Bear Bryant allegedly brought Cunningham into the all-white Alabama locker room after the game and said “This is what a football player looks like.” While Cunningham’s performance in the game was unquestionably dominant, the locker room story is not true.
He was known as “Bam” because of his running style, and is the older brother of NFL star quarterback Randall Cunningham.
He was a 1978 Pro-bowler with the New England Patriots and played with them in his whole career from 1973 until 1982.
Hall of Fame
-
- School
- Southern California (USC)
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- Induction
- 2010
Years: 1970-1972
Place of Birth: Santa Barbara, CA
Date of Birth: Aug 15, 1950
Jersey Number: 39
Height: 6-3
Weight: 212
High School: Santa Barbara HS (Santa Barbara, CA)Sam “Bam” Cunningham earned his nickname for his bruising goal line dives throughout his career with the Trojans. Playing for College Football Hall of Fame coach John McKay, Cunningham rushed for 135 yards and two touchdowns on 12 carries against Alabama in his first collegiate game. A member of the Trojans’ 1972 national championship team, Cunningham scored four touchdowns in the 1973 Rose Bowl (his final game) and was named the player of the game. Cunningham was the team’s Back of the Year and a team captain of a squad that many feel is among the greatest college teams of all-time. A 1972 First Team All-America, Cunningham played innumerous all star games including the Hula Bowl, College All-Star Game and Coaches All-America Game. Drafted 11th overall in the 1973 NFL Draft by New England, he played nine seasons for the Patriots. He was named to the AFC Pro Bowl team in 1978. Following his football career, Cunningham was active in charitable causes and worked as a landscape contractor. He is the older brother of 2016 College Football Hall of Fame inductee Randall Cunningham, who played punter and quarterback at UNLV.
Sam Cunningham
 Cunningham at his 2010 induction to the Patriots Hall of Fame
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| No. 39 | |||||||
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| Position: | Fullback | ||||||
| Personal information | |||||||
| Born: | August 15, 1950 Santa Barbara, California |
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| Died: | September 7, 2021 (aged 71) | ||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | ||||||
| Weight: | 226 lb (103 kg) | ||||||
| Career information | |||||||
| High school: | Santa Barbara (CA) | ||||||
| College: | USC | ||||||
| NFL Draft: | 1973 / Round: 1 / Pick: 11 | ||||||
| Career history | |||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||
| Career NFL statistics | |||||||
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| Player stats at NFL.com | |||||||
Samuel Lewis Cunningham Jr (August 15, 1950 – September 7, 2021), nicknamed Sam “Bam” Cunningham, was a former American football fullback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for ten seasons with the New England Patriots. He played college football at USC, where he was named an All-American and received MVP honors in the 1973 Rose Bowl for scoring a record four touchdowns. Selected in the first round of the 1973 NFL Draft by the Patriots, Cunningham became the franchise’s all-time leading rusher. He was inducted to the College Football Hall of Fame in 2010. The same year, he was also inducted to the Patriots Hall of Fame.
College career
Cunningham was a letterman for University of Southern California‘s football team from 1970 through 1972 where he played fullback. He was named an All-American in 1972. He was a member of USC’s 1972 national championship team. In the 1973 Rose Bowl, he scored four touchdowns, which still stands as a modern-day Rose Bowl record. He was named Rose Bowl Player of the Game. He was inducted into the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame in 1992 and into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2010.
In 1970, he was part of USC‘s “all-black” backfield – the first one of its kind in Division I (NCAA) history – that included quarterback Jimmy Jones and running back Clarence Davis. He had a notable debut performance (135 yards, two touchdowns) against an all-white University of Alabama football team, as USC beat Alabama 42–21 in Birmingham on September 12, 1970. His performance in the game was reportedly a factor in convincing the University of Alabama and its fans to let Coach Bear Bryant integrate Southern football. Jerry Claiborne, a former Bryant assistant, said, “Sam Cunningham did more to integrate Alabama in 60 minutes than Martin Luther King did in 20 years.”
Professional career
In only his second year 1974, Cunningham gained 811 yards and nine touchdowns as he led the New England Patriots to a surprising 4–0 start before faltering to a 7–7 finish. In 1977, he gained a career-high 1,015 yards and scored four touchdowns, and also caught 42 receptions for 370 yards and a touchdown. He played his entire career (1973 through 1982) with the Patriots and was a 1978 Pro Bowl selection. Cunningham was an integral part of the 1978 Patriots, who set an NFL record for rushing yards as a team with 3,165. This record stood for more than forty years and was not broken until the 2019 Baltimore Ravens.
Cunningham finished his career with 5,453 rushing yards, 210 receptions for 1,905 yards, and 49 touchdowns. He was the older brother of former UNLV and NFL quarterback Randall Cunningham and uncle of Randall Cunningham II and world champion high jumper Vashti Cunningham.
Cunningham was the 2010 Inductee to the Patriots Hall of Fame.
Sam ‘Bam’ Cunningham, Hall of Fame USC player who helped integrate college football, dies at 71
Sam “Bam” Cunningham, the Hall of Fame running back from USC credited with helping integrate college football in the early 1970s, died Tuesday. He was 71.
Cunningham was widely known for leading an integrated Trojan squad into Birmingham and scoring two touchdowns in a lopsided win over all-white Alabama. That afternoon became part of legend and, though often embellished in the retelling, served as a crucial moment for a sport that had, in some parts of the country, clung stubbornly to segregation.
“I’m just proud to be a part of it,” Cunningham told the Times in 2016. “Because it was such a special game.”
Born in Santa Barbara in 1950, Cunningham played fullback at USC, using his size and strength to earn that nickname with bruising goal-line dives. He was an All-American in 1972, a season in which he scored four touchdowns in the Rose Bowl and the Trojans went undefeated to win the national championship.
Sam Cunningham, who starred at USC and in NFL, dies at 71
Cunningham died at his home in Inglewood, according to USC, which spoke to his wife, Cine
Sam “Bam” Cunningham, an All-American fullback at Southern California whose performance against Alabama was credited with helping to integrate football in the South before going on to a record-setting career with the New England Patriots, died Tuesday. He was 71.
He died at his home in Inglewood, according to USC, which spoke to his wife, Cine. She said the cause had yet to be determined.
Cunningham’s older brother, Randall, starred as a quarterback in the NFL for 16 years.
As a sophomore in 1970, Cunningham was part of USC’s all-Black backfield, along with quarterback Jimmy Jones and running back Clarence Davis, which was the first of its kind in Division I.
Cunningham ran for 135 yards on 12 carries and scored two touchdowns in the Trojans’ 42-21 rout of predominantly white Alabama in Birmingham to open that season. His performance was credited with having influenced the university and coach Bear Bryant to widely recruit more Black players and fully integrate the sport in the South.
“What they saw was the future,” Cunningham told ESPN in 2016. “Their team was eventually going to be integrated.”
Jerry Claiborne, a former Bryant assistant, famously said, “Sam Cunningham did more to integrate Alabama in 60 minutes than Martin Luther King did in 20 years.”
Cunningham earned All-American honors in 1972, when he captained the Trojans to a national championship. His record four goal-line TD dives against Ohio State in the 1973 Rose Bowl earned him game MVP honors. He was inducted into the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame in 1992.
He ran for 1,579 yards and 23 touchdowns in his career, including 13 TDs in 1972.
Cunningham was taken 11th overall in the first round of the 1973 NFL draft by the Patriots. He became the franchise’s career leading rusher with 5,453 yards, while also catching 210 passes for 1,905 yards. He scored 49 touchdowns — 43 on the ground.
He was a Pro Bowl selection in 1978, when the Patriots set an NFL record for rushing yards as a team with 3,165. The mark stood until 2019, when it was broken by the Baltimore Ravens.
Cunningham finished his nine-year career in New England with 5,453 rushing yards, 210 receptions for 1,905 yards, and 49 touchdowns.
“Sam ‘Bam’ Cunningham was one of my favorite players throughout the ‘70s and my sons all loved him,” said Patriots chairman and CEO Robert Kraft, who bought the team in 1994. “As much as I admired him as a player, my affection for him only grew after spending time with him and learning more about him as a person. He made a tremendous impact, both on and off the field, and was beloved by his teammates.”
Cunningham was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2010, the same year he went into the Patriots Hall of Fame. He also was a member of the USC Athletic Hall of Fame.
After his playing career, Cunningham worked as a landscape contractor in California. He was born and raised in Santa Barbara.
Besides his wife, he is survived by daughter Samahndi, brothers Randall, Bruce and Anthony, niece Vashti Cunningham, a world champion high jumper, and nephew Randall II.
Sam Cunningham, USC player who helped integrate college football, dies at 71
Sam “Bam” Cunningham, the Hall of Fame running back from USC credited with helping integrate college football in the early 1970s, died Tuesday. He was 71.
Cunningham was widely known for leading an integrated Trojan squad into Birmingham and scoring two touchdowns in a lopsided win over all-white Alabama. That afternoon became part of legend and, though often embellished in the retelling, served as a crucial moment for a sport that had, in some parts of the country, clung stubbornly to segregation.
“I’m just proud to be a part of it,” Cunningham told The Times in 2016. “Because it was such a special game.”
Born in Santa Barbara in 1950, Cunningham played fullback at USC, using his size and strength to earn that nickname with bruising goal-line dives. He was an All-American in 1972, a season in which he scored four touchdowns in the Rose Bowl and the Trojans went undefeated to win the national championship.
The New England Patriots selected Cunningham in the first round of the 1973 NFL Draft, the start of a nine-year pro career that saw him retire with a team-record 5,453 yards and Pro Bowl honors in 1978.
Still, in the years after his retirement, it was the Alabama game that people seemed to remember most.
In truth, Crimson Tide coach Paul “Bear” Bryant did not schedule USC in hopes of losing and quieting the segregationists, as has often been said. Nor did he march Cunningham into his locker room afterward to announce: “This is what a football player looks like!”
It was also urban myth that the 42-21 USC victory caused Alabama to recruit its first Black player; the team already had a Black freshman — freshmen were ineligible at that time — on the roster.
But that Saturday afternoon deserves credit. Alabama fans were reportedly dismayed at losing so badly, and Bryant received little pushback when he subsequently signed more Black players.
Cunningham, who worked as a landscape contractor after his football career, died in Inglewood. He is survived by his wife, Cine, and daughter, Samahndi. His brother, Randall, was a standout NFL quarterback.
In his later years, the former USC star dismissed any talk of him and his team as heroes.
“We’re just regular people,” he said. “I didn’t do anything more than what I was asked to do. Run the ball. If there’s a hole, run through it. If you can score a touchdown, score a touchdown. Bam. Pretty simple to me.”
Sam Cunningham, Outstanding Senior Boy, Class of 1969 : Sam was chairman …
College Football World Pays Tribute To Sam Cunningham
The football world lost a legend on Tuesday with the passing of former USC and New England Patriots fullback Sam Cunningham at the age of 71.
Cunningham starred at USC from 1970-72, earning All-American honors in his final season. In his first collegiate game, he rushed for 135 yards and two touchdowns in a win over Alabama, a performance so impressive that it reportedly helped lead Crimson Tide head coach Bear Bryant to integrate his program.
Cunningham was selected with the 11th overall pick in the 1973 NFL Draft. He played nine seasons with the Patriots, rushing for 5,453 yards and 43 touchdowns and earning Pro Bowl honors in 1978.
In 2010, Cunningham was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame. His contributions on and off the field were the subject of a flurry of tributes on social media this afternoon.
#FightOnForever, Sam “Bam” Cunningham.
The All-American fullback, Rose Bowl MVP and College Football Hall of Famer, whose performance in USC’s 1970 win at Alabama has often been credited with helping integrate Southern football, died on Tuesday in Inglewood. He was 71.
— USC Trojans (@USC_Athletics) September 7, 2021
Sam Cunningham was one of the all timers. Not just a great football player but an incredible man. Really had a huge influence on my team at USC. Loved when I got to see him. RIP to a legend. #FightOnForever
— Matt Leinart (@MattLeinartQB) September 7, 2021
All the stories about how Sam Cunningham helped integrate Bear Bryant’s Alabama program are riveting, so check them all out https://t.co/L4MMbvft5A
— David Steele (@David_C_Steele) September 7, 2021
RIP to the
Sam “Bam” Cunningham, one of the greatest Football players in USC history but also one the greatest people that I have ever met. He changed College Football forever… This one hurtspic.twitter.com/pCEhValMGM— gavin morris (@DaGman7) September 7, 2021
So sad to see this. A real sports legend. Was such a treat to get to know Sam “Bam” Cunningham and hear some of his stories. RIP to a great one. https://t.co/gVZvt0Wqoz
— Bruce Feldman (@BruceFeldmanCFB) September 7, 2021
RIP to Sam “Bam” Cunningham, one of the most impact players in the history of college football. While there are some myths and realities surrounding the 1970 USC-Alabama game, this quote (next tweet) will always remain a crucial part of Cunningham’s legacy:https://t.co/TShkirjh9d
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) September 7, 2021
I’ve hesitated as I got older to overpraise that USC-Alabama game. So much mythology overshadows that being such a great moment.
But Sam Cunningham deserves props for his great career beyond that game.
https://t.co/24E9jz5ngs— Evan Barnes
(@evan_b) September 7, 2021
RIP to a Patriots legend pic.twitter.com/2gWkqaJ8TS
— GilletteNation (@gillettenation) September 7, 2021
The older brother of star NFL quarterback Randall Cunningham, Sam left an indelible mark on the sport of college football. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends at this time.
Rest in peace, Sam.
