Derrick Harden (born April 21, 1964) 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 ...

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 ...

who played one season 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 the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They ar ...

. 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 Ellsworth Panthers and

Eastern New Mexico Greyhounds The Eastern New Mexico Greyhounds are the athletic teams that represent Eastern New Mexico University, located in Portales, New Mexico, in NCAA Division II intercollegiate sports. The Greyhounds compete as members of the Lone Star Conference for ...

. He was also a member of the

Montreal Alouettes The Montreal Alouettes (Canadian French, French: ''Les Alouettes de Montréal'') are a professional Canadian football team based in Montreal, Quebec. Founded in 1946, the team has disbanded twice and been re-established thrice. The Alouettes compe ...

of 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).

Early life

Harden was born on April 21, 1964, in

Milwaukee Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

, Wisconsin. He attended

South Division High School South Division High School is a public high school in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. South Division is part of the Milwaukee Public Schools. History The building was built after an 1890 motion by the Milwaukee Board of School Directors, as a second Mi ...

in Milwaukee and is one of 10 alumni of the school to play in the

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a 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 Football Conference (NFC). The N ...

, as well as the most recent, as of 2024. At South Division, he competed in

, where he was an

end End, END, Ending, or ENDS may refer to: End Mathematics *End (category theory) * End (topology) * End (graph theory) * End (group theory) (a subcase of the previous) * End (endomorphism) Sports and games *End (gridiron football) *End, a division ...

, and in

track and field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...

. In football, he was named to the Shrine all-star game after his

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 ...

season.

College career

Harden enrolled at

Ellsworth Community College Ellsworth Community College is a public community college in Iowa Falls, Iowa. It was founded as Ellsworth College in 1890 by Eugene S. Ellsworth. Originally a private business academy, it later became a four-year college, a music conservator ...

in Iowa in 1982. As a

, he helped Ellsworth win an Iowa Junior College Conference (IJCC) title and a Like Cola Bowl berth in 1983 with a 9–1 regular season record. He was a first-team all-region selection and had compiled eight

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 with an average of 26 yards-per-

reception Reception is a noun form of ''receiving'', or ''to receive'' something, such as art, experience, information, people, products, or vehicles. It may refer to: Astrology * Reception (astrology), when a planet is located in a sign ruled by another p ...

by the time of the bowl game. Harden transferred to the

, a

National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) established in 1940, is a college athletics association for higher education, colleges and universities in North America. Most colleges and universities in the NAIA offer athletic schola ...

(NAIA) program, in 1984. In the third game of the season, against No. 6–ranked East Central Oklahoma State, he scored two touchdowns while helping Eastern New Mexico come back from a 46–14 deficit in the third quarter to win 50–46. He then broke out as the team's leading receiver and one of the top receivers in the

Lone Star Conference The Lone Star Conference (LSC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level. Member institutions are located in the South Central states, with schools in Texas ...

(LSC) as a

in 1985. He finished the season being named a first-team All-LSC selection after totaling 40 catches for 904 yards, averaging 22.6 yards-per-reception.

Professional career

Not selected in the

1986 NFL draft The 1986 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 29–30, 1986, at the Marriott M ...

, Harden signed with the

of the

(CFL) on May 6, 1986. He left the team's training camp around May 25, 1986. Harden was working at a post office in Milwaukee in early 1987 where he met former

player

Lionel Aldridge Lionel Aldridge (February 14, 1941 – February 12, 1998) was an American professional football player who was a defensive end in the National Football League (NFL) for 11 seasons with the Green Bay Packers and San Diego Chargers.''Total Footbal ...

. Aldridge suggested to the team that it should give Harden a tryout; he signed with the Packers in May 1987. Considered a longshot to make the team, he was released on August 31. In September, when the NFL Players Association went on strike, each team assembled rosters of

replacement player In professional sports, a replacement player is an sportsperson, athlete who is not a member of the league's players association and plays during a labor dispute such as a Strike action, strike or Lockout (industry), lockout, serving as a strikebre ...

s, and Harden was re-signed by the Packers on September 23. He made his NFL debut on October 4 against the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. The Vikings compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. Founded in 1960 as ...

in Week 4, returning one kickoff for 13 yards. He was Eastern New Mexico's fourth NFL player all-time. He returned another kickoff for 20 yards in Week 5 against 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 ...

, then returned two kicks for 39 yards and made two receptions for 29 yards in Week 6 against the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The team plays its ...

, although he also had one

fumble A fumble in gridiron football occurs when a player who has possession and control of the ball loses it before being downed (tackled), scoring, or going out of bounds. By rule, it is any act other than passing, kicking, punting, or successful h ...

in the last game. Harden was released on October 19, at the end of the strike, ending his career with four kickoff returns for 72 yards and two receptions for 29 yards in three games played.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Harden, Derrick 1964 births Living people Players of American football from Milwaukee American football wide receivers South Division High School alumni Eastern New Mexico Greyhounds football players Green Bay Packers players 20th-century American sportsmen