sun Bowl. [ [http://espn.go.com/ncf/bowls01/s/gallery_tcubowl.html TCU runs hot and cold in bowls] from 28 December, 2001] During his junior season in 1999, he set an NCAA record for yards in one game with 408 against UTEP. He ended the year with an NCAA-leading 1,850 yards rushing to go along with 18 touchdowns.

In his senior season in 2000, Tomlinson led the NCAA for the second time with 2,158 yards and 22 touchdowns while piling on 354 yards receiving. He won the Doak Walker Award as the nation's best running back, and was a finalist for the Heisman, but came in fourth. He completed his college career with 5,263 rushing yards, ranking sixth in NCAA Division I history. [ Just falling short of Zach Green of Bhs who rushed for 5,269 yards in his career. [http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/football/college/2000/heisman/news/2000/12/09/closer_look/ TCU's Tomlinson finishes distant fourth, feels like 'fluke'] from Sports Illustrated, 9 December, 2000]

The school retired his jersey number (5) during halftime of a November 2005 game against UNLV. [ [http://www.magazine.tcu.edu/articles/2006-03-CV.asp?issueid=200603 Our All-Time Numbers] from TCU Magazine, obtained 18 December, 2006.] In December of that year, Tomlinson fulfilled a promise to his mother by earning his degree in communications from TCU. [ [http://www.ladainiantomlinson.com/home.htm LaDainianTomlinson.com Biography page] obtained 17 December, 2006.]

NFL career

2001 NFL Draft

The San Diego Chargers selected Tomlinson in the first round of the 2001 NFL Draft, as the fifth overall pick. It should be noted that the Chargers possessed the Draft’s first selection, but traded the pick to the Atlanta Falcons, who drafted Michael Vick. In this way, many consider that Vick and Tomlinson were “traded” for each other, although the transaction was actually the result of traded draft picks and his exact contract negotiations.

The San Diego Chargers gave the rights to select Vick at the 1st pick to the Falcons in exchange for the fifth overall pick in the first round (Tomlinson), the 67th overall pick in the third-round (Tay Cody), their second-round pick in 2002 which turned into Reche Caldwell as the 48th overall pick that year and wide receiver Tim Dwight. [cite web|url=http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/football/nfl/2001/draft/news/2001/04/20/falcons_toppick_ap/|title=sportsillustrated.cnn.com/football/nfl/2001/draft/news/2001/04/20/falcons_toppick_ap/ ]

("* represents NFL Combine")

an Diego Chargers

Tomlinson immediately became the starting running back with the Chargers and has started all but one game since. The one game he did not start was due to a choice by the coach to sit Tomlinson out during the last regular season game before the playoffs - not due to any kind of injury. He has achieved immediate success in the NFL, rushing for over 1,200 yards and making over 50 receptions in each of his seven seasons. He has also proven to be effective as a passer, having completed eight career passes, seven of them for touchdowns and a career passer rating of 154.4. [http://www.nfl.com/players/playerpage/235249 Ladainian Tomlinson Stats] from NFL.com.]

In 2003, he became the first player in NFL history to rush for 1,000 yards and record 100 receptions in the same season. [ [http://www.profootballhof.com/history/decades/2000s/tomlinson.jsp Tomlinson's feat preserved in Canton] from Pro Football Hall of Fame, obtained 17 December, 2006] He also reached his 50th career touchdown in his 4th season (60th game) and was elected to the Pro Bowl team in 2002, 2004, 2005, and 2006. Tomlinson also tied Lenny Moore's all-time record for consecutive games scoring a TD (18).

On October 16, 2005, in the Chargers' victory over the Oakland Raiders, LaDainian Tomlinson became the 7th player in NFL history to run, catch, and throw for a touchdown in the same game. Despite breaking his ribs towards the end of the 2005 season, LaDainian continued to play and finished the season with 1,462 rushing yards, 370 receiving yards, and a career high 20 touchdowns (18 rushing, 2 receiving). In 2005 he was nominated for the FedEx Ground Player of the Year Award. Tomlinson placed third behind Tiki Barber and Shaun Alexander.

In the 2006 season, he set an NFL record by scoring 19 touchdowns in a span of 6 games, including a franchise record 4 touchdowns in games against the San Francisco 49ers, Cincinnati Bengals and the Denver Broncos. He is the first to score three TDs in three straight games, and the first to have three games of four or more TDs in one season. He became the fastest player ever to score 100 touchdowns. On November 19, 2006, Tomlinson accomplished the milestone in 89 games with 102, beating the previous record of 93 games held by Jim Brown and Emmitt Smith. On Dec. 3, 2006, Tomlinson became the first running back to rush for at least 1,236 yards in his first six NFL seasons(he has now done so in his first seven years as well). On December 7, he was named the AFC Offensive Player of the Month. [ [http://www.chargers.com/news/press-releases/press-release-20061207.php LT Named AFC Offensive Player of the Month] obtained 17 December, 2006.]

He scored his 29th touchdown against the Denver Broncos in just 13 games (Alexander set the record in 16). His 2 touchdown passes do not count toward this record because the NFL treats them in a separate category. With the first touchdown against Kansas City on December 17, he surpassed the most points in a season by an NFL player; one which had stood for 46 years. Tomlinson would finish his record breaking season with 2,323 yards from scrimmage (combined rushing and receiving) and 31 touchdowns (28 rushing, 3 receiving).

On January 4, 2007, Tomlinson was awarded with the NFL AP Most Valuable Player Award for his record-breaking season. He was the runaway winner, receiving 44 of the 50 votes from a panel of nationwide sportswriters and broadcasters who cover the NFL. Former teammate Drew Brees, now with New Orleans, received four votes and Indianapolis QB Peyton Manning received two votes. Tomlinson was also one of 9 Chargers players selected for the 2007 Pro Bowl and also a starting running back of the American Football Conference. He was also named AP Offensive Player of the Year and later named NBC Player of the Year. He was later named co-holder of the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award alongside his aforementioned former teammate Drew Brees. On July 11, 2007, Tomlinson won the ESPY Awards for Male Athlete of the Year, Best Record-Breaking Performance and Best NFL Athlete, as well as the Hummer Like Nothing Else Award.

Tomlinson went on to rush for 123 yards, catch 2 passes for 64 yards, and score 2 touchdowns in the Chargers divisional playoff loss to the New England Patriots on January 14, 2007. After the game, he was upset at the Patriots and their head coach Bill Belichick for performing a victory dance that mocked fellow Charger Shawne Merriman on the center-field logo at Qualcomm Stadium.

On December 2, 2007 Tomlinson passed Walter Payton (110 career rushing TD's) on the all time rushing touchdown list, with his 111th career rushing TD, against the Kansas City Chiefs. A few days later, Tomlinson honored Payton by wearing his jersey during a press conference. Tomlinson led the league in rushing with a total of 1,474 rushing yards in 2007, becoming the first player since Edgerrin James in 2000, to win back-to-back rushing titles. [ [http://www.signonsandiego.com/sports/chargers/20071231-9999-1s31chnotes.html SignOnSanDiego.com > San Diego Chargers - Tomlinson wins another rushing title ] ] One week before,Tomlinson passed the 10,000 yard mark playing against the Baltimore Ravens.Less than 10 players have achieved this.

Tomlinson ran for just 42 yards on 21 carries and caught 3 passes for 19 yards, but did score a touchdown in the Chargers wild-card playoff victory over the Tennessee Titans on January 6, 2008. He scored his touchdown on fourth and goal, leaping over the pile and reaching across the goal line to help secure the fourth quarter lead for the Chargers. Tomlinson bruised his left knee and missed the 2nd half of the Chargers divisional playoff win over the Indianapolis Colts on January 13, 2008. Tomlinson just had two carries and 5 yards in the AFC title game, before sitting out the rest of the game, as the Chargers would lose to the New England Patriots on January 20, 2008.

Tomlinson did not participate in the Chargers' offseason program in 2008 due to the injury, but is expected to be ready in time for the regular season.

Records

NFL

* Holds the all-time NFL record for single season touchdowns (31). (The previous record was 28, it was set in 2005 by Shaun Alexander.Single Season Touchdown Record] )
* Holds the all-time NFL record for single season rushing touchdowns (28). (The previous record was 27, in 2003 by Priest Holmes and in 2005 by Shaun Alexander. [ [http://www.nfl.com/teams/story/SD/9877012 Tomlinson breaks scoring, rushing TD records] from NFL.com, 17 December, 2006.] )
* Holds the all-time NFL record for the most points scored in a single season (186). (The previous record was 176. It was set in 1960 by Paul Hornung. [http://www.nfl.com/teams/story/SD/9877012 Single Season Points Record] obtained December 17, 2006] )
* Holds the all-time NFL record for most consecutive games with a rushing touchdown (18). (The Previous record was 13, it was set in 1983 by John Riggins)
* Holds the NFL record for most consecutive multi-touchdown games (8). (The previous record was 7, it was set in 1983 by John Riggins. [cite web|url=http://www.nfl.com/teams/story/SD/9877012|title=www.nfl.com/teams/story/SD/9877012 ] )
* Tied the record for most consecutive games with a touchdown score with Hall of Fame fullback Lenny Moore (18).
* Tied for third place for most career 200-yard rushing games with several other players (4).
* Holds the all-time San Diego Chargers record for most career rushing yards (10,650). (The previous record was 4,972, it was in 1968 by Paul Lowe.)
* Holds the all-time San Diego Chargers record for most career touchdowns (111). (The previous record was 83, it was set in 1970 by Lance Alworth.)
* Holds the all-time NFL record for fewest games needed to achieve 100 touchdowns, with his 100th career touchdown (90 rushing, 10 receiving) in his 89th game (breaking the previous record of achieving the mark in the 93rd game of a career, which was done by both Jim Brown and Emmitt Smith).
* In 2006 Tomlinson became the second player in NFL history to score 4 touchdowns in 2 straight games (Marshall Faulk is the other).
* Holds the record for most touchdowns scored in a five game span with 16 TDs (14 rushing, 2 receiving), breaking his own record of 15 that he had set two weeks earlier. Prior to that, the record was held by Jim Brown with 14.
* Became the first and only player in NFL history to rush for 1000 yards and receive 100 passes in a single season.
* Second player in NFL history with 1,800 rushing yards and 500 receiving yards in one season.
* Joins Emmitt Smith, Priest Holmes, Shaun Alexander, and Marshall Faulk as the only running backs to record consecutive seasons of 20 or more touchdowns

Personal

LaDainian was introduced to his future wife, LaTorsha Oakley, while the two were students at TCU. They married on March 21st, 2003. The couple currently reside with their three dogs in a 10,000 square foot house in Poway, a suburb of San Diego.

On February 23, 2007 in Waco, Texas, LaDainian's father, Oliver Tomlinson, and brother-in-law Ronald McClain, died in an auto accident from a blown tire, [http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/6499734 Tomlinson's Father killed in car accident] causing a one-vehicle rollover. McClain, 48, was taken by ambulance to Waco's Hillcrest Baptist Medical Center, where he died around 4:40 p.m. Charlie Morgan of the Texas Department of Public Safety reported that both men were thrown from the pickup truck. Oliver, 71, was killed instantly, while McClain reached the hospital but subsequently died. LaDainian said he was devastated by these events but that the words and lessons given to him by his father will always live in him. [cite web |url=http://www.wacotrib.com/news/content/news/stories/2007/02/24/02242007wactomlinsonwreck.html=|title=Tomlinson's father killed in car accident]

Tomlinson has been featured in several Campbell's Soup Commercials.

Tomlinson has also been featured in a commercial for Vizio Televsisons. [|url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7RSk8TKRVAY|]

In April 2007, Tomlinson turned down a request to become the cover athlete and official spokesperson for EA Sports' "Madden NFL 08" video game. [cite web|url=http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20070419/news_1s19nflnotes.html|title=LT turned down Madden game cover] Tennessee Titans quarterback Vince Young was eventually selected for the cover.

In June 2007, Tomlinson signed with FOXSports.com to promote FOX Sports Fantasy Football. [ http://msn.foxsports.com/fantasy/football/commissioner/ |LaDainian Tomlinson-FOX Fantasy Football]

Tomlinson was named the "2007 Most Unstoppable Jock" on Spike TV Guys' Choice Awards on June 13, 2007, beating out finalist Kobe Bryant. According to Spike, over 25,000 individuals voted on this award. Tomlinson appeared via teleconference to accept the award. [cite web|url=http://www.star-telegram.com/sports/story/132974.html|title=www.star-telegram.com/sports/story/132974.html ]

References

External links

* [http://www.chargers.com/team/roster/ladainian-tomlinson.htm LaDainian Tomlinson at Chargers.com]
* [http://www.ladainiantomlinson.com Tomlinson's personal website]
* [http://www.ladainiantomlinson.net/stats.php LaDainian Tomlinson stats]
* [http://www.zadzadz.com/index.php?keyword=tomlinson LaDainian Tomlinson] ads in the ZADZADZ ad database