Jimmy Edwards (September 19, 1952–July 3, 2002) 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 handoffs from the quarterback to rush the ball, to line up as a receiver to catch the ball, and block. The ...

for the

Hamilton Tiger-Cats The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are a professional Canadian football team based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. They are currently members of the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The Tiger-Cats play their home games at Tim Hortons Fiel ...

of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ...

Early life

Edwards was born in

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, it ranks 20th among United States cities in population, an ...

and graduated from

Classen High School Classen School of Advanced Studies, often referred to as Classen SAS, CSAS or simply Classen, is a public speciality school serving students in grades 9–12 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The Oklahoma City Public Schools program participates in th ...

in Oklahoma City. He married Elaine June Sheets. He played college football at the

University of Oklahoma , mottoeng = "For the benefit of the Citizen and the State" , type = Public research university , established = , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $2.7billion (2021) , pr ...

and the

University of Louisiana at Monroe The University of Louisiana Monroe (ULM) is a public university in Monroe, Louisiana. It is part of the University of Louisiana System. History ULM opened in 1931 as Ouachita Parish Junior College. Three years later it became the Northeast Ce ...

. He was selected by the

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as a first-team running back on the 1972 Little All-America college football team.

Professional career

He began his professional career in the WFL in 1974 with the

Birmingham Americans The Birmingham Americans were a professional American football team located in Birmingham, Alabama. They were members of the four-team Central Division of the World Football League (WFL). The Americans, founded in late December 1973, played in t ...

. He rushed for 575 yards on 99 carries and scored 7 TDs, while also catching 11 passes and returning kickoffs. In 1975, he moved to the Shreveport Steamers, where he rushed for only 163 yards on 49 carries and scoring 3 TDs. In the short existence of the WFL Edwards was the 20th all-time leading rusher. He starred with the Tiger-Cats from 1976 to 1978. He was an all star each season and won the

CFL's Most Outstanding Player Award The Most Outstanding Player Award is annually awarded to the best player in the Canadian Football League. The two nominees for the award are the Terry Evanshen Trophy winner from the East Division, and the Jeff Nicklin Memorial Trophy winner from ...

in 1977 when he led the league in rushing with 1581 yards. This remained a team record until 2004, when

Troy Davis Troy Anthony Davis (October 9, 1968 – September 21, 2011) was a man convicted of and executed for the August 19, 1989 murder of police officer Mark MacPhail in Savannah, Georgia. MacPhail was working as a security guard at a Burger King re ...

broke it. He also rushed for 1046 yards in 1976, with 7 touchdowns, and for 800 yards in 1978. He finished in Hamilton with 3467 yards on 641 carries. In 1979, he played 14 games with the

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the maj ...

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

, where he led the league in kickoff return yardage average (25.1 on 44 returns.) He also returned 33 punts, but caught only one pass and did not rush the ball. He returned to the CFL briefly, playing with the

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 their h ...

in 1981 and the

Saskatchewan Roughriders The Saskatchewan Roughriders are a professional Canadian football team based in Regina, Saskatchewan. The Roughriders compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West Division. The Roughriders were founded i ...

in 1982.

Death

Jimmy Edwards died on July 3, 2002 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The NewsOK.com website announced his death and subsequent funeral service, which was held on July 10.

References

External links

Pro-Football-Reference.Com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Edwards, Jimmy 1952 births 2002 deaths Birmingham Americans players Canadian Football League Most Outstanding Player Award winners Canadian football running backs Classen School of Advanced Studies alumni Hamilton Tiger-Cats players Minnesota Vikings players Players of American football from Oklahoma Saskatchewan Roughriders players Shreveport Steamer players Sportspeople from Oklahoma City University of Louisiana at Monroe alumni Winnipeg Blue Bombers players Oklahoma Sooners football players Louisiana–Monroe Warhawks football players