Larry Robinson (American football)
Lawrence Cordill Robinson (born April 6, 1951) is a former professional American football running back in the National Football League, who played for the Dallas Cowboys. He played college basketball for the University of Tennessee.
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Position: | Running back | ||
Personal information | |||
Born: | Appomattox, Virginia | April 6, 1951||
Height: | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | ||
Weight: | 210 lb (95 kg) | ||
Career information | |||
High school: | Carver-Price (VA) | ||
College: | Tennessee | ||
Undrafted: | 1973 | ||
Career history | |||
Career highlights and awards | |||
Career NFL statistics | |||
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Player stats at NFL.com · PFR |
Early years
Robinson attended Carver-Price High School in Virginia, before moving on to Ferrum College. He helped his team reach the NJCAA National Tournament in consecutive years and received NJCAA All-American honors in 1971.
He transferred to the University of Tennessee for the 1971-1972 season and became the school's second African American basketball player (Wilbert Cherry was the first one).[1] He contributed to the team being the SEC co-champion.
The next year, he was named team captain. He finished his career with an average of 10.9 ppg and 8.8 rpg, while shooting 60% from the floor. He led the team in field-goal shooting and rebounding in both years.[2]
In 1994, he was inducted into the Ferrum College Sports Hall of Fame.
Professional career
Robinson was signed as an undrafted free agent after the 1973 NFL draft. He was a college basketball player who never played a down of college football, that the Dallas Cowboys converted into a running back.[3]
On September 19, he was placed on the inactive list and spent most of the season on the taxi squad.[4] As a rookie, he played in 4 games and was used mainly as a kick returner. He was waived on September 10, 1974.[5]
Personal life
Robinson became the first African American coach in the history of the University of Tennessee, when he was hired as an assistant football coach on October 8, 1974.[6]
References
- "Folk Basketball— .Tennessee Nips Penn State". Retrieved October 10, 2015.
- "Shed Your Helmets and Shoulder Pads: Are You Ready For Some Basketball?". Retrieved October 10, 2015.
- "Pastorini Passes Oilers Past Dallas". Retrieved October 10, 2015.
- "Giants Sign Ex-Cardinal Star Ronald". Retrieved October 10, 2015.
- "NFL Transactions". Retrieved October 10, 2015.
- "Tennessee Hires First Black Coach". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Retrieved October 10, 2015.