John Thomas "the Bomb" Tracy (September 7, 1934 – January 24, 1996) 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) for the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. The team plays their home game ...

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. Founded in 1933 P ...

and

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East ...

, as well as the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...

(CFL) with the Ottawa Rough Riders. He was a fifth round draft pick (50th overall) by the Detroit Lions in the 1956 NFL draft. Tracy 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 Tennessee Volunteers before he embarked on a professional football career in Canada, where he spent two seasons with the Rough Riders. He was selected an All-Star in his rookie year. He played in two

Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (since 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's All-star, star players. The format has changed ...

s as a member of the Steelers. He was voted as a first team All-Conference All-Pro by the Sporting News for the 1960 season. In his NFL career, Tracy had 808 carries for 2,912 rushing yards and 17 rushing touchdowns to go with 113 receptions for 1,468 receiving yards and 14 receiving touchdowns.

References

1934 births 1996 deaths Sportspeople from Birmingham, Michigan Players of American football from Oakland County, Michigan American football running backs Tennessee Volunteers football players Detroit Lions players Pittsburgh Steelers players Washington Redskins players Ottawa Rough Riders players Eastern Conference Pro Bowl players Players of Canadian football from Michigan {{Runningback-1930s-stub