Otis D. Armstrong (November 15, 1950 – October 13, 2021) 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). He was selected in the first round with the ninth overall pick in the

1973 NFL draft The 1973 NFL draft was held January 30–31, 1973, at the Americana Hotel in New York City, New York. With the first overall pick of the draft, the Houston Oilers selected defensive end John Matuszak. Player selections Round one ...

. He played for the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West, West division. The team is headquartered in E ...

for his entire career from 1973 to 1980.

Early life

Armstrong attended

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

Farragut High School Farragut High School, located at 11237 Kingston Pike, serves as a high school in Farragut, a suburb of Knoxville, Tennessee. Knox County Schools, the unified Knox County, Tennessee school district, operates the school. The school serves the ma ...

and was inducted into the

Chicagoland Sports Hall of Fame The Chicagoland Sports Hall of Fame, located in the Hawthorne Race Course, in Stickney/Cicero, near Chicago, honors sports greats associated with the Chicago metropolitan area. It was founded in 1979 as a trailer owned by the Olympia Brewing Compa ...

College career

Before his NFL career, Armstrong played for

Purdue University Purdue University is a Public university#United States, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, United States, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded ...

, becoming the school's all-time leading rusher and leader in all-purpose yards. Armstrong was selected to Purdue's All-Time team in 1987 as part of a celebration of 100 years of football at Purdue. He was inducted into the Purdue Intercollegiate Athletics Hall of Fame in 1997. Armstrong finished his three college seasons with 4,601 All-purpose yards (3,315 rushing yards, 897 yards from kickoff returns and 389 passing yards). He also scored 24 touchdowns (17 rushing and seven on returns). Armstrong was selected the

Big Ten The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference, among others) is a collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representatives in 1 ...

MVP in 1972, leading the league in rushing and total offense, while being selected 1st team All-Conference. He participated in four All-Star games; the

Hula Bowl The Hula Bowl is a post-season college football all-star game held annually, usually in January. From inception through the 2021 playing, it was held in Hawaii; since the 2022 edition, it has been played in Orlando, Florida. The game was first s ...

, the

East-West Shrine Game East West (or East and West) may refer to: *East–West dichotomy, the contrast between Eastern and Western society or culture Arts and entertainment Books, journals and magazines *'' East, West'', an anthology of short stories written by Salm ...

, the Coaches' All-American Game, and the Chicago College All-Star game. Over the course of his Purdue career, Armstrong became the all-time leading rusher in Big Ten Conference and Purdue history and ranked sixth in

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

history at the time. His total of 3,315 yards in three years bettered the previous mark of 3,212 yards by

Alan Ameche Alan Ameche (; June 1, 1933 – August 8, 1988), nicknamed "the Iron Horse", or simply "the Horse", was an American professional football player who was a fullback for six seasons with the Baltimore Colts in the National Football League (NFL). ...

of Wisconsin - established in four years. He still holds the Purdue single game rushing record (276 yds vs. arch-rival Indiana.) Armstrong finished as the all-time leader in All-Purpose yards at Purdue (4,601 yds), he is currently fourth all-time. On May 16, 2012; Armstrong was selected for induction into the College Football Hall of Fame. Armstrong became the 13th Boilermaker (nine players, four coaches) inducted into the

College Football Hall of Fame The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and interactive Tourist attraction, attraction devoted to college football, college American football. The National Football Foundation (NFF) founded the Hall in 1951 to immortalize the players ...

Professional career

Armstrong was selected by the

with the ninth pick in the

. In 1974, his second NFL season, Armstrong led the league in rushing yards (1,407) and yards per carry (5.3). In the 1977 season, he assisted the

to an appearance in

Super Bowl XII Super Bowl XII was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion 1977 Dallas Cowboys season, Dallas Cowboys and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion 1977 Denver Broncos season, Denver Broncos to dec ...

, which they lost to the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. T ...

27–10. Armstrong finished his eight NFL seasons with 4,453 rushing yards, 123 receptions for 1,302 receiving yards, and 879 yards from kickoff returns. He also scored 32 touchdowns (25 rushing and seven receiving).

Death

Otis Armstrong died on October 13, 2021, surrounded by his family and loved ones. He was 70.

NFL career statistics

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Armstrong, Otis 1950 births 2021 deaths Players of American football from Chicago All-American college football players American football running backs Purdue Boilermakers football players Denver Broncos players American Conference Pro Bowl players College Football Hall of Fame inductees Farragut Career Academy alumni