Loaird Arthur McCreary (born March 15, 1953) 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 ...

tight end The tight end (TE) is an offense (sports), offensive position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football. It is a hybrid that combines the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a receiver (football), receiv ...

who played four seasons 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) with 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 ...

and

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

. He was selected by the Dolphins in the second round of the

1976 NFL draft The 1976 NFL draft was an annual player selection meeting held April 8–9, 1976, at the Roosevelt Hotel in New York City, New York. The draft lasted 17 rounds, with the expansion Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Seattle Seahawks making the first two ...

after playing

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 ...

Tennessee State University Tennessee State University (Tennessee State, Tenn State, or TSU) is a public historically black land-grant university in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1912, it is the only state-funded historically black university in Tennes ...

Early life and college

Loaird Arthur McCreary was born on March 15, 1953, in Crawfordville, Georgia. He attended Walter F. George High School in

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

. McCreary was a four-year

letterman Letterman may refer to: * Letterman (sports), a classification of high school or college athlete in the United States People * David Letterman (born 1947), American television talk show host ** ''Late Night with David Letterman'', talk show that ...

for the

Tennessee State Tigers The Tennessee State Tigers and Lady Tigers are the intercollegiate athletic teams of Tennessee State University (TSU), located in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. The Tigers athletic program is a member of the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) an ...

from 1972 to 1975.

Professional career

McCreary was selected by the

in the second round, with the 49th overall pick, of the

. He played in all 14 games for the Dolphins during his rookie year in 1976 and caught two passes for 51 yards. He appeared in all 14 games for the second consecutive season, starting four, in 1977, recording two receptions for ten yards and one touchdown, and one kick return for 30 yards. McCreary played in all 16 games, starting one, during the 1978 season and caught three passes for 27 yards and two touchdowns. He also appeared in one playoff game that year. He was released by the Dolphins on August 21, 1979. McCreary signed with the

on October 2, 1979. He played in 11 games in 1979, totaling one catch for seven yards. He was released by the Giants on August 16, 1980. McCreary was signed by the

Baltimore Colts The Baltimore Colts were a professional American football team that played in Baltimore from 1953 to 1983, when owner Robert Irsay moved the franchise to Indianapolis. The team was named for Baltimore's history of horse breeding and racing. It w ...

on April 21, 1981. He was waived on September 1, 1981. McCreary was a member of 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 ...

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 ...

(USFL) in 1984. He was released on March 5, 1984, after the second game of the

1984 USFL season The 1984 USFL season was the second season of the United States Football League. Rule changes * The USFL added the side judge to the game officials, making a seven-man crew. * Teams played preseason games in 1984. There had been no preseason ...

References

External links

Stats Crew profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:McCreary, Loaird Living people 1953 births Players of American football from Georgia (U.S. state) American football tight ends Tennessee State Tigers football players Miami Dolphins players New York Giants players Baltimore Colts players Oklahoma Outlaws players People from Crawfordville, Georgia 20th-century African-American sportsmen