Sam Cunningham

LOS ANGELES (AP) – Sam “Bam” Cunningham, an All-American fullback at Southern California whose performance against Alabama was credited with helping to integrate football in the South and who went on to a record-setting career with the New England Patriots, died Tuesday. He was 71. He died at his home...

He stood there in jersey number 34, a statuesque figure (6′3″, 210 pounds) on thick, dark, muscled legs. It was September 3, 1968, my first day as a sports writer for the Santa Barbara News-Press, the opening day of football practice at Santa Barbara High School, and the first time I laid eyes on Sam Cunningham. I had played football a few years earlier and never saw a player like him. He was scary but beautiful.

I grew up in Southern California in the late '60s and early '70s. I’ve always considered myself having grown up in poverty, thus learning to appreciate what’s really important in life, and to have attended schools with a very high percentage of minority students, allowing me to grow up without prejudice. Plus, as an aspiring athlete and an absolute sports junkie, we had the opportunity to root for national champion USC football and (every year!) national champion UCLA basketball. Plus, the Lakers still had Jerry West and the Rams would go to the playoffs every year (and lose).

The Trojan Family lost a legend last Tuesday, as former fullback Sam “Bam” Cunningham (’73) died at the age of 71 in his Inglewood home. Cunningham was a man who accomplished a great deal – he was an All-American back in 1972, and the Rose Bowl MVP in 1973. He was drafted with the 11th overall pick in the 1973 NFL Draft by the New England Patriots and finished his career as the franchise’s all-time leading rusher-- a title he still holds to this day. His name resides in both the College Football and New England Patriots Hall of Fame.

Former NFL star Sam Cunningham was the best kind of hero. Cunningham, who died Tuesday at age 71, was an extraordinary athlete — probably the best to ever grace the playing fields of Santa Barbara. But he was also the best kind of ordinary. He was called “Sam Bam” for...

USC football honored Trojan great Sam Cunningham ahead of their game against Stanford with a helmet sticker boasting his number and nickname. Former USC football fullback and College Football Hall of Famer Sam Cunningham sadly passed away this week. The Trojans made sure to honor him on Saturday with a...

Dons dominate Big Game with a 40-7 victory over San Marcos. The post Santa Barbara wins lopsided Big Game on a night they remembered Dons legend Sam Cunningham appeared first on NewsChannel 3-12.

Earlier this week, former New England Patriots running back Sam “Bam” Cunningham passed away at the age of 71. Cunningham played an integral role on the Patriots teams of the mid-to the late 1970s and even helped set an NFL record for most rushing yards by a team in a single season in 1978. He remains the Patriots all-time leading rusher with 5,453 yards.

Jackson State coach Deion Sanders stirred the pot again proposing an HBCU mega-conference "like the SEC" on the same week that the man some say is responsible for today's SEC, Sam Cunningham passed. The post September surprise: Coach Prime, Sam Cunningham and the SEC appeared first on HBCU Gameday.

Former three-time All-American fullback, College Football Hall of Famer and USC legend Sam “Bam” Cunningham died Tuesday at his home in Inglewood, Calif. at the age of 71. Most remember Cunningham for his role in USC’s 1970 victory against Alabama, and as one of the most influential athletes in college football.

Before practice Tuesday, the USC running backs room took a break from preparations for Saturday’s Pac-12 opener against Stanford for a brief history lesson. Former USC All-American fullback Sam “Bam” Cunningham had died earlier in the day at the age of 71. And after learning more about his impact on the history of the game from receivers coach Keary Colbert and director of player development Gavin Morris, running backs coach Mike Jinks wanted to impart that on his position group.

Sam 'Bam' Cunningham with a look back at his highlights and Patriots Hall of Fame induction. Drafted 11th overall in 1972, Cunningham remains the Patriots all-time rushing leader.

Southern Cal Hall of Fame fullback Sam Cunningham died Tuesday in Inglewood, Calif., at the age of 71. He has long been associated with both a win against Alabama and a loss to the Crimson Tide and the social ramifications of those games in 1970 and 1971. In 1970 the...

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. - The New England Patriots are deeply saddened to learn of the loss of Patriots Hall of Fame running back Sam Cunningham. Cunningham, the franchise's all-time leading rusher, was affectionately known as Sam "Bam" Cunningham. He was inducted into the team's Hall of Fame in 2010 and was a member of the Patriots 50th Anniversary Team.

What is disheartening about the NFL era of Sam Cunningham is that it has been diluted and denigrated by CTE cases, premature deaths, and the exploitation of these athletes by a league that essentially disregarded them after their retirement. Yet, the 1970s NFL, for those who truly believe in the...