Christopher Fitzpatrick Calloway (born March 29, 1968) 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. Calloway played 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 ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL) for 11 seasons, including seven seasons for the

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

from 1992 to 1998. He was the Giants' leading receiver for four consecutive seasons from 1995 to 1998 and set a franchise record with a pass reception in 47 consecutive games from 1996 to 1998. At the end of his time with the Giants, his 334 catches ranked third in franchise history. He also played for the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. Founded in 1933 P ...

from 1990 to 1991, the

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The Falcons were founded o ...

in 1999 and the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The Pa ...

in 2000. A native of

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, Calloway played

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 ...

as a flanker for the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

from 1987 to 1989. He caught 56 passes for 826 yards and eight touchdowns at Michigan. He played on two

Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference, among others) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Fa ...

championship teams and appeared in two

Rose Bowl Game The Rose Bowl Game is an annual American college football bowl game, traditionally played on January 1 (New Year's Day) at the Rose Bowl (stadium), Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. When New Year's Day falls on a Sunday, the game is played on ...

s for the Wolverines.

Early life

Calloway was born in

Chicago, Illinois Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, in 1968. He attended Mount Carmel High School in Chicago.

University of Michigan

Calloway enrolled at the

in 1986 and played

as a flanker for head coach

Bo Schembechler Glenn Edward "Bo" Schembechler Jr. ( ; April 1, 1929 – November 17, 2006) was an American college football player, coach, and athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at Miami University from 1963 to 1968 and at the Univers ...

Michigan Wolverines football The Michigan Wolverines football team represents the University of Michigan in college football at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision level. Michigan has the List of NCAA football teams by wins, most all-time wins in college football ...

teams from 1987 to 1989. He started five games at the flanker position in

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 ...

, five games at flanker and one at split end in 1988, and 12 games at flanker in

1989 1989 was a turning point in political history with the "Revolutions of 1989" which ended communism in Eastern Bloc of Europe, starting in Poland and Hungary, with experiments in power-sharing coming to a head with the opening of the Berlin W ...

. He won both the

Meyer Morton Award Meyer Morton, born Myer Isakovitz (November 20, 1889 – February 8, 1948) was an American football player and official and lawyer from Chicago, Illinois. Early years Morton was born in November 1889 in Chicago. His birth name was Myer Isakovi ...

and the Robert P. Ufer Award in 1989. In his three years as a receiver at Michigan, he caught 56 passes for 826 yards and eight touchdowns.(to retrieve Calloway's statistics, enter "calloway" in the box for the player's last name)

Professional football

Pittsburgh Steelers

Calloway was selected by the

in the fourth round (97th overall pick) of the 1990 NFL draft. He was principally a backup receiver and

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 ...

player for the Steelers. He appeared in 28 games, two as a starter, during the 1990 and 1991 seasons. He caught 25 passes for 378 yards and two touchdowns with the Steelers.

New York Giants

In March 1992, the

signed Calloway as a Plan B free agent. Calloway spent seven seasons with the Giants, appearing in 112 games, including 86 as a starter. He caught 334 passes for 4,710 yards (14.1 yards per catch) and 27 touchdowns. He had his best seasons in (58 catches for 849 yards and eight touchdowns) and (62 catches for 812 yards and six touchdowns). He was the Giants' leading receiver for four straight years from 1995 to 1998 and set a franchise record with a pass reception in 47 straight games from 1996 to 1998. In 1998, Calloway's last season with the Giants, he led the team with 62 receptions for 812 yards and 6 touchdowns. His 62 receptions were the most by a Giant receiver since Lionel Manuel in 1988. He was released by the Giants in February 1999, a move which he said had surprised him after leading the team in receptions for the previous four consecutive seasons. He was due just over $1 million and had a $300,000 bonus due on March 1. At the end of his seven seasons with the Giants, his 334 catches ranked third in franchise history behind

Frank Gifford Francis Newton Gifford (August 16, 1930 – August 9, 2015) was an American professional football player, actor, and television sports commentator. After a 12-year playing career as a halfback, flanker and safety for the New York Giants of ...

(367 catches) and

Joe Morrison Joseph R. Morrison (August 21, 1937 – February 5, 1989) was an American football player and coach. He played professionally as a running back and wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL) for the New York Giants from 1959 to 1972. M ...

(395 catches).

Atlanta Falcons

In February 1999, following a visit with the

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East ...

Calloway signed with the

, reuniting him with former Giants head coach

Dan Reeves Daniel Edward Reeves (January 19, 1944 – January 1, 2022) was an American professional football running back and coach in the National Football League (NFL). During his 38 years in the NFL, Reeves participated in nine Super Bowls, the third ...

. Calloway's agent, Peter Schaffer, stated that Calloway's contract was for nearly $4 million. Calloway appeared in 11 games for the Falcons, six as a starter, and caught 22 passes for 314 yards and one touchdown. Calloway was released by the Falcons in May 2000

New England Patriots

In August 2000, Calloway signed with the

, bringing him back together with former Giants assistant and new Patriots assistant coach, Dick Rehbein. He appeared in seven games, two as a starter, for the Patriots in . He caught only five passes for 95 yards.

NFL career statistics

Later years

After retiring from football, Calloway bought a nightclub in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

called "Fuel". He later became involved with an Atlanta businessman who Calloway claimed "nearly milked him dry in a treacherous Ponzi scheme." As of 2020, he lives in

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

and is married to Crystal L. Calloway.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Calloway, Chris 1968 births Living people American football wide receivers Michigan Wolverines football players Pittsburgh Steelers players New York Giants players Atlanta Falcons players New England Patriots players Players of American football from Chicago