Bennie Cunningham
Bennie Lee Cunningham, Jr. (December 23, 1954 – April 23, 2018[1]) was an American football tight end. Cunningham was drafted out of the Clemson University in the 1976 NFL Draft by the Pittsburgh Steelers. During his career, he played in 118 games and caught 202 receptions for 2,879 yards and 20 touchdowns.
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| Position: | Tight End | ||||||||||
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| Born: | December 23, 1954 Laurens, South Carolina | ||||||||||
| Died: | April 23, 2018 (aged 63) Cleveland, Ohio | ||||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | ||||||||||
| Weight: | 254 lb (115 kg) | ||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||
| High school: | Seneca High School | ||||||||||
| College: | Clemson | ||||||||||
| NFL Draft: | 1976 / Round: 1 / Pick: 28 | ||||||||||
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| Player stats at PFR | |||||||||||
Cunningham's most famous play in the NFL was a game-winning touchdown in a Pittsburgh home game versus divisional rival Cleveland on September 24, 1978. It came on a flea-flicker play, culminating in a pass from Terry Bradshaw to Cunningham, who caught the ball in the back right corner of the end zone. It gave the Steelers a dramatic 15-9 victory over the Browns in sudden-death overtime.
On April 23, 2018, Cunningham died at age 63 at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio, where he had been fighting cancer for about three months.
References
- Matt Connolly, "Former Clemson, Steelers great Bennie Cunningham dies from cancer", The State, April 23, 2018