Paul Warfield

Infobox NFLretired


|caption=
position=Wide Receiver
number=42
birthdate=birth date and age|1942|11|28
Warren, Ohio
debutyear=1964
finalyear=1977
draftyear=1964
draftround=1
draftpick=11
college=Ohio State
teams=
* Cleveland Browns (1964-1969)
* Miami Dolphins (1970-1974)
* Memphis Southmen WFL (1975)
* Cleveland Browns (1976-1977)
stat1label=Receptions
stat1value=427
stat2label=Receiving Yards
stat2value=8,565
stat3label=Touchdowns
stat3value=85
nfl=WAR393426
highlights=
* 8x Pro Bowl selection (1964, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974)
* 5x All-Pro selection (1964, 1968, 1969, 1971, 1972, 1973,)
* 1x NFL champion (1964)
* 2x Super Bowl champion (VII, VIII)
* NFL 1970s All-Decade Team
HOF=225

Paul Dryden Warfield (born November 28, 1942 in Warren, Ohio) was a professional American football wide receiver in the 1960s and 1970s known for his speed, fluid moves, grace, jumping ability and hands.

Football career

Warfield graduated from Warren G. Harding High School in Warren, Ohio in 1960. He was a star running back and defensive back for the Panthers, joining the varsity as a sophomore in 1957. In 1958, Warfield ran for 810 yards and scored 15 touchdowns - a campaign highlighted by a 6-0 victory over the powerhouse Massillon Tigers. Warfield ran for 1158 yards in 1959 and hit the paydirt 13 times. Warfield also set a state mark in the long jump.

He graduated from Ohio State University where he shined as a two time all Big 10 halfback in the 1962-1963 season and as a track team sprinter, jumper and hurdler. Warfield played for the Cleveland Browns as a wide receiver from 1964 to 1969. In 1970, in a then-controversial trade, Browns owner Art Modell dealt the still great Warfield to the Miami Dolphins for a draft pick which the Browns used on Purdue University All-American quarterback Mike Phipps. Phipps never panned out for the Browns and Warfield was a major factor in the Dolphins' championships in the early 1970s.

Shortly before Super Bowl VI, President Richard M. Nixon famously telephoned Dolphins coach Don Shula to suggest that they run a particular pass play to Warfield.Fact|date=August 2008 The play, a crossing pattern, was tried and resulted in an incomplete pass.Fact|date=August 2008

In 1974, shortly after the Dolphins' won the Super Bowl, Warfield and teammates Larry Csonka and Jim Kiick made what were then surprising decisions. They left the Dolphins at the conclusion of the season for what appeared to be more lucrative pastures with the Toronto Northmen of World Football League.Fact|date=August 2008 (The Northmen moved to Memphis without playing a game in Toronto.Fact|date=August 2008) Warfield played the 1975 season with the Memphis Southmen, before finishing his playing career with the Browns in 1976 and 1977. He was in the Pro Bowl eight times, and was nameed All League six times.

In his 13 NFL seasons, Warfield caught 427 passes for 8,565 yards, giving him an amazing 20.1 yards per catch average, and scored 85 touchdowns. He added another 204 yards on 22 rushing attempts. In his only WFL season (1975), he caught 25 passes for 422 yards, a 16.9 yards per catch average, with 3 touchdowns.

In his rookie season 1964, he caught 52 receptions (his best season for receptions) for 920 yards and 9 touchdowns as the Browns won the NFL Championship.

In 1968, he caught 50 passes, and for the only time in his career, gained over 1,000 yards in receiving (1,067 yards). That year, he scored 12 touchdowns, as the Browns reached the NFL Championship for the third time in the 1960s.

For most of Warfield's tenure in Miami, the Dolphins ran an offense which stressed running the ball. Warfield was considered a major threat on any given play. Even though he only caught 29 passes during the 1973 NFL season, 11 of those receptions were touchdown catches, with four coming in the first half of the regular season finale. Three years earlier, when he arrived in Miami, he caught only 28 passes but he averaged 25.1 yards per catch.

Later years

He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1983. In 1999, he was ranked number 60 on "The Sporting News"' list of the 100 Greatest Football Players.Fact|date=August 2008 In 1979, Ohio State inducted him into its Varsity O Hall of Fame for both his football and track accomplishments.Fact|date=August 2008

In 1977, he earned a M.A. degree from Kent State University. He worked for WKYC in Cleveland as a sportscaster for several years.Fact|date=August 2008 He also worked as a scout and football front office executive.

Warfield had the honor of performing the coin flip at the Ohio State-Michigan game in 2006, in which the then #1 ranked Buckeyes beat the #2 ranked Wolverines 42-39 in Columbus, Ohio.

External links

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*http://wflfootball.tripod.com/1975/memstats.html