Cedric Alwyn Minter (born November 13, 1958) 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, an award-winning

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offense ...

in the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...

(CFL). After his playing career, Minter became an educator and is currently a junior high school assistant principal in

Boise, Idaho Boise ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Idaho, most populous city of the U.S. state of Idaho. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, there were 235,685 people residing in the city. Loca ...

Early years

Born into a military family in

Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the List of municipalities in South Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint of South Carolina's coastline on Charleston Harbor, an inlet of the Atla ...

, Minter moved with his family to Mountain Home Air Force Base in southwestern

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest and Mountain states, Mountain West subregions of the Western United States. It borders Montana and Wyoming to the east, Nevada and Utah to the south, and Washington (state), ...

in 1959, when he was a few months old. A year later the family moved to nearby

Boise Boise ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Idaho. As of the 2020 census, there were 235,685 people residing in the city. Located on the Boise River in southwestern Idaho, it is east of the Oregon border and nor ...

, where he grew up and played his

high school football High school football, also known as prep football, is gridiron football played by High school (North America), high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular high school sports, interscholastic sports in both c ...

in the mid-1970s for Borah High School under head coach Delane "De" Pankratz. Minter had outstanding seasons for the Lions as a sophomore and junior; the Lions went undefeated in 1975 and Minter had the attention of the top

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

programs. But after incurring a shoulder injury on the first play of his senior season in September 1976, the attention rapidly subsided.

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

and

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

were still interested, but only Boise State in his hometown was interested in him as a

College

Minter graduated from high school in 1977 and accepted a football

scholarship A scholarship is a form of Student financial aid, financial aid awarded to students for further education. Generally, scholarships are awarded based on a set of criteria such as academic merit, Multiculturalism, diversity and inclusion, athleti ...

Boise State University Boise State University (BSU) is a Public university, public research university in Boise, Idaho, United States. Founded in 1932 by the Episcopal Church (United States), Episcopal Church, it became an independent junior college in 1934 and has b ...

(BSU), and became a two-time

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 ...

n under head coach

Jim Criner Jim Criner (born March 30, 1940) is a former American football player and coach. He was the head coach at Boise State University from 1976 to 1982 and at Iowa State University from 1983 to 1986, compiling a career record of as a college football ...

. Minter made his mark early as a freshman with a school record 210 yards against Cal Poly. As a sophomore, he set a Big Sky record by rushing with 1,526 yards in

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd ...

. As a senior, he was a member of BSU's "Four Horseman" backfield (along with QB Joe Aliotti, FB David Hughes, and HB Terry Zahner), which led the 1980 Broncos to the Division I-AA championship. BSU defeated the Grambling Tigers, 14–9, in the first round (semifinals) at Bronco Stadium, then edged favored Eastern Kentucky, 31–29, with a late touchdown in the 1980 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game played in

Sacramento Sacramento ( or ; ; ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the seat of Sacramento County. Located at the confluence of the Sacramento and American Rivers in Northern California's Sacramento Valley, Sacramento's 2020 p ...

on December 20. Minter finished his college career with 4,475 rushing yards, but as an undersized Big Sky running back (, ), he went unselected in the 1981 NFL draft, then twelve rounds (332 selections). Minter began his professional football career in the

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 6 – A funeral service is held in West Germany for Nazi Grand Admiral ...

, and graduated from BSU with a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

elementary education Primary education is the first stage of formal education, coming after preschool/kindergarten and before secondary education. Primary education takes place in ''primary schools'', ''elementary schools'', or first schools and middle schools, de ...

in 1985.

Professional career

Minter signed with the

Toronto Argonauts The Toronto Argonauts (officially the Toronto Argonaut Football Club and colloquially known as the Argos) are a professional Canadian football team based in Toronto, Ontario. The Argonauts compete in the East Division (CFL), East Division of t ...

of the

CFL The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division and five in the West Division. The CFL is the highest pr ...

in April

, and played three seasons, rushing for 815, 563, and 599 yards. He was awarded the Frank M. Gibson Trophy as best rookie in the East in

, and was an all star in

and

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street Bridge in Washington, D.C. ...

. Minter's finest moment came in

1983 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning of the ...

, when with only minutes remaining in the 71st Grey Cup game, he scored a

touchdown 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 ...

on a Joe Barnes pass to win the game and end the Argonauts' long championship drought, their last Grey Cup victory coming 31 years earlier in

1952 Events January–February * January 26 – Cairo Fire, Black Saturday in Kingdom of Egypt, Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses. * February 6 ** Princess Elizabeth, ...

. After three seasons in Canada, Minter played two seasons in the NFL with the

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team p ...

. He played a total of 9 games and scored two touchdowns in

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

and

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a n ...

. Minter rushed for 159 yards, caught 11 passes, and returned punts and kickoffs.jt-sw.com
NFL Statistics - Cedric Minter - accessed 2009-10-10 He returned to Toronto in 1986, played in 4 games and rushed for 170 yards. After a brief stint with the

Ottawa Rough Riders The Ottawa Rough Riders were a Canadian Football League team based in Ottawa, Ontario, founded on September 19, 1876. Formerly one of the oldest and longest-lived professional sports teams in North America, the Rough Riders won the Grey Cup cham ...

1987 Events January * January 1 – Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency. * January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Military of Chad, Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade. * January 3 – Afghan leader ...

, Minter retired from pro football.

After football

After his playing days, Minter became an educator in 1988. He taught and coached in

southwest The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A '' compass rose'' is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west— ...

in Middleton and at Capital High School in Boise, and then coached the running backs at Boise State for a season in 1992 under head coach Skip Hall. He returned to teaching (and high school coaching) in 1993 in southeast

in Nyssa and earned a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

in 1995 from Northwest Nazarene College. Minter has worked in the Boise School District since 2001, and is currently the assistant principal at Fairmont Junior High School.

References

External links

* - Cedric Minter * - Cedric Minter * - Cedric Minter {{DEFAULTSORT:Minter, Cedric Toronto Argonauts players Ottawa Rough Riders players New York Jets players Canadian football running backs Players of Canadian football from Idaho American football running backs Boise State Broncos football players Northwest Nazarene University alumni Players of American football from Charleston, South Carolina Sportspeople from Boise, Idaho Players of American football from Idaho 1958 births Living people Canadian Football League Rookie of the Year Award winners