Victor Ebubedike (born 1 February 1966), also known as Victor X Ebubedike and Victor Muhammad, is an English former

gridiron football Gridiron football ( ),"Gridiron football"
''Encyclopædia Britannica'' ...

player who played as 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 ...

for London Ravens, from 1983 to 1990, then onto the

NFL Europe NFL Europe League (simply called NFL Europe and known in its final season as NFL Europa) was a professional American football league that functioned as the List of developmental and minor sports leagues, developmental minor league of the Nati ...

London Monarchs The London Monarchs were a professional American football team in NFL Europe and its predecessor league, the World League of American Football (WLAF). The Monarchs played their final season in 1998 as the England Monarchs. In 1999, they were re ...

from 1991 to 1992 and 1995 to 1998.

Early life and career

Ebubedike was born and raised in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, England, and is of

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

n descent. He played

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

in his youth. On his 16th birthday, while on a walk through Hyde Park, he stumbled upon the

London Ravens London is the capital and largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Western Europe, with a population of 14.9 million. London stands on the River Tha ...

– the U.K.'s first ever American football team. Ebubedike joined the team and quickly became one of the best players in Europe. He led the team to a win over the

Streatham Olympians Streatham ( ) is a district in south London, England. Centred south of Charing Cross, it lies mostly within the London Borough of Lambeth, with some parts extending into the neighbouring London Borough of Wandsworth. Streatham was in Surrey ...

in the 1985 Summer Bowl at

Villa Park Villa Park is a association football, football stadium in Aston, Birmingham, with a seating capacity of 42,918. It has been the home of Premier League club Aston Villa F.C., Aston Villa since 1897. The ground is less than a mile from both Witt ...

to close the inaugural AFL UK season. In 1986, Ebubedike helped the team win the first-ever Budweiser Bowl before joining the Harper Hawks football team at

Harper College William Rainey Harper College is a Public college, public community college in Palatine, Illinois. It was established by referendum in 1965 and opened in September 1967. It is named for William Rainey Harper, a pioneer in the junior college m ...

Palatine, Illinois Palatine () is a village in Cook County, Illinois, Cook and Lake County, Illinois, Lake counties, Illinois, United States. It is a northwestern residential Chicago metropolitan area, suburb of Chicago. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 c ...

. Ebubedike flew back to England to help the Ravens win the 1987 Budweiser Bowl, rushing for 176 yards and three touchdowns in their 40–23 win over the Manchester All-Stars. Overall, he rushed for 3,770 yards and 66 touchdowns in his three competitive seasons with the Ravens, averaging 8.9 yards per carry.

Professional career

In May 1990, Ebubedike was signed by the

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

. However, he was cut that July to free up a roster spot for Mike Martin. Regardless, Ebubedike was the first British player, other than a kicker, to make an

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a 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 Football Conference (NFC). The N ...

training camp. Ebubedike joined the

ahead of the inaugural 1991 season of the

World League of American Football NFL Europe League (simply called NFL Europe and known in its final season as NFL Europa) was a professional American football league that functioned as the List of developmental and minor sports leagues, developmental minor league of the Nati ...

(WLAF) after a tryout in

Orlando, Florida Orlando ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Orange County, Florida, United States. The city proper had a population of 307,573 at the 2020 census, making it the fourth-most populous city in Florida behind Jacksonville, Florida, Jacksonville ...

. He was a part of Operation Discovery, a talent search program that placed homegrown European players on WLAF rosters. Ebubedike was one of four British players named to the final 40-man roster in March. He played exclusively on

special teams In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their position. Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...

in his first two games, and even made the first tackle in league history in their season-opening win over the Frankfurt Galaxy. He was put in at running back for the first time in the fourth quarter of their week three win over the

Orlando Thunder The Orlando Thunder was a member of the World League of American Football from 1991 to 1992. The team played their games in the 70,000 seat Florida Citrus Bowl, and was coached by Don Matthews in 1991 and Galen Hall in 1992. The team's most visi ...

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium, currently branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE Limited, EE for sponsorship reasons, is an association football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Sta ...

and become the first Operation Discovery player to record a carry when he ran for a ten-yard

first down A down in gridiron football is an attempt by the offensive team to run a play to advance the ball, while the defending team simultaneously attempts to halt their advance. The down is a distinguishing characteristic of the game compared to othe ...

. Five plays later, he became the first Operation Discovery player to score a touchdown, and finished the game with six carries for 44 yards and the score. Ebubedike won the inaugural

World Bowl The World Bowl was the annual American football championship game of the World League of American Football, later called NFL Europe. The World Bowl was played each year from 1991 to 2007 (except 1993 and 1994). The first World Bowl was played ...

with the Monarchs when they defeated the Barcelona Dragons 21–0. Ebubedike was later named a second-team all-World League selection via a spot designated for an Operation Discovery player, with fellow Englishman

Phil Alexander Philip James Alexander (born 4 September 1962) is an English former association footballer and American footballer. He has been the CEO of Bristol City. Association football Alexander's English football career began at Reading. Alexander then ...

earning the first-team nod. Ebubedike returned to the London Monarchs in 1992. However, he suffered damage to his knee ligaments in a preseason win over the

Birmingham Fire The Birmingham Fire were a professional American football team based in Birmingham, Alabama. They were a member of the North American West division of the World League of American Football (WLAF) and played their home games at Legion Field. The c ...

. Ebubedike signed with the North West Spartans later that year, ahead of the European Challenge Bowl final. He scored two touchdowns in their 42–25 defeat to the

Hamburg Blue Devils The Hamburg Blue Devils are an American football team in Hamburg, Germany. It was founded in 1992. The Blue Devils are one of the most successful American football clubs in Germany, having won four German Bowls as well as three Eurobowls. Dur ...

. The WLAF suspended operations in 1993. Consequently, Ebubedike played with the Great Britain Spartans in the inaugural 1994 season of the Football League of Europe. When the London Monarchs returned in

1995 1995 was designated as: * United Nations Year for Tolerance * World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...

, Ebubedike was one of seven British players named to the Monarchs roster. He rushed for a franchise-record 46-yard touchdown run in a 34–14 win over the

Rhein Fire Rhein Fire may refer to either of two American football franchises: * Rhein Fire (NFL Europe) The Rhein Fire were a professional football team in the NFL Europe, formerly the World League of American Football. Established in Düsseldorf, Germany ...

. Muhammad played with Monarchs the until their final season in

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

, finishing his career with 116 carries for 416 yards and four touchdowns. He played in several leagues around Europe before returning to England, where he played his final game in 2013.

National team career

On 29 September 1985, Ebubedike represented the Great Britain national team in the side's first-ever international fixture, scoring the sole touchdown in their 7–0 win over

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. He scored two touchdowns in a 59–2 victory over France during qualifiers for the 1987

European Championship A European Championship is the top level international sports competition between European athletes or sports teams representing their respective countries or professional sports clubs. In the plural, the European Championships also refers t ...

. Ebubedike led Great Britain to a gold medal at the 1989 European Championships.

Personal life

After joining the

Nation of Islam The Nation of Islam (NOI) is a religious organization founded in the United States by Wallace Fard Muhammad in 1930. A centralized and hierarchical organization, the NOI is committed to black nationalism and focuses its attention on the Afr ...

, Ebubedike changed his name to Victor X and then Victor Muhammad. He later worked as a coach and a firefighter.

References

External links

Victor Muhammad
at ProFootballArchives {{DEFAULTSORT:Ebubedike, Victor 1966 births Living people English players of American football American football running backs Harper Hawks football players London Monarchs players Black British sportsmen English people of Nigerian descent Sportspeople of Nigerian descent English expatriate sportspeople in the United States Expatriate players of American football Players of American football from London BAFA National Leagues players