Jump to content

Sam Graddy

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Sam Graddy
No. 83, 85
Position:Wide receiver
Personal information
Born: (1964-02-10) February 10, 1964 (age 60)
Gaffney, South Carolina, U.S.
Height:5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Weight:175 lb (79 kg)
Career information
High school:Northside
College:Tennessee
Undrafted:1987
Career history
Career NFL statistics
Receptions:18
Receiving yards:477
Touchdowns:3
Stats at Pro Football Reference

Samuel Louis Graddy III (born February 10, 1964) is an American former athlete and professional football player, winner of gold medal in 4 × 100 m relay at the 1984 Summer Olympics.

Early life

[edit]

Born in Gaffney, South Carolina, Sam Graddy was second in the 100 m and was a member of gold medal-winning American 4 × 100 m relay team at the 1983 Pan American Games.

Track and field

[edit]
Sam Graddy
Medal record
Men's athletics
Representing the  United States
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 1984 Los Angeles 4 × 100 metres relay
Silver medal – second place 1984 Los Angeles 100 metres
Pan American Games
Gold medal – first place 1983 Caracas 4 × 100 metres relay
Silver medal – second place 1983 Caracas 100 metres

Graddy was also a standout track athlete. In 1984, he won the gold medal at the 1984 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in the 100 meters with a time of 10.28 seconds, and as a University of Tennessee at Knoxville student, he also won the 100 meters title at the 1984 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships.[1][2]

At the Los Angeles Olympics, Graddy was second behind Carl Lewis in 100 m and ran the first leg in the American 4 × 100 metres relay team, which won the gold medal with a new world record of 37.83 seconds.

Personal bests

[edit]
Event Time (seconds) Venue Date
60 meters 6.63 Paris, France January 1, 1985
100 meters 10.09 Baton Rouge, Louisiana May 12, 1984
200 meters 20.30 Knoxville, Tennessee May 10, 1985

Professional career

[edit]

After graduating from university of Tennessee, Graddy was signed by the Denver Broncos in 1987. He played in Denver during the 1987 and 1988 seasons catching one pass for 30 yards. After being out of football for the 1989 season, he signed with the Los Angeles Raiders where he played from 1990 to 1992. During his Raider career Graddy was plagued with dropped passes therefore moved down the depth chart and mainly limited to kick return duty. His career highlight was in 1991 when he caught an 80-yard touchdown pass against the Houston Oilers. Graddy ended his career with 18 catches, 477 yards, 26.5 average per reception and 3 touchdowns. He also returned 27 kicks for 458 yards.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "U.S. National Championships History 1876-2020". Track & Field News. Retrieved September 20, 2020.
  2. ^ Hill, E. Garry. "A History Of The NCAA Championships, 1921–2016: 100 Meters" (PDF). Track & Field News. Retrieved January 8, 2017.[permanent dead link]