Don McPherson
Donald G. McPherson (born April 2, 1965) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) and Canadian Football League (CFL). He spent seven seasons in the NFL and CFL with the Philadelphia Eagles, Houston Oilers, Hamilton Tiger-Cats, and Ottawa Rough Riders.
![]() McPherson, speaking at a pep rally for the Syracuse Orange, at the 2009 New York State Fair. | |||||||
No. 9, 16 | |||||||
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Position: | Quarterback | ||||||
Personal information | |||||||
Born: | Brooklyn, New York, U.S. | April 2, 1965||||||
Height: | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | ||||||
Weight: | 183 lb (83 kg) | ||||||
Career information | |||||||
High school: | West Hempstead (NY) | ||||||
College: | Syracuse | ||||||
NFL Draft: | 1988 / Round: 6 / Pick: 149 | ||||||
Career history | |||||||
* Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |||||||
Career highlights and awards | |||||||
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Career NFL statistics | |||||||
Career CFL statistics | |||||||
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Player stats at NFL.com | |||||||
McPherson played college football for the Syracuse Orange, winning the Maxwell Award and the Davey O'Brien National Quarterback Award, and finished second in the 1987 Heisman Trophy voting. He was selected in the sixth round by the Philadelphia Eagles in 1988.[1] He also played for the Houston Oilers, Hamilton Tiger-Cats and Ottawa Rough Riders. His accomplishments during his tenure with Syracuse propelled him to be inducted into the NCAA College Football Hall of Fame announced on May 1, 2008.
After retiring from football in 1994, McPherson joined the staff of Northeastern University's Center for the Study of Sport in Society, before becoming the first executive director of the Sports Leadership Institute at Adelphi University. As a feminist and social activist he has founded several outreach and mentoring programs, and regularly speaks at college campuses as a critic of gender roles, stating that the standard constructions of masculinity and femininity both limit men's emotions and overall well-being as well as contribute to "gendered violence" such as domestic violence, stalking, and rape. In this capacity he has testified before hearings of the United States House of Representatives.
McPherson is currently a college football commentator for Big East football on regional sports cable network SportsNet New York.[2]
He is the younger brother of former NFL player and pastor Miles McPherson.
References
- "1988 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2023-09-23.
- "SNY promotes its move beyond the Mets". Sports Business Journal. September 15, 2008. Retrieved 2013-11-30.