Curtis Edward Warner (born March 18, 1961) 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 who was a

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

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). A two-time

All-American 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 ...

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 ...

for the Penn State Nittany Lions, Warner was selected by the

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The club entered the NFL a ...

in the first round of the

1983 NFL draft The 1983 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 26–27, 1983, at the New York Sh ...

. Warner was inducted into the

College Football Hall of Fame The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and interactive Tourist attraction, attraction devoted to college football, college American football. The National Football Foundation (NFF) founded the Hall in 1951 to immortalize the players ...

on December 8, 2009. Warner was the

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 ...

AFC Offensive Player of the Year in his rookie NFL season.

Penn State

Warner was a standout at Pineville High School in Pineville, West Virginia, graduating in a class of only 90 students. At

Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsyl ...

, he led the Nittany Lions in rushing in 1980, 1981, and 1982, and helped them capture their first

national championship A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or competition, contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the be ...

in the 1983 Sugar Bowl. When his collegiate career was over, he owned 42 Penn State records (his 3,398 career rushing yards is 3rd in school history, and his 18 100-yard rushing games remains a Penn State record). On October 30, 2010, Evan Royster surpassed Warner to take over the career rushing yards record. He was named an

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 twice, in 1981 and 1982. Warner earned a Bachelor of Arts in speech communication from Penn State in 1983.

Statistics

Professional career

Warner was the third overall pick of the

, selected by the

. He followed future hall of famers John Elway and

Eric Dickerson Eric Demetric Dickerson (born September 2, 1960) is an American former professional football player who was a running back for 11 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the SMU Mustangs, earning unanimous ...

. Warner led the AFC in rushing yards his

rookie A rookie is a person new to an occupation, profession, or hobby. In sports, a ''rookie'' is a professional athlete in their first season (or year). In contrast with a veteran who has experience, a rookie is typically considered needing more tra ...

season in

, helping Seattle to its first Conference Championship game. He became the first Seahawk to rush for at least 1,000 yards in their rookie season, followed 39 years later by Kenneth Walker III. The Seahawks lost to the Los Angeles Raiders in that season, who went on to become the league champion. The following year, Warner suffered a torn ACL in the 1984 season opener against

Cleveland Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–U.S. maritime border and approximately west of the Ohio-Pennsylvania st ...

and was sidelined for the rest of the year. He came back in the 1985 season and had a number of successful seasons before ending his career 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 ...

. Warner is a three-time

Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (since 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's All-star, star players. The format has changed ...

er (1983, 1986, 1987), and was inducted into the Seattle Seahawks Ring of Honor in 1994.

NFL career statistics

Regular season

After football

Warner owned Curt Warner Chevrolet, an automobile dealership in

Vancouver, Washington Vancouver ( ) is a city on the north bank of the Columbia River in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington, located in Clark County, Washington, Clark County. Founded in 1825 and incorporated in 1857, Vancouver had a population of 190, ...

from 1999 until 2010. He is the current running backs coach at Camas High School in Camas, Washington and founder and president of the Curt Warner Autism Foundation. Warner and his wife Ana have three sons, Jonathan, twins Austin and Christian, and a daughter, Isabella. In 2018, Little A publishe
The Warner Boys: Our Family's Story of Autism and Hope
written by Curt Warner and Ana Warner with Dave Boling. The book explores Warner's family life, including how it has been impacted by having twin boys (Austin and Christian) severely impacted by autism.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Warner, Curt 1961 births Living people People from Pineville, West Virginia American football running backs Penn State Nittany Lions football players Seattle Seahawks players Los Angeles Rams players American Conference Pro Bowl players College Football Hall of Fame inductees