 Randle in 1961 | |||||||||
| No. 88, 83 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Positions | |||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born | (1936-01-06)January 6, 1936 Cohasset, Virginia, U.S. | ||||||||
| Died | May 23, 2017(2017-05-23) (aged 81) Harrisonburg, Virginia, U.S. | ||||||||
| Listed height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | ||||||||
| Listed weight | 189 lb (86 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school | Fork Union Military Academy (Fork Union, Virginia) | ||||||||
| College | Virginia | ||||||||
| NFL draft | 1958: 19th round, 218th overall pick | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
Playing | |||||||||
* Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |||||||||
Coaching | |||||||||
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| Awards and highlights | |||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||
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| Head coaching record | |||||||||
| Regular season | NCAA: 39–69–1 (.362) | ||||||||
Ulmo Shannon "Sonny"Randle Jr. (January 6, 1936 – May 23, 2017) was an Americansportscaster andfootball player and coach. He playedwide receiver in theNational Football League (NFL) for theChicago Cardinals/St. Louis Cardinals,San Francisco 49ers andDallas Cowboys. Randle playedcollege football at theUniversity of Virginia.
Randle attendedFork Union Military Academy during his elementary and high school years. He focused ontrack and field, competing in different events and clocking 9.8 seconds in the100-yard dash in 1954, which was a school record that stood until 1982, earning himAll-American honors and an invitation to the U.S. Olympic Trials. Randle held the school record in the400 metres (50.8 seconds) from 1954 until 1960. In the200 metres, he ranked second in school history until 1955. Randle achieved these records on cinder tracks, instead of the faster modernsynthetic tracks.[1]
Randle did not play football until his senior year, because his athletic director Gus Lacy (who also served as his guardian) feared he would get hurt. Randle fractured his clavicle in his third game. He also practiced basketball. Randle had the distinction of attending Fork Union Military Academy as a cadet for the longest time (over twelve years).
VMI offered Randle a scholarship, but he did not adapt and returned home before the end of his first year. He decided towalk-on to theUniversity of Virginia and eventually earned a football scholarship.
In Randle's first two seasons, he did not have an impact, because he played as a wingback in the team's run-oriented offense. In 1957, as the offense began changing into more of an open passing attack, he ranked second on the team with 14 receptions for 168 yards. In 1958, Randle finished second in the NCAA with 47 receptions and first in kickoff returns (24.1 ypr). He posted 47 receptions for 642 yards, 1,253 all-purpose yards, 506 kickoff yards and 5touchdowns.
In college, Randle also practiced basketball (one season) and track (four seasons), where he set a record by running the100-yard dash in 9.6 seconds. He ran the220-yard dash in 20.7 seconds.
In 1991, Randle was inducted into theVirginia Sports Hall of Fame.
Randle was selected by theChicago Cardinals in the 19th round (218th overall) of the1958 NFL draft, with a future draft pick, which allowed the team to draft him before his college eligibility was over.
In1959, although he was one of the fastest players in the league as a rookie, he had trouble adapting to the professional game, registering only 15 receptions, but veterandefensive backsDick 'Night Train' Lane andJimmy Hill taught him how to get open.
In only his second season in the NFL, Randle had a break-out year registering 62 receptions (second on the league) for 893 yards and 15 touchdowns (led the league) and was named first-teamAll-Pro by theAssociated Press (AP),The Sporting News andUPI.
In1961, his numbers fell withSam Etcheverry at quarterback, posting 44 receptions for 591 yards and 9 touchdowns. The next yearCharley Johnson took over at quarterback and he finished with 63 receptions (second on the league) for 1,158 yards (second on the league), with an 18.4 average per reception and 7 touchdowns.
On November 4,1962, Randle had at the time the second best game statistically by a wide receiver in NFL history as he caught 16 passes for 256 yards in a game against theNew York Giants.[2] He finished the season with 63 receptions for 1,158 yards, 8 touchdown catches and was named second-team All-Pro by UPI.
Randle once again passed the 1,000-yard receiving mark in1963, finishing with 51 receptions for 1,014 yards and 12 touchdowns (fourth on the league).
In1964, he suffered a serious shoulder separation and was lost for the season after the seventh game.[3] At the time he was on pace for third straight 1,000-yard season.
In1966, he was limited with a fractured hand and although he didn't miss any games, he only recorded 17 receptions for 218 yards and 2 touchdowns.[4]
On September 14,1967, after drafting wide receiverDave Williams in the first round, the Cardinals traded him to theSan Francisco 49ers in exchange for a second round draft choice (#42-Bob Atkins). He left the Cardinals as the franchise's second all-time leading wide receiver. In 1988, he was named to the All-time Cardinal Team.
In1967, he appeared in 14 games (10 starts), registering 33 receptions for 502 yards and 4 touchdowns. In1968, he was released after playing in 3 games on October 11.
On October 16,1968, he was signed by theDallas Cowboys for depth purposes.[5] He appeared in 6 games as a reserve and had one reception for 12 yards. On July 16,1969, he was traded to theWashington Redskins.
In1969, he was acquired by theWashington Redskins and was moved totight end underhead coachVince Lombardi.[6] He was injured in a preseason game and was released on September 16.
Randle finished his career with 65 touchdown receptions in 120 games, currently placing him 12th on the NFL's all-time TD-per-game list (minimum 60 TDs). His 65 TD catches were also the most in the NFL during the 1960s;Don Maynard caught 84 andLance Alworth caught 77 in theAmerican Football League (AFL).
In 1961,Bing Devine the general manager of baseball'sSt. Louis Cardinals, asked him to work with his players on improving their running technique, for which future Hall of FamerLou Brock gave him credit for his success stealing bases.[7]
In 1970, he became an assistant coach atEast Carolina University and was a part a of the coaching staff during the 17–14 win againstMarshall University, which would later be involved in aplane crash on the way home, that killed 75 people: 37 football players, five coaches, two athletic trainers, the athletic director, 25 boosters, and a plane crew of five. He became the Pirates' head coach in 1971, leading the team to back-to-backSouthern Conference championships in 1972 and 1973. He was named the conference's coach of the year in both years.
He then spent two years as head coach at his alma mater, the University of Virginia (1974–1975),[8] two seasons atMassanutten Military Academy (1976–1977) as head football coach and athletic director, and five seasons atMarshall University (1979–1983) as the football head coach.[9]
In 2009, he was inducted into the East Carolina Athletics Hall of Fame.
In the 1960s, Randle began his broadcasting while still playing for the Cardinals. In the mid-1980s, he was active insports broadcasting, participating in radio broadcasts of college football games as acolor commentator inSt. Louis,Virginia andWest Virginia. In 1991, Randle started S-R Sports, a syndicatedtalk radio network based in Virginia.[10] He retired from broadcasting in 2014.
| Legend | |
|---|---|
| Won theNFL championship | |
| Led the league | |
| Bold | Career high |
| Year | Team | Games | Receiving | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Rec | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | ||
| 1959 | CRD | 10 | 0 | 15 | 202 | 13.5 | 31 | 1 |
| 1960 | STL | 12 | 12 | 62 | 893 | 14.4 | 57 | 15 |
| 1961 | STL | 14 | 14 | 44 | 591 | 13.4 | 41 | 9 |
| 1962 | STL | 14 | 14 | 63 | 1,158 | 18.4 | 86 | 7 |
| 1963 | STL | 14 | 13 | 51 | 1,014 | 19.9 | 68 | 12 |
| 1964 | STL | 7 | 7 | 25 | 517 | 20.7 | 50 | 5 |
| 1965 | STL | 14 | 14 | 51 | 845 | 16.6 | 72 | 9 |
| 1966 | STL | 14 | 11 | 17 | 218 | 12.8 | 45 | 2 |
| 1967 | SF | 14 | 10 | 33 | 502 | 15.2 | 58 | 4 |
| 1968 | SF | 3 | 0 | 3 | 44 | 14.7 | 29 | 1 |
| DAL | 6 | 0 | 1 | 12 | 12.0 | 12 | 0 | |
| Career | 122 | 95 | 365 | 5,996 | 16.4 | 86 | 65 | |
| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| East Carolina Pirates(Southern Conference)(1971–1973) | |||||||||
| 1971 | East Carolina | 4–6 | 3–2 | 4th | |||||
| 1972 | East Carolina | 9–2 | 6–0 | 1st | |||||
| 1973 | East Carolina | 9–2 | 7–0 | 1st | |||||
| East Carolina: | 22–10 | 17–2 | |||||||
| Virginia Cavaliers(Atlantic Coast Conference)(1974–1975) | |||||||||
| 1974 | Virginia | 4–7 | 1–5 | 6th | |||||
| 1975 | Virginia | 1–10 | 0–4 | 7th | |||||
| Virginia: | 5–17 | 1–9 | |||||||
| Marshall Thundering Herd(Southern Conference)(1979–1983) | |||||||||
| 1979 | Marshall | 1–10 | 0–6 | 8th | |||||
| 1980 | Marshall | 2–8–1 | 0–5–1 | 8th | |||||
| 1981 | Marshall | 2–9 | 1–5 | 8th | |||||
| 1982 | Marshall | 3–8 | 1–6 | 8th | |||||
| 1983 | Marshall | 4–7 | 3–4 | 5th | |||||
| Marshall: | 12–42–1 | 5–26–1 | |||||||
| Total: | 39–69–1 | ||||||||
| National championship Conference title Conference division title or championship game berth | |||||||||
On May 23, 2017, he died at the age of 81 after a period of declining health.[11]
