Emerson Boozer

Emerson Boozer (born July 4, 1943) is an American former professional football player who spent his entire career as a running back for the New York Jets in the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NFL). In the last year of separate drafts by the AFL and the NFL, Boozer signed with the AFL's Jets, rather than with an NFL team. He was a member of the Jets team that defeated the NFL's champion Baltimore Colts, 16–7, in Super Bowl III. Before joining the AFL, Boozer played college football at Maryland State College, which is now the University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES).

Early life Boozer was born in Augusta, Georgia on July 4, 1943. He attended Lucy Craft Laney High School in Augusta, Georgia. In one football season at Laney, he scored 25 touchdowns and had 1,400 rushing yards. During football, he once passed out in the heat, and had to be hospitalized and given saline. The doctor told Boozer that if they had waited any longer to take him to the hospital Boozer would have died.

Boozer's natural athletic ability came to the attention of football coaches at Laney High School. Despite his proven talent there, football scholarships were not widely offered to the black star. Boozer excelled as well at the college level, where he showed open field ability as a back as well as strength and intensity as a player that exceeded his 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m), 190-pound (86.2 m) size.

Boozer played for Maryland State College from 1962 to 1965 as a halfback, originally under College Football Hall of Fame head coach Vernon "Skip" McCain, and then coach Roosevelt "Sandy" Gilliam. A two-time All-American, Boozer rushed for a school-record 2,537 yards and 22 touchdowns on 374 carries, an average of 6.8 yards per rush. He led the team in rushing and scoring each year he played. Over his four-year career, he had individual touchdown running plays of 96, 80, 77, 75, 70 and 51 yards. He was inducted into the College Hall of Fame in 2010, and the UMES Hall of Fame in 1982. and his future Jets teammate Earl Christy. He was drafted in the seventh round of the 1966 NFL draft by the Pittsburgh Steelers (number 98 overall), and was drafted by the Jets in the sixth round of the 1966 AFL draft (number 46 overall). He was selected to play in the AFL All-Star Game at the end of the 1966 season.

In 1967, with Snell injured, the Jets turned to Boozer as a rusher. In the first half of that season, Boozer displayed talent that drew comparisons to Gale Sayers. He often broke tackles and excelled in the open field. He had 13 touchdowns in only 8 games. He appeared ready to easily surpass the league record, but then suffered a devastating knee injury against the Kansas City Chiefs, that completely altered his career.

During the 1967 training camp period, the Jets were nearly driven apart by a racial incident among teammates at a local bar in Peekskill, New York. Owner Sonny Werblin eventually heard about it, and called all the players and coaches together for a meeting. He said the only two players on the team that he absolutely needed were Snell and Joe Namath, and anyone else could pack their bags and leave if something like the bar incident was repeated. After that, there were no more conflicts, and the team began to build a rapport. In 1968, he was selected to play in the AFL All-Star Game for the second time, even with modest rushing statistics. Snell ran for 747 yards in 14 games (4.2 yards per carry) with six touchdowns, but was not selected to play in the All-Star Game.

In 1972, with Joe Namath back from injuries himself, the Jets were one of the top offenses in football. Boozer's ability to block and score near the goal line impressed many as he led the NFL in rushing touchdowns for most of the year before injuries stopped him, with 11 touchdowns in 11 games.

In 1973, he was again the main back with 831 yards rushing before taking a spot next to John Riggins in 1974. Boozer scored the first regular-season overtime ("sudden death") touchdown in NFL history on a short pass from Joe Namath in 1974 to beat the cross-town rival New York Giants, beginning an improbable six-game winning streak for the previously 1–7 Jet squad.

Boozer was a player who made the most of limited opportunities early on. When injury robbed him of stardom, he adapted and went on to have a notable career as a contributor to several famous Jets teams.

Boozer retired in 1975, after a 10-year Jet career, as the team's leader in career rushing yards at that time (5,135). He was inducted into the Suffolk Sports Hall of Fame on Long Island in the Football Category with the Class of 1996.

NFL career statistics Legend Won the Super Bowl Led the league Bold Career high Year Team Games Rushing Receiving Fumbles GP GS Att Yds Avg Y/G Lng TD Rec Yds Avg Lng TD Fum FR 1966 NYJ 14 7 97 455 4.7 32.5 54 5 8 133 16.6 26 0 0 0 1967 NYJ 8 8 119 442 3.7 55.3 48 10 12 205 17.1 49 3 1 0 1968 NYJ 12 9 143 441 3.1 36.8 33 5 12 101 8.4 23 0 5 4 1969 NYJ 14 13 130 604 4.6 43.1 50 4 20 222 11.1 29 0 3 1 1970 NYJ 10 10 139 581 4.2 58.1 27 5 28 258 9.2 33 0 2 1 1971 NYJ 14 14 188 618 3.3 44.1 19 5 11 120 10.9 36 1 6 3 1972 NYJ 11 10 120 549 4.6 49.9 37 11 11 142 12.9 49 3 3 0 1973 NYJ 13 12 182 831 4.6 63.9 52 3 22 130 5.9 15 3 6 2 1974 NYJ 13 12 153 563 3.7 43.3 20 4 14 161 11.5 29 1 3 3 1975 NYJ 9 4 20 51 2.6 5.7 8 0 1 16 16.0 16 1 0 0Career 118 99 1,291 5,135 4.0 43.5 54 52 139 1,488 10.7 49 12 29 14

In popular culture In the 1999 movie Big Daddy, Adam Sandler is wearing Boozer's New York Jets #32 jersey at the bar .