Roland Harper

Roland Harper (born February 28, 1953) is an American former professional football player who was a fullback for eight seasons with the Chicago Bears of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs before being selected 420th overall in the 17th and final round of the 1975 NFL draft. He was a starting fullback known in his playing days as a punishing blocker who opened holes in opposing defenses for star halfback Walter Payton. Harper ranks sixth on the Bears' all-time rushing list with 3,044 yards and 15 TDs on 757 carries in seven seasons. He was joined in the backfield that season by fellow rookie Payton, who was the Bears first round draft choice that season. Fellow rookie Bob Avellini, the Bears sixth round draft pick in 1975, also started several games at quarterback that season, giving the Bears an all rookie backfield. Harper, Payton and Avelleni started most of the games for the Bears together from 1976 through 1978. In his rookie season, Harper rushed for 453 yards on 100 carries. He also caught a career-high 43 passes that season for 340 yards, and set another career high by scoring eight touchdowns (six rushing, two receiving). However, he returned in 1980 and started 12 games. In 1980, he rushed for 404 yards on 113 carries for a 3.6 yards per carry average and caught just 7 passes for 31 yards, but his blocking helped Payton run for 1,460 yards. He rushed for just 106 yards on 34 carries (a 3.1 average) and caught just two passes all year for ten yards. The fraud allowed Monahan Landscape Co.. a white-owned firm, to receive a $1.5 million Chicago Public Schools landscaping contract that was supposed to be reserved for minority-owned firms.

NFL career statistics Legend Bold Career high

Regular season Year Team Games Rushing Receiving GP GS Att Yds Avg Lng TD Rec Yds Avg Lng TD 1975 CHI 13 10 100 453 4.5 32 1 27 191 7.1 27 0 1976 CHI 14 14 147 625 4.3 28 2 29 291 10.0 39 1 1977 CHI 11 10 120 457 3.8 19 0 19 142 7.5 34 0 1978 CHI 16 16 240 992 4.1 31 6 43 340 7.9 33 2 1980 CHI 12 12 113 404 3.6 13 5 7 31 4.4 16 0 1981 CHI 15 2 34 106 3.1 11 1 2 10 5.0 8 0 1982 CHI 8 0 3 7 2.3 8 0 1 8 8.0 8 0 89 64 757 3,044 4.0 32 15 128 1,013 7.9 39 3

Playoffs Year Team Games Rushing Receiving GP GS Att Yds Avg Lng TD Rec Yds Avg Lng TD 1977 CHI 1 1 5 11 2.2 6 0 1 6 6.0 6 0 1 1 5 11 2.2 6 0 1 6 6.0 6 0