Craig Bingham (American football)

Craig Marlon Bingham (born September 26, 1959) is a former American football linebacker who played five seasons in the NFL with the Pittsburgh Steelers and the San Diego Chargers. He is distinguished as being the first Jamaican to play in the National Football League.

This article is about the American football player. For the Scottish footballer, see Craig Bingham.
Craig Bingham
No. 54, 59
Position:Linebacker
Personal information
Born: (1959-09-29) September 29, 1959
Kingston, Jamaica
Height:6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Weight:220 lb (100 kg)
Career information
High school:Stamford
(Stamford, Connecticut)
College:Syracuse
NFL Draft:1982 / Round: 6 / Pick: 167
Career history
Career NFL statistics
Games Played:40
Games Started:4
Fumbles recovered:1
Kick returns / Yds:1 / 15
Player stats at NFL.com
Player stats at PFR

Early life

Bingham was born in Kingston, Jamaica and attended Stamford High School in Stamford, Connecticut.[1]

He matriculated at Syracuse University.[1] His college teammates included future Hall of Famer Art Monk as well as several other future NFL players: Gary Anderson, Joe Morris, Jim Collins, Craig Wolfley, Andrew Gissinger and Bill Hurley.[2]

Football career

Bingham was selected by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the sixth round of the 1982 NFL Draft.[1] Over the first two seasons of his career he was used primarily as a special teams player by the Steelers.[3] Early in the 1983 season he suffered a knee injury which was significantly exacerbated in a playoff loss to the Oakland Raiders.[3][4] The injury was initially thought to be career-ending, but after three surgeries and significant rehab, Bingham was back in time for the 1984 season.[3][4]

Bingham got his first chance to start in week 14 of the 1984 season against the Houston Oilers[3] due to an injury to Bryan Hinkle. That would turn out to be the only non-strike start of his career.[5]

Bingham was released by the Steelers in September 1985. He was among the team's final cuts in training camp.[6] He was picked up by the San Diego Chargers with whom he was active for eight games in 1985.[5]

Bingham finished his professional career as a replacement player for the Steelers during the 1987 NFL players strike. He started in all three replacement games, but was once again released once the strike was settled.[5][7]

References
  1. "Craig Bingham bio". databaseFootball. Archived from the original on 22 November 2011. Retrieved 19 February 2010.
  2. Corio, Ray (February 2, 1987). "Question Box". The New York Times. Retrieved 24 February 2010.
  3. Utterback, Bill (November 17, 1984). "A Wild and Crazy Guy: Bingham can't wait to release weekday frenzy on Oilers". The Beaver County Times. pp. B1. Retrieved 24 February 2010.
  4. Clayton, John (July 18, 1984). "Bingham in uphill job battle". Pittsburgh Press. pp. D1. Retrieved 24 February 2010.
  5. "Craig Bingham bio". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved 24 February 2010.
  6. Bouchette, Ed (September 3, 1985). "Steelers Cut Bingham, Corley, 3 Others". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. 11. Retrieved 24 February 2010.
  7. Hubbard, Steve (October 20, 1987). "Noll: Malone is the starter if his arm is OK". Pittsburgh Press. pp. D3. Retrieved 24 February 2010.
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