 Alworth on a 1969 football card | |||||||||
| No. 24, 19 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Wide receiver | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born | (1940-08-03)August 3, 1940 (age 85) Houston, Texas, U.S. | ||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | ||||||||
| Weight | 184 lb (83 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school | Brookhaven (Brookhaven, Mississippi) | ||||||||
| College | Arkansas (1959–1961) | ||||||||
| NFL draft | 1962: 1st round, 8th overall pick | ||||||||
| AFL draft | 1962: 2nd round, 9th overall pick | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
| Awards and highlights | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Career AFL + NFL statistics | |||||||||
| |||||||||
Lance Dwight Alworth (born August 3, 1940), nicknamed "Bambi", is an American former professionalfootballwide receiver who played for theSan Diego Chargers of theAmerican Football League (AFL) andNational Football League (NFL), and theDallas Cowboys of the NFL. Often considered one of the greatest wide receivers of all time,[1][2][3][4] he played for 11 seasons, from 1962 through 1972, and was elected to thePro Football Hall of Fame in 1978. He was the first player inducted whose playing career was principally in the AFL. Alworth is also a member of theCollege Football Hall of Fame. His teammates called him Bambi because he had a baby face and could run like a deer.[5]
Born inHouston,Texas, Alworth was raised in Hog Chain, Mississippi, a small community inLincoln County.[6][7] He played football atBrookhaven High School before attending theUniversity of Arkansas.[8][9] While in high school, he earned 15 letters.[9] Alworth's sister Ann was fast enough in the 50- and 75-yard dashes in track to be invited to theOlympic Games trials, though she declined the invitation.[9] After high school, Alworth was offered baseball contracts by theNew York Yankees and thePittsburgh Pirates.[9]
At Arkansas, the six-foot (1.83 m), 180-pound (82 kg) Alworth was aflanker[9] who led all colleges in punt return yardage in 1960 and 1961. He also was a track star competing in the long jump and running the 100 and 220-yard dashes (in 9.6 seconds and 21.2 seconds, respectively).[9] Alworth was a three-time Academic All-American, graduating with a degree in marketing as a pre-law student.[9] In 1962, Alworth was on multiple All-American teams:Look magazine,Associated Press,United Press International and Coaches.[9] Alworth was a key member of Arkansas teams that won, or shared, three consecutiveSouthwest Conference championships between 1959 and 1961, winning 25 games in that time span. The 1959 team won the1960 Gator Bowl over Georgia Tech. Alworth was the MVP of the1961 Cotton Bowl Classic, even though Arkansas lost the game, after he returned a punt for a touchdown. It would be the last time a punt was returned for a touchdown in the Cotton Bowl for fifty-one years until another Razorback,Joe Adams, returned a punt for a score in the2012 Cotton Bowl Classic. He is a member of thePi Kappa Alphafraternity.[citation needed] Alworth is a member of the University of Arkansas Hall of Honor and the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame; he was named to the University of Arkansas' 1960s All-Decade Team, and the school's All-Century Team in 1994.
Alworth was chosen in the first round (eighth overall) of the1962 NFL draft by theSan Francisco 49ers. TheAmerican Football League'sOakland Raiders selected him with their first pick (ninth overall) in the second round of the1962 AFL draft, and then traded his rights to theSan Diego Chargers in return for halfbackBo Roberson, quarterbackHunter Enis, and offensive tackleGene Selawski.[10] Alworth opted to sign with the Chargers instead of the 49ers. The Chargers kept Alworth at flanker. His slender build, speed, grace, and leaping ability earned him the nickname "Bambi."[11]
In his rookie season, Alworth had just 10receptions in 4 games (though three were for touchdowns). His second year was a different story, as he set franchise records in receptions (61), yards (1,205), and touchdowns (11),[12] earning theUPI'sAFL Most Valuable Player award. He had 4 receptions for 77 yards, including a 48-yard touchdown, in San Diego's AFL championship win over theBoston Patriots. He was selected as anAFL Western Division All-Star for the first of seven consecutive seasons, as well as anAFL All-League flanker for the first of six seasons, selected by his peers from 1963 to 1966, and by newspaper wire services from 1967 to 1968.
Over the next six seasons (1964–1969), Alworth broke his own franchise receiving records several times, and also led the league in receptions, receiving yards, receiving touchdowns, and total touchdowns three times each. He shattered the record for most consecutive seasons with over 1,000 receiving yards (7, previously 3, now held byJerry Rice andMike Evans with 11), and was the first player with back-to-back seasons averaging 100+ receiving yards per game, both of which led the league.[13] The 1966 season was particularly noteworthy, because he led the league in five categories. He still shares the record for the most regular-season games with 200+ yards receiving (5),[14] and had a franchise-record streak of 96 consecutive games with a reception.
Alworth formed a formidable tandem with ChargersquarterbackJohn Hadl, and is considered by many to be the best wide receiver in all professional football during the 1960s. He is a member of theAFL All-Time Team. He was the first of only a few American Football League stars to be featured on the cover ofSports Illustrated,[11][15] which like other media of the 1960s, showed a distinct bias for the NFL.Sports Illustrated even went so far as to declare Alworth the "Top Pro Receiver" in December 1965,[11] this at a time when many[who?] claimed the AFL had inferior players. Alworth's productivity sharply declined in1970 (35 catches for 608 yards), and he was traded toDallas at the end of the season. See below for his numerous franchise records with the Chargers.
On May 19, 1971, Alworth was traded to theDallas Cowboys, for his final two seasons. In exchange, the Chargers receivedTony Liscio,Pettis Norman, andRon East.[16]
InSuper Bowl VI following the 1971 season, he scored the game's first touchdown, which was a 7-yard touchdown pass fromRoger Staubach in the Cowboys' 24–3 victory over theMiami Dolphins.[17] Alworth would later call the two receptions he made in Super Bowl VI (one that converted a third and long and the other for the touchdown) the two most important catches of his career.
| Legend | |
|---|---|
| Won theAFL championship | |
| Won theSuper Bowl | |
| Led the league | |
| Bold | Career high |
| Year | Team | Games | Receiving | Rushing | Fum | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Rec | Yds | Y/R | Y/G | Lng | TD | Att | Yds | Y/A | Lng | TD | |||
| 1962 | SD | 4 | 4 | 10 | 226 | 22.6 | 56.5 | 67 | 3 | 1 | 17 | 17.0 | 17 | 0 | 0 |
| 1963 | SD | 14 | 14 | 61 | 1,205 | 19.8 | 86.1 | 85 | 11 | 2 | 14 | 7.0 | 21 | 0 | 0 |
| 1964 | SD | 12 | 12 | 61 | 1,235 | 20.2 | 95.0 | 82 | 13 | 3 | 60 | 20.0 | 35 | 2 | 3 |
| 1965 | SD | 14 | 14 | 69 | 1,602 | 23.2 | 114.4 | 85 | 14 | 3 | –12 | –4.0 | –1 | 0 | 2 |
| 1966 | SD | 13 | 13 | 73 | 1,383 | 18.9 | 106.4 | 78 | 13 | 3 | 10 | 3.3 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 1967 | SD | 11 | 11 | 52 | 1,010 | 19.4 | 91.8 | 71 | 9 | 1 | 5 | 5.0 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| 1968 | SD | 14 | 14 | 68 | 1,312 | 19.3 | 93.7 | 80 | 10 | 3 | 18 | 6.0 | 10 | 0 | 0 |
| 1969 | SD | 14 | 14 | 64 | 1,003 | 15.7 | 71.6 | 76 | 4 | 5 | 25 | 5.0 | 16 | 0 | 0 |
| 1970 | SD | 14 | 13 | 35 | 608 | 17.4 | 43.4 | 80 | 4 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1971 | DAL | 12 | 11 | 34 | 487 | 14.3 | 40.6 | 26 | 2 | 2 | –10 | –5.0 | –4 | 0 | 0 |
| 1972 | DAL | 14 | 7 | 15 | 195 | 13.0 | 13.9 | 30 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Career | 137 | 127 | 542 | 10,266 | 18.9 | 74.9 | 85 | 85 | 24 | 129 | 5.4 | 35 | 2 | 5 | |
| Year | Team | Games | Receiving | Fum | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Rec | Yds | Y/R | Y/G | Lng | TD | |||
| 1963 | SD | 1 | 1 | 4 | 77 | 19.3 | 77.0 | 48 | 1 | 0 |
| 1965 | SD | 1 | 1 | 4 | 82 | 20.5 | 82.0 | 25 | 0 | 0 |
| 1971 | DAL | 3 | 3 | 5 | 78 | 15.6 | 26.0 | 30 | 1 | 0 |
| 1972 | DAL | 2 | 2 | 3 | 55 | 18.3 | 27.5 | 28 | 1 | 0 |
| Career | 7 | 7 | 16 | 292 | 18.3 | 41.7 | 48 | 3 | 0 | |
Alworth finished his 11 AFL/NFL seasons with 543 receptions for 10,266 yards. He also rushed for 129 yards, returned 29 punts for 309 yards, gained 216 yards on 10 kickoff returns, and scored 87 touchdowns (85 receiving and 2 rushing).
In 1972, he was inducted to theSan Diego Hall of Champions. In 1977, he was inducted in theChargers Hall of Fame. In 1978, he became the first San Diego Charger and the first player who had played in the AFL to be inducted into thePro Football Hall of Fame.[18] He chose to be presented at theCanton, Ohio ceremony byOakland Raiders ownerAl Davis, his former position coach at San Diego, who had much to do with the success of the AFL.
Alworth's number 19 wasretired by the Chargers in 2005.[19] In 1970, he was selected as a member of theAFL All-Time Team, and in 1994, he was named to theNFL 75th Anniversary All-Time Team, the only player to be named to both teams.
In 1979, he was inducted into theArkansas Sports Hall of Fame. In 1988, he was inducted into theMississippi Sports Hall of Fame.
In 1999, he was ranked number 31 onThe Sporting News' list of the 100 Greatest Football Players, making him the highest-ranking Charger and the highest-ranking player to have spent more than one season in the AFL.
In 2014, he was inducted into the Southwest Conference Hall of Fame.[20]
Alworth and his third wife, Laura, whom he married in 1997,[26] live in San Diego. He has six children, one of whom died in infancy.[27]
In the early 1980s, Alworth founded All-Aboard Mini Storage, with self-storage facilities throughout California.[28] He sold the company toExtra Space Storage in 2013 for $196 million.[29][30]
Alworth's first wife, the former Betty Jeanne Allen, later married Arkansas GovernorJim Guy Tucker. Alworth's grandson, Brian Driscoll, was an offensive lineman atUniversity of California, Berkeley from 2019-2023.[31][32]
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