Best NFL Running Backs of the 1970s
Walter Jerry Payton was an American football running back who played for the Chicago Bears of the National Football League for thirteen seasons.
Orenthal James Simpson (born July 9, 1947), nicknamed "The Juice", was an American football running back, broadcaster, actor, advertising spokesman, and convicted felon. Once a popular figure with the U.S. public, he is best known for being tried for the murders of his former wife, Nicole Brown Simpson,... read more Today it's sad to see this man fall apart, but turn back the clock to the years of 1972 to 1976, it was the O.J. era in Buffalo. 1972 started when O.J. was about to leave Buffalo to go back to a west coast team when new head coach Lou Saban told him if you stay you'll like what you see. That year O.J. went from a Heisman Trophy flop to the first of 5 straight 1,000 yard seasons for him, it would be the first step on his road to the pro football hall of fame. Trivia Fact: His 94-yard run in 1972, was the longest in his entire pro football career.
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Earl Christian Campbell is a former American football running back who played professionally in the National Football League for the Houston Oilers and New Orleans Saints.
Franco Harris was an American football player. He played his NFL career with the Pittsburgh Steelers and Seattle Seahawks. In the 1972 NFL Draft he was picked up by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the first round, the 13th selection overall. Before he arrived, Pittsburgh wasn't a winning team. But beginning in 1972, he was the missing piece that the Steelers need to build a Dynasty. Franco's yardage and touchdowns tell only half the story. Franco was also a man that gives back to the community. A quiet but good man he was named the NFL Man of the Year in 1976. But it was the post season, that fans will remember him. Look to Super Bowl IX and there Franco rushed for 34 carries, 158 yards, one touchdown and The Super Bowl MVP. Truly a legend for all times.
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1972 can be best described as a perfect season and Csonka was the perfect fullback for the Miami Dolphins, even if he used that middle finger on A Sports Illustrated cover. For Csonka in that decade, he rushed for 1,000 yards in 3 straight years and THAT includes 1972. He played in 5 straight Pro Bowls and THAT yes that 1972. He was a ALL-Pro for 3 straight years and THAT o'kay it came from 1972. But how can you not love that season which fitting that his Dolphins we're crowned the Perfect World Champions.
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Before Adrian Peterson came, he was the standard and he came at the right time. In 1973, the Vikings had just came off an 7-7 season. The team needed a game breaker, what they got was Chuck Foreman from the University of Miami (FL). In his rookie season he had a combined 1,163 offensive yards and was named the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year, but even bigger was that he led the Vikings all the way to Super Bowl VIII, after a great 12-2 regular season record. Now that was an impact year.
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