Randall Cunningham
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- For former United States Representative Randall "Duke" Cunningham, see Duke Cunningham.
Randall Cunningham (born March 27, 1963 in Santa Barbara, California) is a former American football player, at the position of quarterback. He is known as one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time.
After attending the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, he was selected in the second round of the 1985 draft by Philadelphia Eagles, with whom he remained through the 1995 season. During the latter years his relations with Ray Rhodes, then the Eagles' head coach, became strained, and he announced his retirement from football following the end of that season, taking a job as an analyst for TNT in 1996. The following year, however, he resumed his playing career, with the Minnesota Vikings from 1997 through 1999, the Dallas Cowboys in 2000, and the Baltimore Ravens in 2001, before re-signing with the Philadelphia Eagles and retiring for good in 2002. He won the NFL MVP award in 1990, the height of the 'Ultimate Weapon' stories, and again after his comeback with Minnesota in 1998.
High School Years
Cunningham attended Santa Barbara High School. As a senior, he led his team to a League title and the CIF Finals.
NFL career
Philadelphia Eagles
Cunningham was the Eagles second-round pick in 1985 NFL Draft. In his rookie season he played sparingly as a backup to veteran Ron Jaworski but made a big splash with his uncanny scrambling ability, though he completed just 34 percent of his passes and threw just one touchdown against eight interceptions. In 1986, new head coach Buddy Ryan arrived in Philadelphia and made wholesale changes, many of them unorthodox. At the quarterback position, Ryan designated 35-year-old Ron Jaworski the starter but would replace the aging veteran with the fleet-footed Cunningham in third-and-long situations where the youngster’s scrambling would presumably put the defense on its heels. After a hand injury to Jaworski in week 10, Cunningham would replace him as the Eagles’ starter. Cunningham was permanently handed the Eagles' starting job for the 1987 season. Cunningham was said to have reached "elite" status during the 1988 season, when he threw for 407 yards during the "Fog Bowl" playoff game against the Chicago Bears.
Cunningham would occasionally exhibit sensational feats of athleticism, perhaps most notably in a 1988 game on Monday Night Football against the New York Giants. Linebacker Carl Banks torpedoed in and crunched the Eagles quarterback at the midriff for a seemingly sure tackle. Cunningham managed to twist his body in midair, put a hand down for balance while parallel to the ground, regain his footing, and pass to tight end Jimmie Giles for a touchdown. The following season, Cunningham uncorked a 91-yard punt, aided by a strong Meadowlands wind, on third down to clinch a key game against the Giants. The Giants backpedaling defense was unprepared for the punt, allowing it to bounce for more than 20 yards after it traveled 67 yards through the air.[1] As of 2006, it is the fourth-longest punt in NFL history.
Another highlight staple was in a 1990 game against the Buffalo Bills, when Cunningham, throwing from his end zone, was about to be engulfed from the blind side by Bruce Smith. Cunningham ducked under the flying tackle and heaved a pass 60 yards into the wind while off-balance on his back foot to wide-receiver Fred Barnett, resulting in an unforgettable 95-yard touchdown.[2] That same year, Cunningham finished with 942 rushing yards, 3rd most ever for a quarterback, 10th best in the league. This nearly made him the first quarterback to both run and pass for 1,000 yards in a season. Cunningham also reached another notable milestone: 30 passing touchdowns and 942 yards rushing.
Minnesota Vikings
Cunningham joined the Vikings in 1997 after being out of football in 1996. There he was reunited with former Eagles Wide Receiver Cris Carter. While with the Vikings, he orchestrated two late touchdown drives which enabled Minnesota to defeat the New York Giants in an NFC wild-card game in 1997, also on the road.
Cunningham's greatest season in Minnesota and his career, was during the 1998 campaign when he guided the Vikings to a 15-1 regular season record (tied for NFL best ever since the 16 season was initiated) with 34 touchdown passes and only 10 interceptions. Cunningham led the league with a 106.0 passer rating while the Vikings posted an NFL-record 556 points all season. The Vikings cruised through the playoffs for the most part, until the NFC title game against the Atlanta Falcons, when they lost 30-27 in overtime. Cunningham had a good supporting cast that year, with All-Pro veteran receiver Cris Carter and rookie phenom Randy Moss also at receiver.
In his final 10 NFL seasons, Cunningham played in only 80 games, but finished his 16-year career completing 2,429 of his 4,289 attempts for 29,997 yards and 204 touchdowns, with 134 interceptions. He also rushed for 4,928 yards on 775 carries and 35 touchdowns. He retired after the 2001 season as the NFL's all-time leader in rushing yards and carries for the quarterback position and tied for fourth with Steve Grogan and Tobin Rote in rushing touchdowns by a QB. Cunningham also averaged 30.6 rushing yards per game during his career -- second most all-time for quarterbacks, behind Michael Vick.
After retirement
After retirement, Cunningham returned to UNLV to finish his college degree. Cunningham has also been active in the music business since his retirement from the NFL by opening a recording studio and producing a musical group. Cunningham, a born again Christian, became an ordained Protestant minister and founded a church called The Cupbearer in Las Vegas in 2004. [3]
Legacy
Prior to Cunningham’s arrival in the NFL, African American quarterbacks had already shown a measure of success in the NFL. The first player to break the color barrier for a signal caller was Willie Thrower. The backup Chicago Bears quarterback played in a game against the San Francisco 49ers back on October 18, 1953.The first successful black quarterbacks in the NFL were Joe Gilliam and James Harris who played in the early 70s. Gilliam's triumphs were short-lived as he played for the Pittsburgh Steelers during their Super Bowl-winning 1974 season. He started six games that year but most of them were when Terry Bradshaw was out because of a players' strike. Once the future Hall-of-Famer came back to the team, Gilliam's future was all but over. In the 1980's Doug Williams established himself with two trips to conference championships and a superbowl title in 1988. Meanwhile, Warren Moon was making his way to the hall of fame. Cunningnam showed flashes of excitement but did not measure up to the success of these greats. His inability to grasp the west coast offense resulted in his losing his position to Rodney Peete in Philadelphia prior to joining the Minnesota Vikings late in his career. [4]
Trivia
- Cunningham's older brother, Sam "Bam" Cunningham, was a long-time Pro Bowl running back for the New England Patriots and a part of a USC Trojan team that steamrolled the Alabama Crimson Tide 42-21 on September 12, 1970, helping to integrate Southern college football. Bear Bryant was later quoted as saying, "Sam Cunningham did more to integrate Alabama in 60 minutes than Martin Luther King did in 20 years." A mere three years later, over a third of the previously all-white Alabama team was African-American and Alabama became national champions for the ninth time, due largely to the influx of African-American talent on the team.
- Cunningham won a cult following after his "non-appearance" in the 1991 Nintendo Entertainment System video game, Tecmo Super Bowl. Since Cunningham was not a member of NFL Player's Association marketing agreement, his name was replaced with QB Eagles. Cunningham's video incarnation is considered by some NES fans as one of the greatest "video game athletes" of all time.
- Cunningham is a player on the NFL Legends team in the video game NFL Street 2.
- As an underclassman at UNLV, one of Cunningham's fellow QBs there was current ESPN anchor Kenny Mayne.
- Cunningham is Buddy Ryan's only starting quarterback to make the playoffs during Ryan's head coaching career. Steve Beuerlein, Jim McMahon, Jay Schroeder, Mike Buck, Stoney Case, and Dave Krieg have played quarterback for Head Coach Buddy Ryan.
- During Rich Kotite's head coaching career, Cunningham was his only starting quarterback to make the post season and win a post season game. Jim McMahon, Jeff Kemp, Ken O'Brien, Bubby Brister, Boomer Esiason, and Neil O'Donnell have started for Rich Kotite while he was a head coach.
- Cunningham was Dennis Green's first starting quarterback to win a post season game. Green had previously started Jim McMahon, Warren Moon, and Brad Johnson. To date Cunningham has won more playoff games as a starter for Dennis Green than any other starting quarterback.
- In addition to Dan Marino and Jake Plummer, Cunningham has won the NFL's Quarterback Challenge twice: 1994 and 1995.
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