James Black
Black in 2016
Born	James Richard Black (1962-04-03)April 3, 1962 (age 62) Lima, Ohio, US
Occupation(s)	Actor, football player
Years active	1987–present
American football player American football career
No. 35
Position:	Running back
Personal information
Height:	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Weight:	198 lb (90 kg)
Career information
High school:	Dover (OH)
College:	Akron
Undrafted:	1984
Career history
Cleveland Browns (1984)
Career highlights and awards
2x First-team All-OVC Ohio Valley Conference Offensive Player of the Year (1983)
Stats atPro Football Reference

James Richard Black^{[citation needed]} (born April 3, 1962) is an American actor and former professionalfootball player.

Black was born inLima, Ohio. He attendedDover High School inDover, Ohio, where he was a star athlete. He graduated in 1980.^[1]

Black playedcollege football forAkron. He was named theOhio Valley Conference Offensive Player of the Year as a senior in 1983 after leading the conference in rushing with 1,568 yards.^[2] In a November 5, 1983, game againstYoungstown State, Black set the Akron school record for rushing yards in a game when he rushed 40 times for 246 yards.^[3] In his final college game, on November 19, he set conference and school records for most rushing attempts in a game with 52.^[4] He was named anAssociated Press honorable mention Division I-AA All-American after the season,^[5] and finished his college career as Akron's all-time rushing leader with 3,054 yards.^[2]

Black signed with theCleveland Browns as anundrafted free agent on May 5, 1984,^[6] after also receiving interest from theGreen Bay Packers,New York Giants, andNew York Jets.^[7] He was waived before the start of the regular season during final roster cuts on August 20, 1984,^[8] but was re-signed on November 7, 1984.^[2] He played in two games for the Browns in 1984,^[9] becoming the first Akron football player to play in the NFL.^[10] He was waived by the Browns on November 24, 1984.^[11] He re-signed with the Browns after the season, but was waived during training camp on August 5, 1985.^[10]

Black may be best known for his leading role as Agent Michael Hailey on theUPN science fiction dramaThe Burning Zone.^[1] He has also had roles in numerous other television series and films. His television appearances includeV.I.P.,Fashion House,Anger Management,^[1]All of Us,Star Trek: Deep Space Nine,Strong Medicine,Tyler Perry's House of Payne,Six Feet Under,Burn Notice andMurder in Mexico: The Bruce Beresford-Redman Story

In motion pictures, he had the leading role of Victor Erickson in the 1998direct-to-video filmCappuccino, the screenplay of which was based upon a story by authorEric Jerome Dickey. Black has also appeared inThe Replacements,Out of Sight,Love and a Bullet, andUniversal Soldier: The Return. He portrayed boxerEarnie Shavers in theHBO TV movieDon King: Only in America.

• James R. Black atIMDb
• James Black onTV.com

• Nold, Bob (October 14, 1983)."Black has Akron U's opponents dancing to his tune".The Akron Beacon Journal. RetrievedDecember 1, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
• Meyer, Ed (August 11, 1984)."Browns' Black not singing blues".The Akron Beacon Journal. RetrievedDecember 1, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.

• 1962 births
• Living people
• American male film actors
• American male television actors
• 20th-century African-American male actors
• 20th-century American male actors
• 21st-century African-American male actors
• 21st-century American male actors
• American male voice actors
• Sportspeople from Lima, Ohio
• American football running backs
• Cleveland Browns players
• Akron Zips football players
• Male actors from Ohio
• 20th-century African-American people
• 21st-century African-American people

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