| No. 26, 36 | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Fullback | ||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||
| Born | (1935-09-23)September 23, 1935 Greenville, Mississippi, U.S. | ||||||||||||
| Died | March 31, 2007(2007-03-31) (aged 71) Voorhees Township, New Jersey, U.S. | ||||||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | ||||||||||||
| Weight | 218 lb (99 kg) | ||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||
| High school | Central (Flint, Michigan) | ||||||||||||
| College | Michigan St. | ||||||||||||
| NFL draft | 1957: 1st round, 7th overall pick | ||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||
| Awards and highlights | |||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||
| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||
Clarence Earl Peaks (September 23, 1935 – March 31, 2007) was an American professionalfootballfullback in theNational Football League (NFL) for thePhiladelphia Eagles andPittsburgh Steelers. He playedcollege football atMichigan State University and was selected in the first round (seventh overall) of the1957 NFL draft.[1][2]
Peaks was born on September 13, 1935, in Greeneville, Mississippi.[3] He attendedFlint Central High School inFlint, Michigan. He starred in football, basketball and baseball in high school. He was an outstandingquarterback, and excelled inpassing,rushing, and as apunter. He was team co-captain, made the All-Valley Football All-Star Team, and was honorable mention All-State at quarterback.[4] He played football under coachHoward Auer.[5]
As a baseball player, he batted in thecleanup position. As a basketball player, he was second on the team in scoring, and was voted team co-captain in 1953. In the same year, Peaks was voted Most Valuable Player, and was named an All-Valley guard.[4]
Peaks attendMichigan State University (MSU).[2] He played football underCollege Football Hall of Fame coachDuffy Daugherty.[6] He playedhalfback, and also punted.[7]
He had a 7.1 yards per attempt rushing average in 1954.[8] In 1955, he rushed for 376 yards averaging 4.6 yards per carry.[9]
Peaks was part of one of the most renowned plays inRose Bowl history. The1956 Rose Bowl (played on January 2, 1956) was between MSU and theUniversity of California at Los Angeles Bruins (UCLA). UCLA was the reigning college football champion. MSU defeated UCLA 17–14.[10][11]
MSU's quarterback was future NFL starEarl Morrall. During the Rose Bowl, Peaks took alateral from Morall, and threw a 67-touchdown pass; the longest touchdown pass in Rose Bowl history at the time. Peaks also caught a 13-yard touchdown pass from Morrall in the game.[2]
In 1956, Peaks was selected All-Big Ten and All-American.[5] He was selected to theCollege All-Star Team in 1957. In 1961, returning to MSU to play in the traditional spring practice game between the current MSU team against recent alumni, Peaks won the Old Timers Player Award.[4][12]
Peaks was among the favorites to win the 1956Heisman Trophy, until he was injured.[13][14]
The Philadelphia Eagles selected Peaks, 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) and 218 pounds (98 kg), in the first round of the1957 NFL draft (7th overall).[2][3] He was selected immediately after the Cleveland Browns picked future NFL greatJim Brown (who became Peaks's friend). In the same draft, the Eagles also selected future hall of fame playersTommy McDonald (third round) andSonny Jurgensen (fourth round).[14][15][16]
He was having his best season for the Eagles in 1960, the year the Eagles were NFL champions, when he suffered a broken leg in the team's seventh game that ended his season. He had rushed for 465 yards, averaging 5.4 yards per attempt, and scored three touchdowns up to that point.[14] In his final three years on the Eagles, he never averaged more than 3.5 yards per attempt. He did, however, have his two best seasons in total receptions in 1961 (32) and 1962 (39).[3]
Before the 1964 season, the Eagles traded Peaks andBob Harrison to the Pittsburgh Steelers forBill “Red” Mack andGlenn Glass.[17] In 1964, he had his best rushing average (4.3) since his 1960 injury. He played sparingly in 1965 for the Steelers, his final season.[3]
Over his 9-year NFL career (7 with Philadelphia), he ran for 3,660 yards and 21 touchdowns. He also had 190 catches for 1,793 yards.[18]
| Legend | |
|---|---|
| Won theNFL championship | |
| Bold | Career high |
| Year | Team | Games | Rushing | Receiving | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Att | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Rec | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | ||
| 1957 | PHI | 12 | 12 | 125 | 495 | 4.0 | 35 | 1 | 11 | 99 | 9.0 | 53 | 0 |
| 1958 | PHI | 11 | 11 | 115 | 386 | 3.4 | 23 | 3 | 29 | 248 | 8.6 | 33 | 2 |
| 1959 | PHI | 12 | 6 | 124 | 451 | 3.6 | 34 | 3 | 28 | 209 | 7.5 | 23 | 0 |
| 1960 | PHI | 7 | 6 | 86 | 465 | 5.4 | 57 | 3 | 14 | 116 | 8.3 | 34 | 0 |
| 1961 | PHI | 13 | 11 | 135 | 471 | 3.5 | 33 | 5 | 32 | 472 | 14.8 | 48 | 0 |
| 1962 | PHI | 14 | 13 | 137 | 447 | 3.3 | 48 | 3 | 39 | 347 | 8.9 | 27 | 0 |
| 1963 | PHI | 14 | 6 | 64 | 212 | 3.3 | 26 | 1 | 22 | 167 | 7.6 | 23 | 1 |
| 1964 | PIT | 12 | 8 | 118 | 503 | 4.3 | 70 | 2 | 12 | 113 | 9.4 | 41 | 0 |
| 1965 | PIT | 10 | 5 | 47 | 230 | 4.9 | 36 | 0 | 3 | 22 | 7.3 | 21 | 0 |
| 105 | 78 | 951 | 3,660 | 3.8 | 70 | 21 | 190 | 1,793 | 9.4 | 53 | 3 | ||
After his playing career, Peaks worked forGeneral Electric[citation needed]and was a sportscaster. He worked forWHAT inPhiladelphia for two years andWAMO inPittsburgh for one.[citation needed] In 1969, he became the radio color commentator for Eagles games onWIP,[19] and a television analyst forABC.[2] He became a financial consultant after his broadcasting career ended.[2]
Peaks was inducted into the Greater Flint Area Sports Hall of Fame in 1981.[20] He was inducted into the Greater Flint African American Sports Hall of Fame in 1991.[4]
In 2007, Peaks died at the age of 71 inVoorhees, New Jersey. He was buried in Philadelphia.[2]