Barry Wagner (born November 24, 1967) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player in the

Arena Football League The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 Arena Football League season, 1987 season, making it the third longest-runnin ...

(AFL) for the

Orlando Predators The Orlando Predators were a professional arena football team based in Orlando, Florida and member of the Arena Football League (AFL). The team was most recently owned by Orlando Predators LLC, a company owned by David A. Siegel, and played it ...

, with whom he won his first

ArenaBowl The ArenaBowl was the championship game of the Arena Football League (AFL). Originally hosted at Pittsburgh's Civic Arena based on home attendance during the inaugural 1987 season, save four years (2005–2008) the game was hosted by the team w ...

Championship, and the

San Jose SaberCats The San Jose SaberCats were a professional arena football team based in San Jose, California. The SaberCats had been members of the Arena Football League (AFL) since 1995 (the year in which the team was founded); and until 2015, they belonged to ...

, with whom he won two championships. He also played in the

World Indoor Football League The World Indoor Football League was an indoor football league that was to begin in 1988 to compete with the Arena Football League, which was playing its second season in 1988. Some of the teams in the league ran into financial trouble before t ...

(WIFL) as a

wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...

defensive back In gridiron football, defensive backs (DBs), also called the secondary, are the players on the defensive side of the ball who play farthest back from the line of scrimmage. They are distinguished from the other two sets of defensive players, the ...

with the Daytona Beach Thunder. Wagner is the all-time AFL all-purpose yardage leader. He is considered the best Arena Football player of all time. During the

2012 Arena Football League season The 2012 Arena Football League season was the 25th season in the history of the league. The regular season began on March 9, 2012 with a game between the Pittsburgh Power and the Orlando Predators and ended on July 22, 2012 with a game between ...

, Wagner was named the league's greatest player of all time.

Early life

Wagner attended Greensboro Public School in

Greensboro, Alabama Greensboro is a city in Hale County, Alabama, Hale County, Alabama, United States. At the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census the population was 2,497, down from 2,731 at the 2000 census. The city is the county seat of Hale County, Alabama, ...

, where he was a member of the football team. Wagner served as a wide receiver and the backup

quarterback The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...

College career

While attending

Alabama A&M University Alabama Agricultural and Mechanical University (Alabama A&M or AAMU) is a public historically black land-grant university in Normal, Huntsville, Alabama. Founded in 1875, it took its present name in 1969. It was one of about 180 " normal s ...

, Wagner starred in

and broke many school records held by former Pittsburgh Steeler

John Stallworth Johnny Lee Stallworth (born July 15, 1952) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver for 14 seasons in the National Football League (NFL) for the Pittsburgh Steelers. He played college football for the Alabama ...

. As a senior, he caught 112 passes for 1,817 yards (16.22 yards per rec. avg.), won

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and Football News Division II

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

honors, was the

Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference The Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level. Formed in 1913, it consists mostly of historically black col ...

Player of the Year, and played in the 1989

Senior Bowl The Senior Bowl is a post-season college football all-star game played annually in late January or early February in Mobile, Alabama, which showcases the best NFL Draft prospects of those players who have completed their college eligibility. Pr ...

. In one game against

Clark Atlanta University Clark Atlanta University (CAU or Clark Atlanta) is a private, Methodist, historically black research university in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. It was founded on September19, 1865, as Atlanta University, it was the first HBCU in the South ...

, he caught 23 passes, setting two school single game records with 370 receiving yards and 5 receiving touchdowns.

Professional career

Arena Football

During his initial tenure with the Orlando Predators, Wagner was a key component in the famous "Miracle Minute", in which he scored two

touchdowns A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Scoring a touchdown grants the team that scored it 6 points. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchd ...

, two

two-point conversion In gridiron football, a two-point conversion, two-point convert, or two-point attempt is a play a team attempts instead of kicking a one-point conversion immediately after it scores a touchdown. In a two-point conversion attempt, the team that ...

s, recovered an

onside kick In gridiron football, an onside kick is a kickoff (under American and Canadian rules) or punt (under Canadian rules only) deliberately kicked short in an attempt by the kicking team to regain possession of the ball. This is in contrast with a t ...

, and made a key defensive stop, all in the final minute of a 1992 game against the Detroit Drive. He was a 7-time AFL Ironman of the Year award winner, 7 years in a row (1992–1997) He was traded to the New Jersey Red Dogs for Alvin Ashley on September 23, 1999, after requesting a trade. However, soon after the trade, the league and its players agreed to a new

collective bargaining agreement A collective agreement, collective labour agreement (CLA) or collective bargaining agreement (CBA) is a written contract negotiated through collective bargaining for employees by one or more trade unions with the management of a company (or with an ...

that resulted in several veteran players — including Wagner — gaining free agency. Wagner then signed with the

. Wagner played for the Sabercats from 2000 to 2006, and won the

with San Jose in 2002 and 2004. During the AFL's 20th season in 2006, the league named Wagner the league's second greatest player of all time behind Eddie Brown. On Wednesday, March 28, 2007, after being cut from the

Tampa Bay Storm The Tampa Bay Storm were a professional arena football team based in Tampa, Florida, US. It played in the Arena Football League (AFL). Originally the team was located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and operated as the Pittsburgh Gladiators. The ...

practice squad In gridiron football, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. They serve as extra players during the team's practices, often as part of the scou ...

, he joined the Daytona Beach Thunder of the WIFL. However, after the Thunder ended their season at 4–10, he rejoined the Predators for the 2007 AFL playoffs. On June, Friday 13th, 2008 during halftime at the Week 16 game vs. New Orleans VooDoo, Barry Wagner officially retired from the AFL. Wagner finished his career with 991 receptions for 13,363 yards and 265 touchdowns. From 1993 to 1999, Wagner posted seven consecutive 1,000 yard receiving seasons. He had 855 rushing yards for 127 touchdowns. On special teams, Wagner posted 6,279 return yards and nine touchdowns, with four of them coming in 1999. Defensively, Wagner finished his career with 677 tackles, 28 forced fumbles, recovering 14, with 47 interceptions and five defensive scores. He is the AFL's all-time leader in rushing touchdowns with 127, until it was broken by Derrick Ross on June 6, 2014. As of the 2011 AFL season, he ranks third in league history in receptions, second in receiving yards behind

Damian Harrell Damian Deron Harrell (born September 1, 1975) is a former arena football wide receiver. He played college football at Florida State University. In his career, Harrell had also played for the New England Sea Wolves, Toronto Phantoms, and Colorad ...

, fourth in receiving touchdowns. Wagner is tied for second in all-time tackles and fourth in interceptions.

NFL career

Wagner was originally signed by the New England Blitz of the Professional Spring Football League in 1992. He was signed as a free agent by the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They are one of two remaining ...

in 1992 and spent the entire season on the active roster playing on

special teams In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their position. Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...

. He earned a contract from the

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. Since the 2008 India ...

and was on the practice squad for the entire 1994 season.

Notes

External links

Profile at ArenaFan Online
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wagner, Barry 1967 births Living people People from Greensboro, Alabama American football wide receivers Alabama A&M Bulldogs football players Orlando Predators players Chicago Bears players San Jose SaberCats players Tampa Bay Storm players Indianapolis Colts players New Jersey Red Dogs players World Indoor Football League (2007)