Earl Lunsford (October 19, 1933 – September 3, 2008), known as the "Earthquake", was a fullback for the

Calgary Stampeders The Calgary Stampeders are a professional Canadian football team based in Calgary, Alberta. The Stampeders compete in the West Division (CFL), West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The club plays its home games at McMahon Stadium a ...

and is a member of the

Canadian Football Hall of Fame The Canadian Football Hall of Fame (CFHOF) is a not-for-profit corporation, located in Hamilton, Ontario, that celebrates achievements in Canadian football. It is maintained by the Canadian Football League (CFL). It includes displays about the CFL, ...

College football

Lunsford played during college at with Oklahoma A&M.

Calgary

Lunsford was drafted by 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 ...

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 ...

in 1956, but instead began his six-year career 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 ...

that year with the

. His time in Calgary was interrupted for 2 seasons, 1957 to 1958, while serving in the United States military. He played 5 more seasons for the Stamps, from 1959 to 1963. Lunsford rushed for over 1,000 yards 5 times, leading the West Division with 1,343 yards in 1960. During his best season, 1961, he led the entire CFL with a whopping 1,794 yards, which made him known as the first running back in professional sports to rush for a mile in one season. He was an All West all star in 1960 and All Canadian in 1961. That year, Calgary finished with a mediocre 7-9 record, but defeated the

Edmonton Eskimos The Edmonton Elks are a professional Canadian football team based in Edmonton, Alberta. The club competes in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member of the league's West Division and plays their home games at Commonwealth Stadium. The E ...

in the Western conference semi-final. However, they lost the Western conference final to the eventual Grey Cup winner, the

Bud Grant Harry Peter "Bud" Grant Jr. (May 20, 1927 – March 11, 2023) was an American professional football player and coach in the National Football League (NFL) and Canadian Football League (CFL). Grant was head coach of the NFL's Minnesota Viki ...

-led

Winnipeg Blue Bombers The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are a professional Canadian football team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The Blue Bombers compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West Division (CFL), West division. They play thei ...

. His best game was on September 3, 1962, in Calgary, when he scored 5 rushing touchdowns, still a Stampeder record. In his career, he rushed 1199 times for 6994 yards, a 5.8 yard average, and 55 touchdowns, with his longest run being 85 yards. He is the Stampeder all-time rushing leader with 55 touchdowns and 28 100-yard games and is second among Stampeders for all-time rushing yards. Earl Lunsford had his own theme song "Earl The Pearl of Calgary".

Career regular season rushing statistics

General manager

After his playing career, Lunsford became

General Manager A general manager (GM) is an executive who has overall responsibility for managing both the revenue and cost elements of a company's income statement, known as profit & loss (P&L) responsibility. A general manager usually oversees most or all of ...

of the

(1968–1982) and the

(1985–1987).

Post-football honors

For his outstanding years as a dominant running back, Lunsford was elected to the

in 1983.

Death

He died September 3, 2008, aged 74, of

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease and the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As the disease advances, symptoms can include problems wit ...

at his Texas home.

References

External links

Canadian Football Hall of Fame member
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lunsford, Earl 1933 births 2008 deaths Canadian football fullbacks Canadian Football Hall of Fame inductees Calgary Stampeders players Deaths from Alzheimer's disease in Texas Oklahoma State Cowboys football players Sportspeople from Stillwater, Oklahoma Players of American football from Oklahoma Winnipeg Blue Bombers general managers Players of Canadian football from Oklahoma