Darius Durham
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Darius Tyrone Durham (born May 27, 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
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 ...
for the
San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners and nicknamed the Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member ...
of 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). He 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 ...
for the
San Diego State Aztecs The San Diego State Aztecs are the college athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent San Diego State University (SDSU). The university fields 17 varsity teams (6 men's, 11 women's) in National Collegiate Athle ...
, twice earning all-conference honors in the
Western Athletic Conference The Western Athletic Conference (WAC) is an NCAA Division I conference. The WAC covers a broad expanse of the Western United States with member institutions located in Arizona, California, Texas, Utah and Washington (state), Washington. Due to ...
(WAC). He was selected by the
Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (colloquially known as the Bucs) are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC S ...
in the 10th round in 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 ...
and joined the 49ers later that year as a
free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...
.


Early life

Born in
Long Beach, California Long Beach is a coastal city in southeastern Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is the list of United States cities by population, 44th-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 451,307 as of 2022. A charter ci ...
, Durham grew up in Compton with three sisters and a brother, raised by their single mother, Mary. She moved them from the predominantly Black neighborhood to the more diverse Garden Grove, despite the financial struggles it presented. Durham called the move "the biggest lesson I had in life. I could see life from a different perspective." Durham attended
Bolsa Grande High School Bolsa Grande High School is a public high school in the Garden Grove Unified School District in Garden Grove, California, Garden Grove, in southern California, United States. The school opened on September 28, 1959. The school's nickname is the M ...
in Garden Grove, starring in football,
basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...
and track. Despite playing on a 2–7 football team as a
senior Senior (shortened as Sr.) means "the elder" in Latin and is often used as a suffix for the elder of two or more people in the same family with the same given name, usually a parent or grandparent. It may also refer to: * Senior (name), a surname ...
in 1978, he was heavily recruited. He was named to the ''
Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...
'' All-Orange County team after leading the county with 48 receptions for 686 yards and three
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 ...
s while facing
double Double, The Double or Dubble may refer to: Mathematics and computing * Multiplication by 2 * Double precision, a floating-point representation of numbers that is typically 64 bits in length * A double number of the form x+yj, where j^2=+1 * A ...
and triple coverage all season. In February 1979, Durham committed to play college football for the
San Diego State Aztecs The San Diego State Aztecs are the college athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent San Diego State University (SDSU). The university fields 17 varsity teams (6 men's, 11 women's) in National Collegiate Athle ...
under head coach Claude Gilbert. He chose them over the
Washington Huskies The Washington Huskies are the college athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Washington, located in Seattle. The school competes at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) N ...
due to the Aztecs' reputation to
pass Pass, PASS, The Pass or Passed may refer to: Places *Pass, County Meath, a townland in Ireland *Pass, Poland, a village in Poland *El Paso, Texas, a city which translates to "The Pass" * Pass, an alternate term for a number of straits: see Li ...
. "We've just got the best high school guy we've ever signed", said
Ted Tollner Alfred Theodore Tollner (born May 29, 1940) is an American former football coach. He was the head coach at the University of Southern California (USC) from 1983 to 1986 and San Diego State University (SDSU) from 1994 to 2001, compiling an overa ...
, San Diego State's
offensive coordinator An offensive coordinator (OC) is a Coach (sport), coach responsible for a gridiron football team's offense (American football), offense. Generally, the offensive coordinator, defensive coordinator and special teams coordinator represent the second ...
. He added that Durham had "more ability than anyone I've seen here since
Isaac Curtis Isaac Fisher Curtis (born October 20, 1950) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL) and spent his entire career with the Cincinnati Bengals (1973–1984). He played colleg ...
".


College career

As a
freshman A freshman, fresher, first year, or colloquially frosh, is a person in the first year at an educational institution, usually a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of post-secondary educational in ...
at
San Diego State University San Diego State University (SDSU) is a Public university, public research university in San Diego, California, United States. Founded in 1897, it is the third-oldest university and southernmost in the 23-member California State University (CS ...
in
1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...
, Durham had just two catches. He improved slightly as a
sophomore In the United States, a sophomore ( or ) is a person in the second year at an educational institution; usually at a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of Post-secondary school, post-secondary educatio ...
in
1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a United States grain embargo against the Soviet Union, grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning Sys ...
with 15 receptions as a
backup In information technology, a backup, or data backup is a copy of computer data taken and stored elsewhere so that it may be used to restore the original after a data loss event. The verb form, referring to the process of doing so, is "wikt:back ...
. Tollner said that Durham struggled to adjust to the college game's different defensive coverages and harder hitting. A starter in
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 ...
under new Aztecs head coach Doug Scovil, Durham had seven catches for 77 yards and a touchdown in a week 2 win over
Oklahoma State Oklahoma State University (informally Oklahoma State or OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Stillwater, Oklahoma, United States. The university was established in 1890 under the legislation of the Morrill Act. Originally known ...
. It was his best game to date with San Diego State, and the first touchdown of his college career. In November, he caught 11 passes for 197 yards and two touchdowns in a 59–14 victory against
UTEP The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) is a public research university in El Paso, Texas, United States. Founded in 1913 as the State School of Mines and Metallurgy, it is the third oldest academic component of the University of Texas Syste ...
. The catch total and receiving yards were season highs for the Aztecs, who scored their most points since beating
Cal State Fullerton California State University, Fullerton (CSUF or Cal State Fullerton) is a public research university in Fullerton, California, United States. With a total enrollment of more than 41,000, it has the largest student body of the California State ...
by the same score in
1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 – Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...
. The following week in their regular season finale against
Air Force An air force in the broadest sense is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an army aviati ...
in the Mirage Bowl in Japan, Durham needed nine receptions to pass
Darrin Nelson Darrin Milo Nelson (born January 2, 1959) is an American former professional football player who was a running back and return specialist in the National Football League (NFL) for the Minnesota Vikings and San Diego Chargers. He played college ...
of
Stanford Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth governor of and th ...
for the most receptions in the nation. He had five catches for 100 yards in the first half, which San Diego State led 16–0, but caught only one pass in the second half, as the Aztecs lost 21–16. Durham finished the season ranked third in the country with 65 receptions for 988 yards and seven touchdowns. He received honorable mention from the
Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...
(AP) for its All-America team and was named to the All-WAC second team. Durham entered the 1982 season named as a preseason honorable mention All-American by a pair of national publications. Through the first five games, he had just 13 catches while often facing double coverage. His production dropped that year to 45 catches for 781 yards and four touchdowns. Again named an AP honorable mention All-American, Durham was also a first-team All-WAC selection and voted the Aztecs'
most valuable player In team sports, a most valuable player (MVP) award is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particular competition, or ...
. He finished his career ranked fourth at the time in school history in career receptions with 127. Durham needed three catches in the season finale against
Oklahoma State Oklahoma State University (informally Oklahoma State or OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Stillwater, Oklahoma, United States. The university was established in 1890 under the legislation of the Morrill Act. Originally known ...
to pass Craig Scoggins (129) for third place, but he exited the game in the first quarter after pulling a hamstring and did not return. After ranking among the top college receivers in the nation at the beginning of the season, Durham fell on NFL scouting reports, while fellow Aztecs receivers Clint Sampson and Phil Smith went past him. Scouts did not like his 4.6 time in the
40-yard dash The 40-yard dash is a sprint covering . It is primarily run to evaluate the speed and acceleration of American football players by scouts, particularly for the NFL draft but also for collegiate recruiting. A player's recorded time can have a he ...
.


Professional career

Durham was selected by the
Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (colloquially known as the Bucs) are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC S ...
in the 10th 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 ...
. Fellow Aztecs receivers Sampson and Smith were chosen in the third and fourth round, respectively. The Buccaneers released Durham before their second preseason game, citing a pulled muscle as one of the reasons. He disputed that his hamstring was an issue, instead saying that the team had "some bad coutinginformation". Wanting to play in the NFL, Durham declined offers to sign with teams 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 ...
and the Los Angeles Express of the
United States Football League The United States Football League (USFL) was a professional American football league that played for three seasons, 1983 through 1985. The league played a spring/summer schedule in each of its active seasons. The 1986 season was scheduled to be ...
. On November 30, 1983, he signed with the
San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners and nicknamed the Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member ...
prior to their game against Tampa Bay. He was active for their last three regular season games and their two playoff contests, serving as the 49ers' fifth wide receiver behind
Dwight Clark Dwight Edward Clark (January 8, 1957 – June 4, 2018) was an American professional football wide receiver who played for the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League (NFL) from 1979 He was a member of San Francisco's first two Sup ...
,
Freddie Solomon Freddie Solomon (January 11, 1953 – February 13, 2012) was an American professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL). He was selected by the Miami Dolphins in the second round of the 1975 NFL ...
, Mike Wilson and
Renaldo Nehemiah Renaldo Nehemiah (born March 24, 1959) is a retired American track and field athlete who specialized in the 110 m hurdles. He was ranked number one in the world for four straight years, and is a former world record holder. Nehemiah is the first ...
. 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 ...
, Durham was limited after a knee injury in training camp, and San Francisco cut him during preseason to meet the NFL deadline to trim rosters to 70 players. The 49ers ended the season winning
Super Bowl XIX Super Bowl XIX was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Miami Dolphins and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion San Francisco 49ers to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion ...
over the
Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. The Dolphins compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team ...
. Unable to play, Durham called it "the worst feeling to have to watch that."


Later years

Durham worked in customer service and sales, as well as the Boys & Girls Club. He also became the athletic director for OC Vision Basketball, a youth organization training players throughout Southern California.


Notes


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Durham, Darius 1961 births Living people American football wide receivers Players of American football from Long Beach, California San Diego State Aztecs football players San Francisco 49ers players Tampa Bay Buccaneers players