| No. 42, 43 | |||||||||
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| Position | Running back | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born | (1948-09-07)September 7, 1948 Brooklyn, New York, U.S. | ||||||||
| Died | March 31, 2023(2023-03-31) (aged 74) San Diego, California, U.S. | ||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | ||||||||
| Weight | 225 lb (102 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school | Jefferson (Brooklyn) | ||||||||
| College | Ohio State | ||||||||
| NFL draft | 1971: 1st round, 9th overall pick | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
| Awards and highlights | |||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||
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John Stanley Brockington (September 7, 1948 – March 31, 2023) was an American professionalfootball player who was arunning back in theNational Football League (NFL) with theGreen Bay Packers andKansas City Chiefs. He was a first rounddraft choice out ofOhio State University, and was theNFL Offensive Rookie of the Year in1971.
Brockington was born on September 7, 1948, inBrooklyn, New York, where he was raised.[1] Brockington attendedThomas Jefferson High School, where he starred from 1963 to 1965 on the Orange Wave's football team as a running back, under coach Moe Finkelstein. His nickname in high school was "the Rock". As a senior, the 210 pound (95.3 kg) Brockingtonrushed for 1,205 yards in 165 attempts for a 7.3yards per carry average. He received the most votes for theNew York Daily News' 1965 Brooklyn-Queens All-Star Team. He led New York City'sPublic Schools Athletic League (PSAL) II in rushing. He was also named All-Metropolitan and a scholastic All-American.[2][3][4][5]
In the early 1970s, after being approached by Finkelstein about obtaining weight machines for the Jefferson players, Brockington gifted the school a modern weight training facility.[4]
Ohio State Buckeyes' offensive backfield coachLarry Catuzzi scouted and recruited Brockington, and recommended tohead coachWoody Hayes that Brockington be given a football scholarship to Ohio State.[6][7] Brockington played varsityhalfback andfullback for the Buckeyes from1968 to1970. He was a freshman with the so-calledSuper Sophomores who led the Buckeyes to an undefeated season and a consensus national championship in 1968. Brockington and the other Super Sophomores finished their college careers with a recordof 27–2.[8]
Jim Otis was a year ahead of Brockington's class, and was the starting fullback during Brockington's first two varsity seasons, with 884 yards on 189 carries during the 1968 championship season and 1,027 yards on 225 carries in 1969. Otis was an All-American in 1969, and seventh inHeisman Trophy voting.[9] Still, the coaching staff wanted Brockington to start as the principal running back even as a sophomore, but Hayes vetoed them.[7]
Brockington played left halfback in 1968 and1969, in an offensive backfield that included Otis at fullback,Rex Kern at quarterback, and Lawrence Zelina at right halfback.[10] Kern threw less than 70 passes during each of those years, but rushed 119 times for 499 yards in 1968, and 109 times for 583 yards in 1969.[11] Brockington was used primarily as a blocker for Otis and Kern those two years. As a sophomore, he had only 43 rushing attempts for 181 yards, and 72 attempts for 334 yards as a junior.[12]
In 1970, after Otis graduated, Brockington moved to the fullback position and was the featuredrunning back in Hayes's offense. Brockington finished his senior season with 1,142 rushing yards, which was at the time an Ohio State single-season record. Brockington also scored 17 rushing touchdowns that season. His 15 regular season touchdowns led the Big Ten. He was the second player, after Otis, to rush for over 1,000 yards as a Buckeye. He was a first-team All-American and All-Big Ten as a senior.[12][7][8]
Ohio State won the Big Ten Championship and had a 9–0 record on the season, but lost toStanford and its Heisman Trophy winning quarterbackJim Plunkett in theJanuary 1, 1971 Rose Bowl.[7][13][14] Brockington scored two touchdowns in the first half. Ohio State was ahead in the game late into the third period, 17–13, when Brockington was stopped on a fourth down run. Plunkett led Stanford to two unanswered touchdowns, winning the game 27–17.[15]
TheGreen Bay Packers selected Brockington in the first round with the ninth overall selection in the1971 NFL draft.[16] Brockington became the first NFL player to ever rush for 1,000 or more yards in each of his first three seasons.[17] Brockington was one of the first[citation needed] running backs to combine brute force with speed. Coming out of college, he was noted for his power to gain tough yards, combined with the speed to rush for long gains.[18]
With a running style based on his great strength, Brockington epitomized the power running back – a player who preferred to breaktackles and run over defenders rather than run away from them.[19] His collision withCincinnati Bengals' safetyKen Dyer resulted in a neck injury to Dyer that paralyzed Dyer for weeks, and from which he never fully recovered. In a game against theMiami Dolphins, Brockington ran over safetyJake Scott, leaving Scott unconscious for ten minutes. In a game against theDenver Broncos, Brockington's knee broke Broncos' defenderGeorge Hoey's jaw and knocked out many of his teeth. The Packers may have later believed that his decline in play toward the end of his career, while still under 30-years old, arose out of Brockington's growing concern in not wanting to hurt other players.[20]
In his rookie year of1971 with theNational Football Conference's (NFC) Green Bay Packers, Brockington was namedNFL Offensive Rookie of the Year by theAssociated Press (AP), rushing for 1,105 yards on 216 attempts, a 5.1yards per carry (YPC) in 14 games. At the time, he was only the fourth rookie ever to rush for 1,000 yards, along withBeattie Feathers,Cookie Gilchrist andPaul Robinson.[21] He was unanimously selected by fellow players as the NFC's Bert Bell Trophy winner for outstanding rookie, given by theNewspaper Enterprise Association (NEA).[22] He was also named Rookie of the Year byUnited Press International (UPI),[23] andThe Sporting News.[24]
In 1971, he was the second-leading rusher in the NFL, first in the NFC, behindFloyd Little's 1,133 yards; and second toLarry Csonka (5.4) in yards per carry.[25] In addition to his numerous Rookie-of-the-Year awards, he was selected to thePro Bowl and was named first-teamAll-Pro by the AP, NEA,Pro Football Writers andPro Football Weekly.[26] His first running mate in the Green Bay backfield was sixth-year halfbackDonny Anderson, another Packer first round draft choice, who had over 1,000yards from scrimmage that year (757 rushing yards and 306 receiving yards). The Packers, however, finished the season with a 4–8–2 record.[27][28][29]
In 1972, Brockington rushed for 1,027 yards on 274 attempts; his yards per carry falling to 3.7. He had eight rushing touchdowns. He also had 16 receptions for 243 yards and one touchdown reception.[30] Anderson had been at odds with team coach and general managerDan Devine and played 1971 without a contract. Anderson was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals for another power-style running back,MacArthur Lane, who had a similarly poor relationship with the Cardinals.[31][32][33][19] In 1972, Lane rushed for 821 yards on 177 carries, and had 285 receiving yards for the Packers; giving the Packers two backs each with over 1,000 yards from scrimmage for a second straight year.[30]
The Packers record rose to 10–4 and they won the NFC Central Division; but lost to theWashington Redskins in the first round of the playoffs, 16–3, with Brockington gaining only nine yards on 13 carries.[34][35] This was their first playoff appearance since the team'sSuper Bowl victory in January 1968.[36] Brockington was again selected to the Pro Bowl. He was named first-team All-Conference by the AP,The Sporting News andUnited Press International (UPI), and second-team All-Pro by the NEA.[37]
In 1973, Brockington rushed for 1,144 yards on 265 attempts, averaging 4.3 yards per carry. Lane rushed for 528 yards on 170 carries. The Packers record fell to 5–7–2.[38] He was named to the Pro Bowl for the third, and last, time; and was named first-team All-Conference by the AP, Pro Football Weekly,The Sporting News and UPI, and first-team All-Pro by the NEA and second-team All-Pro by the Pro Football Writers.[39][40]
From 1971-73, Brockington started all 42 Packers games and totaled 755 regular season rushing attempts. Including his senior Ohio State season, he had 955 rushing attempts and 61 receptions over a four-year span.[39][12] After the 1973 season, Brockington was drafted by theChicago Fire of theWorld Football League, at a time he was seeking a substantial pay raise from the Packers.[41]
In 1974, he had another 266 rushing attempts for the Packers, but gained only 883 yards, a 3.3 yards per carry average.[42] Lane's record was even weaker, with a 362 rushing yards and a 2.6 yards per carry average. Brockington did have a career-high 43 receptions for another 314 yards, and led the NFL in touches (rushes plus receptions) with 309.[39] The Packers finished the season 6–8.[42] It was the last season Brockington started in all 14 games during a season.[39]
Brockington's production dipped to only 434 yards rushing on 3.0 YPC in1975 under new head coachBart Starr.[43] Lane was traded to theKansas City Chiefs in July 1975 for a future draft pick.[44][45] Brockington's 144 rushing attempts in 1975 were by far the fewest of his NFL career, and over 100 less than the previous season.[39] Brockington's decline was the result of typical wear-and-tear;[46] the trade of Lane, an excellent blocker, and an unstable offensive line, which Brockington believed hurt his running ability;[47] and changes in the Packers' playbook that did not take advantage of Brockington's abilities.[citation needed] In1976, he had 406 yards rushing with 3.5 YPC, and had demanded a trade during the year over his differences in offensive philosophy with Bart Starr and offensive coordinatorPaul Roach.[48][49]
After the first game of the1977 season, Brockington was released by the Packers. He was in the option year of a three-year contract at a high salary, and the Packers could not find a team willing to trade for Brockington.[50][46][47] Signed by the strugglingKansas City Chiefs three weeks later to replace an injured MacArthur Lane,[20][51] he appeared in ten games for them, gaining 161 yards in 54 attempts.[52] Brockington began training camp with the Chiefs in 1978, but was restricted by a pulled hamstring.[53] He then tried out for theDetroit Lions, but was cut in training camp before the 1978 season started.[54] Brockington never played in the NFL again.[39]
Brockington retired with the second most rushing yards in Packers franchise history with 5,024 yards.[55] As of December 2022, Brockington ranks fourth in all-time rushing yards as a Packer.[55]
Brockington was inducted into theGreen Bay Packers Hall of Fame in 1984.[56]
Brockington was selected onto the Buckeyes'All-Century Team in 2000,[57] and was elected into theVarsity O Hall of Fame in 2002.[8]
| Legend | |
|---|---|
| Bold | Career high |
| Year | Team | Games | Rushing | Receiving | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Att | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Rec | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | ||
| 1971 | GNB | 14 | 14 | 216 | 1,105 | 5.1 | 52 | 4 | 14 | 98 | 7.0 | 29 | 1 |
| 1972 | GNB | 14 | 14 | 274 | 1,027 | 3.7 | 30 | 8 | 19 | 243 | 12.8 | 48 | 1 |
| 1973 | GNB | 14 | 14 | 265 | 1,144 | 4.3 | 53 | 3 | 16 | 128 | 8.0 | 37 | 0 |
| 1974 | GNB | 14 | 14 | 266 | 883 | 3.3 | 33 | 5 | 43 | 314 | 7.3 | 29 | 0 |
| 1975 | GNB | 14 | 12 | 144 | 434 | 3.0 | 19 | 7 | 33 | 242 | 7.3 | 21 | 1 |
| 1976 | GNB | 14 | 9 | 117 | 406 | 3.5 | 29 | 2 | 11 | 49 | 4.5 | 20 | 0 |
| 1977 | GNB | 1 | 0 | 11 | 25 | 2.3 | 8 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0.5 | 6 | 0 |
| KAN | 10 | 7 | 54 | 161 | 3.0 | 12 | 1 | 19 | 222 | 11.7 | 48 | 1 | |
| Career | 95 | 84 | 1,347 | 5,185 | 3.8 | 53 | 30 | 157 | 1,297 | 8.3 | 48 | 4 | |
| Year | Team | Games | Rushing | Receiving | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Att | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Rec | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | ||
| 1972 | GNB | 1 | 1 | 13 | 9 | 0.7 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 17 | 8.5 | 12 | 0 |
| Career | 1 | 1 | 13 | 9 | 0.7 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 17 | 8.5 | 12 | 0 | |
Established in 2002 after receiving akidney transplant from his future wife Diane Scott, Brockington created[58]the John Brockington Foundation to aid others impacted by kidney disease. They provide free screenings and educational material to those who require it, and also provide food vouchers for people on dialysis. Kidney drives also aid those seeking new kidneys.[59]
Brockington became an insurance salesman inLa Jolla, California after his football career ended.[10] He later pleaded guilty to evading federal income taxes on the sale of unregistered securities for an investment firm in La Jolla, and was subjected to 200 hours of community service.[49]
Brockington died in San Diego, California on March 31, 2023, at the age of 74.[60]