Craig Lee Cotton (July 7, 1947December 21, 2013) was an American 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 ...

tight end The tight end (TE) is an offense (sports), offensive position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football. It is a hybrid that combines the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a receiver (football), receiv ...

who played six seasons 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) with the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. The team plays their home game ...

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 ...

and

San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team in the National Football League (NFL). The Chargers played in San Diego, California from 1961 until 2016, before relocating back to the Greater Los Angeles area, where the franch ...

. He was selected by the Chargers in the eighth round of the

1969 NFL/AFL draft The 1969 NFL/AFL draft was part of the common draft, the third and final year in which the NFL and AFL held a joint draft of college players. The draft took place January 28–29, 1969. The draft began with first overall pick of O. J. Simpso ...

after playing

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 ...

Youngstown State University Youngstown State University (YSU or Youngstown State) is a public university in Youngstown, Ohio, United States. It was founded in 1908 and is the easternmost member of the University System of Ohio. The university is composed of six undergrad ...

. Cotton also played for the

Portland Storm The Portland Thunder (originally Portland Storm) was an American football team in the World Football League based out of Portland, Oregon. When the World Football League was created in October 1973, the Storm was the original New York franchise ...

of the

World Football League The World Football League (WFL) was an American football league that played one full season in 1974 in sports, 1974 and most of its second in 1975 in sports, 1975. Although the league's proclaimed ambition was to bring American football onto a w ...

(WFL).

Early life and college

Craig Lee Cotton was born on July 7, 1947, in

Elizabeth, Pennsylvania Elizabeth is a borough in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, on the east bank of the Monongahela River, where Pennsylvania Route 51 crosses, upstream (south) of Pittsburgh and close to the county line. The population was 1,398 at th ...

. He attended

Elizabeth Forward High School Elizabeth Forward High School is a midsized suburban, four-year comprehensive public high school located in Elizabeth, Pennsylvania, as part of the Elizabeth Forward School District. Fire On February 12, 2023, the school caught on fire, causing ...

in Elizabeth. He lettered for the

Youngstown State Penguins The Youngstown State Penguins are the athletic teams of Youngstown State University in Youngstown, Ohio. The university is a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association's (NCAA) Division I, and the Penguins compete in football as memb ...

from 1965 to 1968.

Professional career

Cotton was selected by the

in the eighth round, with the 200th overall pick, of the

1969 NFL draft The 1969 NFL/AFL draft was part of the common draft, the third and final year in which the NFL and AFL held a joint draft of college players. The draft took place January 28–29, 1969. The draft began with first overall pick of O. J. Simpso ...

, but was later released. He signed with the

in 1969 and played in 13 games for the team during his rookie year without catching any passes. He played in all 14 games for the Lions in 1970, catching one pass for six yards. Cotton also appeared in one playoff game during the 1970 season. He played in all 14 games again, starting two, during the 1971 season, recording six receptions for 88 yards. He played in all 14 games for the third consecutive season, starting six, in 1972, totaling eight catches for 129 yards and one touchdown. On January 30, 1973, the Lions traded Cotton and a 1973 first-round draft pick to the

for a 1973 first-round and a 1973 third-round draft pick. He appeared in 13 games, all starts, for the Bears in 1973, catching 13 passes for 186 yards. He was waived in 1974. Cotton was claimed off waivers by 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 ...

on September 2, 1974. He was released on September 11, 1974. Cotton later played for the

of the

(WFL) during the

1974 WFL season The 1974 World Football League season was the first season of the World Football League. Twelve teams began the inaugural 1974 season, which launched July 10 and lasted 19 weeks with no bye week. The league doubled up the week of Labor Day by pla ...

, totaling eight receptions for 94 yards. He signed with the

on March 17, 1975. He played in nine games during the 1975 season but did not record a reception. He was released by the Chargers on November 27, 1975.

Personal and later life

Cotton's brother, Lance Cotton, played football at

Central State University Central State University (CSU) is a public, historically black land-grant university in Wilberforce, Ohio, United States. It is a member-school of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund. Established by the state legislature in 1887 as a two-y ...

and spent time in the NFL with the

Los Angeles Rams The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West ...

, and

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West, West division. The team is headquartered in E ...

, although he did not appear in an NFL game. Cotton died on December 21, 2013, in

Fresno, California Fresno (; ) is a city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County, California, Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley (California), Central Valley region. It covers a ...

References

External links

Stats Crew profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cotton, Craig 1947 births 2013 deaths People from Elizabeth, Pennsylvania Players of American football from Allegheny County, Pennsylvania American football tight ends Youngstown State Penguins football players San Diego Chargers players Detroit Lions players Chicago Bears players New England Patriots players Portland Storm players 20th-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century American sportsmen