Andre Antonio Samuels (December 30, 1954 – September 12, 2001) 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 ...

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

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division. Established in 1959 ...

and

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (colloquially known as the Bucs) are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC S ...

. He was selected by the Chiefs in the fourth round of 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 ...

. He played

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Florida A&M University Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU), commonly known as Florida A&M, is a Public university, public Historically black colleges and universities, historically black land-grant university in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. ...

and Bethune-Cookman University. He also played for the

Washington Federals Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A m ...

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).

Early life and college

Andre Antonio Samuels was born on December 30, 1954, in

Tampa, Florida Tampa ( ) is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. Tampa's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and t ...

. He attended Northeast High School in

St. Petersburg, Florida St. Petersburg is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 258,308, making it the List of municipalities in Florida, fifth-most populous city in Florida and the most populous city in the sta ...

. Samuels was a member of the

Florida A&M Rattlers The Florida A&M Rattlers represent Florida A&M University (FAMU) in college athletics. Florida A&M is a member of the Southwestern Athletic Conference and participates in NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS). FAMU offers men's s ...

in 1973 and the Bethune-Cookman Wildcats of Bethune-Cookman University from 1974 to 1976.

Professional career

Samuels was selected by the

in the fourth round, with the 94th overall pick, of the

. He played in all 14 games, starting two, for the Chiefs during his rookie year in 1977, catching five passes for 65 yards while also fumbling once. He appeared in all 16 games during the 1978 season, recording six receptions for 97 yards. Samuels played in all 16 games for the second consecutive season, starting a career-high 13, for the Chiefs in 1979, totaling 14 receptions for 147 yards, one fumble, and two fumbles recoveries, one of which was returned for a touchdown. The Chiefs finished the year with a 7–9 record. He started the Chiefs' first four games of the 1980 season, catching eight passes for 110 yards, before being released on October 1, 1980. Samuels signed with the

on October 8, 1980. He appeared in six games, starting three, for the Buccaneers that year before being placed on injured reserve on December 10, 1980. He was placed on injured reserve again on August 17, 1981, and missed the entire 1981 season. Samuels was released on July 23, 1982, after failing a physical. Samuels signed with the

of the

(USFL) on April 13, 1983. He played in four games, starting three, for the Federals during the

1983 USFL season The 1983 USFL season was the inaugural season of the United States Football League. Rules differences from NFL *Optional 2 point conversion after touchdown (the NFL would add this rule in 1994). *Optional 1 inch kicking tee for extra points an ...

and caught one pass for 30 yards before being released on May 21, 1983. Samuels was signed by the USFL's

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 ...

on October 21, 1983. He was released on January 25, 1984. Samuels signed with the

Tampa Bay Bandits The Tampa Bay Bandits were a professional American football team in the United States Football League (USFL) which was based in Tampa, Florida. The Bandits were a charter member of the USFL and was the only franchise to have the same principal ...

of the USFL on October 15, 1984, but was released on February 11, 1985.

Personal life

Samuels died on September 12, 2001, in Tampa.

References

External links

Stats Crew profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Samuels, Tony 1954 births 2001 deaths Players of American football from Tampa, Florida American football tight ends Florida A&M Rattlers football players Bethune–Cookman Wildcats football players Kansas City Chiefs players Tampa Bay Buccaneers players Washington Federals/Orlando Renegades players Oklahoma Outlaws players Tampa Bay Bandits players 20th-century African-American sportsmen