Thomas Gatewood Jr. (born March 7, 1950) 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 ...

wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...

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 by the

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 ...

in the fifth round of the

1972 NFL draft The 1972 NFL draft was the 37th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The draft was held on February 1 and 2 at the Essex House in New York City, New York. With the first overal ...

. He played

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at Notre Dame.

Early life

Gatewood grew up in

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

. He was second of Thomas and Wilhelmina’s six children. He attended Baltimore City Public Schools where he was a straight-A student. Unbeknownst to his parents, who emphasized academics, he played football in high school at

Baltimore City College Baltimore City College, known colloquially as City, City College, and B.C.C., is a college preparatory school with a classical liberal arts focus and selective admissions criteria located in Baltimore, Maryland. Opened in October 1839, B.C.C ...

where he started as a sophomore on a junior varsity that was undefeated and unscored upon. He then started at wide receiver/tight end in both his junior and senior years. He was coached by

George Young George Young may refer to: Arts and entertainment * George Young (filmmaker), Australian stage manager and film director in the silent era * George Young (rock musician) (1946–2017), Australian musician, songwriter, and record producer * G ...

, who later became the General Manager of the

. His teams won championships both years and he was recruited by dozens of schools.

College career

While at Notre Dame, Gatewood set many receiving records, many of which were not broken until at least 30 years later. During his career he had 157 receptions for 2,283 yards and 19

touchdowns A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Scoring a touchdown grants the team that scored it 6 points. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchd ...

. In 1970, he was a consensus

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

after a then school record 77 receptions for 1,123 yards. The record was broken in 2006 by

Jeff Samardzija Jeffrey Alan Samardzija (; born January 23, 1985), nicknamed "Shark", is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played college baseball and football for the University of Notre Dame, and was recognized as a two-time football All-A ...

who had 78. His 157 career receptions were also a record until 2006 when both Samardzija and Rhema McKnight broke it. Gatewood still holds the record for the most catches per game in a season with 7.7.

Professional career

Gatewood was selected by the

in the fifth round of the

. He played in seventeen games over two seasons, recording no receptions.

College Football Hall of Fame

On January 9, 2015, the

National Football Foundation The National Football Foundation (NFF) is a non-profit organization to promote amateur American football on all levels throughout the United States and develop "the qualities of leadership, sportsmanship, competitive zeal and the drive for academi ...

announced that Gatewood would be 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 ...

later that year.

Personal life

His grandson, A. J. Dillon, is an American football

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 ...

for 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 ...

. He played college football for

Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private university, private Catholic Jesuits, Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1863 by the Society of Jesus, a Catholic Religious order (Catholic), religious order, t ...

References

External links

Notre Dame Fighting Irish bioCollege Football Hall of Fame bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gatewood, Thom 1950 births Living people Players of American football from Baltimore All-American college football players American football tight ends American football wide receivers New York Giants players Notre Dame Fighting Irish football players College Football Hall of Fame inductees