Kevin Fernando Long (January 20, 1955 – September 10, 2024) was an American 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) and

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 ...

(USFL). 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

South Carolina Gamecocks The South Carolina Gamecocks represent the University of South Carolina in the NCAA Division I. The University of South Carolina uses "Gamecocks" as its official nickname and mascot. While the men's teams were traditionally known as the Fight ...

College

Long attended the

University of South Carolina The University of South Carolina (USC, SC, or Carolina) is a Public university, public research university in Columbia, South Carolina, United States. Founded in 1801 as South Carolina College, It is the flagship of the University of South Car ...

and was a standout fullback for the Gamecocks. He rushed for 2,372 yards, ranked eighth overall on Carolina's all-time list as of 2006. His average per rush was 5.3 yards and he was the first Gamecock player to compile 1,000 yards in a season (1975). In 2002, Long was inducted into the University of South Carolina Athletic Hall of Fame, and in 2003, into the State of South Carolina Athletic Hall of Fame.

NFL/USFL

Long was selected in the 7th round (195th overall) by the

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team p ...

in the

1977 NFL draft The 1977 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 May 3–4, 1977, at the Roosevelt Hotel ...

and played five solid seasons for the Jets, until 1981. However, he is probably best remembered as a former USFL player. He played three seasons in the newly formed league, first for the

Chicago Blitz The Chicago Blitz was a professional American football team that played in the United States Football League (USFL) in the mid-1980s. They played at Soldier Field in Chicago, Illinois. Team history The Blitz were one of the twelve charter ...

in 1983, and then for the

Arizona Wranglers The Arizona Wranglers were a professional American football team in the United States Football League (USFL) that existed from late 1982 to mid-1985. They played at Sun Devil Stadium on the campus of Arizona State University in Tempe, Arizona. ...

in 1984. Due to the full-team trade that occurred during the first off-season between Chicago and Arizona, the 1984 Arizona team was basically the same team that had played in Chicago in 1983. After the 1984 season, Arizona then merged with the

Oklahoma Outlaws Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

franchise, and he played for the new Arizona Outlaws team in 1985.

NFL career statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

Personal life and death

Long worked in sales for a vending machine company. He was married and had three daughters. His eldest daughter won a

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 ...

scholarship to the

University of Georgia The University of Georgia (UGA or Georgia) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Athens, Georgia, United States. Chartered in 1785, it is the oldest public university in th ...

. His second daughter plays

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

at the

College of Charleston The College of Charleston (CofC or Charleston) is a public university in Charleston, South Carolina, United States. Founded in 1770 and chartered in 1785, it is the oldest university in South Carolina, the 13th-oldest institution of higher lea ...

. Long died on September 10, 2024, at the age of 69.Gamecocks mourn the Passing of Hall of Fame running back Kevin Long
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References

External links

NFL Profile

Daily Gamecock article

1983 USFL Statistics

1955 births 2024 deaths People from Clinton, South Carolina Players of American football from South Carolina American football running backs South Carolina Gamecocks football players New York Jets players Chicago Blitz players Arizona Wranglers players 20th-century American sportsmen {{runningback-1950s-stub