Chuck Foreman

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. 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 precursor 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.

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. The last regular season game was a nationally televised contest during a classic Buffalo, NY snowstorm. A hostile crowd supported hometown hero O.J. Simpson, who moved in front of Foreman and tied Gale Sayers' NFL record with his 22nd TD of the season in the first half. Late in the 3rd quarter, Foreman was hit in the eye by a snowball while chasing a pass. He went out of the game for a couple of plays, then returned with blurred vision to catch a six-yard touchdown, tying Sayers and Simpson for the record. That was it, though; he spent the last quarter on the bench, and 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 on 14 carries to edge Foreman for conference rushing honors, 1,076 to 1,070. However, on the season Foreman scored a rushing and receiving touchdown in 5 games, which remains an NFL record. He also led the NFL in receptions with 73, at the time a record for receptions by a running back.

Foreman amassed 51 touchdowns over a 3-year span (1974–1976), and he played in 3 Super Bowls with the Vikings. In game 7 of 1976, he became the only Viking to rush for 200 yards in a game until Adrian Peterson in 2007. 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. He ended his career with 5,950 rushing yards, 1,556 carries (3.8 yard average), and 53 rushing touchdowns, solidly in the NFL all-time top 100 in all three categories.

Professional Statistics

bold = NFL leader, * = Pro-Bowl, + = All-Pro

Personal life

Giving Back

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

Awards and honors

NFL

Minnesota Vikings Franchise Records

The Professional Football Researchers Association named Foreman to the PRFA Hall of Very Good Class of 2010