The Unsung – Larry Centers.

Larry Eugene Centers (born June 1, 1968)

Played for: Phoenix / Arizona Cardinals (1990–1998), Washington Redskins (1999–2000), Buffalo Bills (2001–2002), New England Patriots (2003)

Larry Centers [Stats on Pro-Football Reference] - FB

2,188 rushing yards, 3.6 yards per carry, 14 rushing touchdowns

827 receptions for 6,797 yards and 28 receiving touchdowns

 

Super Bowl champion (XXXVIII)

First-team All-Pro (1996)

3× Pro Bowl (1995, 1996, 2001)

You might be wondering: who? In fairness, there are a few odds and ends that are surprising in the road to spotlighting Centers, who basically is the pinnacle of an unsung storybook player. Centers was born and raised in Texas, playing football on and off all the way to high school and found himself with a scholarship to Stephen F. Austin State University. He broke his finger in his freshman year but used the time to play scout team running back and special teams. An injury to the starter in his sophomore year gave him the chance to play, where he had numerous 100+ yard rushing games. He became a dual threat in receptions and rushing yards in his next two seasons, setting a school record for rushing yards in his final year, with the team even making the NCAA Division I-AA Championship Game, narrowly losing to Georgia Southern. In 1990, he was drafted in the fifth round of the NFL draft by the Phoenix Cardinals.

In his first two seasons in the NFL, the Cardinals (as coached by Joe Bugel) saw him as nothing more than a third-down back at 6'0 and 225 pounds. In his first season of 1990, he returned kicks (16, for 272 yards). He caught his first pass in the Week 10 game of the 1991 season against Dallas, catching four passes for 28 yards from Tom Tupa (yes, really) in the loss. He caught 19 passes that year for 176 yards with 14 carries. He was given more chances to catch in 1992, catching 50 of 59 targeted balls for 417 yards (with his first touchdown coming against Washington in Week 4) while rushing 37 times.  From 1994 to 1997, Centers ran 100+ times in three of those four seasons, which, well, it didn't go very far (never averaging more than 3.7 yard per carry), but he did have more time catching the ball. In 1995, he caught 101 passes for 962 yards for 9.5 yards per catch (all of which were career-highs) for two touchdowns.  In his one All-Pro season in 1996, he caught 99 passes for 766 yards with a career high seven touchdowns while running a peak 116 times for 425 yards; Centers had the only multi-receiving TD game in Week 9, catching six passes for 58 yards and two scores. In his final season with Arizona in 1998, he had his first winning season on the heels of lessened play. He caught 69 passes on 94 targets for 559 yards with two touchdowns. The Cardinals, bolstered by a weak schedule, finished 9-7 for a playoff spot. Playing against the Dallas Cowboys for his first playoff game, Centers ran three times for 5 yards with three catches for 16 yards, but he did score a touchdown in the eventual 20-7 win, the first and only playoff win for the Cardinals in the timespan of 1948-2007.

To put it lightly, Centers was on a handful of bad teams in Arizona. Centers had the type of teams from 1990 to 1998 that employed guys at quarterback that either were past their prime, had no prime at all or a different factor altogether: Tupa, Timm Rosenbach, Stan Gelbaugh, Chris Chandler, Steve Beuerlein, Jay Schroeder, Jim McMahon, Dave Krieg, Boomer Esiason, Kent Graham, and Jake Plummer (the coaching, meanwhile, went from Bugel to Buddy Ryan to Vince Tobin). For all of his contributions, the Cardinals decided to release him in June 1999, with one Arizona outlet calling him the "heart and soul" of the team. He signed with Washington in 1999 and caught 69 passes for 544 yards, with his one noted catch being against San Francisco on Week 16 that gave them the win in overtime and clinched the division for the first time in seven years. He caught ten passes for 69 yards in the playoff loss to Tampa Bay.  He caught 69 passes in his final season with Washington in 2000 before becoming a free agent. He signed with the Buffalo Bills and made the Pro Bowl that year with 80 catches and 620 yards that saw him reach history with receiving yards for a running back to pass Ronnie Harmon to be the second back with 6,000 receiving yards (only one has reached the mark since Centers with Marshall Faulk, who set the record with 6875 prior to retiring in 2005). He closed his tenure in Buffalo in 2002 with 43 receptions to get to 800 for a career. Now 35, he signed with New England for 2003 and was troubled by knee problems that saw him released and later re-signed by the team, much to his good fortune.  In three playoff games, he caught two passes on five total targets, but it ultimately didn't matter, because the Patriots ended up winning Super Bowl XXXVIII on a last-second field goal that meant that Centers could retire a winner.

Did you know that in the year 2000, the all-time list for receptions in the history of the Cardinals, one of the oldest franchises in the NFL, had Centers on top of the list? That's correct, Centers topped the list with 535 receptions, which was more than famed names such as Roy Green (522) and Hall of Fame player Jackie Smith (480). Sure, he was eventually passed by Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin, but still, well. I would unironically advocate for him to be inducted into the Cardinals Ring of Honor. For a moment in time, Centers was actually in the pantheon of guys who could catch the ball in the NFL, ranking 7th for all players in receptions with 827 when he retired in 2003, which was actually more receptions than, say, Steve Largent (819), James Lofton (764). Obviously, this isn't a Hall of Fame pitch, but did you know that only three players had more receptions from 1990 to 2003 than Centers? Centers still ranks as the all-time leader for receptions for a running back/full-back. He never had a 1,000-yard rushing or receiving season or topped 10 total touchdowns in any season or even have 10,000 all-purpose yards (9,659), but when it comes to guys who fit the mold of cultivating a worthwhile career as a sparkplug that got what he wanted out of football, I would say that's rewarding enough. I'll close it out with a quote from Centers from 2003 prior to the Super Bowl:

"If I'd sat down and written a script, I couldn't have made it more perfect. You know, I thought about retiring after the Bills released me, but deep down inside I felt I had unfinished business. Now I'm here this week to finish it. I don't have the words to explain how exciting this is. I wish I could slow the clock down and savor the moment even more. If it turns out that this is it, if I quit after Sunday, I'll be as proud of my career as any player who ever lived."

On behalf of the Unsung Hall of Fame, it is my privilege to welcome Larry Centers to the Hall.

N O T E S

Photo source: 1996 Playoff Contenders #18 Larry Centers | Trading Card Database

The Unsung – Jimmy Jones.

James Jones (born January 1, 1945)

Played for: New Orleans Buccaneers / Memphis Pros (1967–1971), Utah Stars (1971–1974), 

Washington Bullets (1974–1977)

Jimmy Jones (Basketball Reference [Player] — Point guard / shooting guard (PG/SG)

11,366 points (16.3 ppg), 2,930 rebounds (4.6 rpg), 3,069 assists (4.5 apg)

 

6× ABA All-Star (1968–1971, 1973, 1974)

3× All-ABA First Team (1969, 1973, 1974)

ABA All-Rookie First Team (1968)

ABA All-Time Team

Did I mention that I have an interest in the American Basketball Association? Before the NBA was a 30-team (32 in the future?) juggernaut in the current day that spanned from coast to coast, the league was composed of 12 teams, barely made it to the West Coast, and it didn't even have a 3-point line. With the dawn of the ABA in the 1967-68 season (as developed by several people such as Dennis Murphy), now there were 11 teams for players to get a chance to play pro basketball, shooting for threes within a 30-second shot clock for 78 games. And that's where Jimmy Jones comes into play. Born in Tallulah, Louisiana, he played at Grambling State University after attending McCall High. According to the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame, Jones averaged 25 points/6 rebounds per game in high school and then averaged 20 points/8 rebounds at Grambling State, which is pretty neat for the 1960s. He won SWAC titles in 1964, 1966, 1967 in 104 games.

He was drafted by the Baltimore Bullets in the second round of the 1967 draft. However, he chose the New Orleans Buccaneers, apparently doing so (as quoted in Bob Kuska's Balls of Confusion book from 2024) for a three-year contract of $75,000 and a new car. In his first game for New Orleans, he scored 27 points in a 120-112 win over the Houston Mavericks on October 19. He had his first 30-point game two days later against the Indiana Pacers with 35. 70 of his 78 games would see him score at least ten points. Rebound totals are not complete for every game, but he had seven games with a double-double in points and rebounds. In total, he had 1,464 points in 78 games. He shot 46.7% from the field (22.2 percent from the three-line and 70.9 percent from the free-throw line) with 18.8 points per game and got an All-Star Game selection. In the playoffs, the Bucs were the Western Division champion in a two-division format. In the eight-team playoffs, the Bucs went all the way to the ABA Finals, with Jones averaging 20ppg in the first round and 24 ppg in the second round (as New Orleans went 8-2). They met the Eastern Division champion Pittsburgh Pipers in the Finals. Jones would average 21.6 points as the series went the full seven games, with Jones hitting the go-ahead shot in Game 3. With the Bucs leading 3-2 in the series and having a chance to win at home in Game 6, Jones had 20 points in a 118-112 loss and 19 in the 122-113 Game 7 loss. It was one of only two times Jones played in a championship series (and for the city of New Orleans, they didn't play for a pro championship again until 2010). He averaged 22 points and six rebounds in the playoffs with 45.9 percent shooting.

His 1968-69 season was quite special. He scored 2,050 points in 77 games to join Larry Jones as the first 2,000 point scorers in league history. It included a 48-point game against the future ABA champion Oakland Oaks on December 9. He shot a league high 764 times while leading the league in field goal percentage at 53.5%. It may interest you to know that in New Orleans basketball history, only two times has a player had 2,000 points in a pro season: Anthony Davis (2,099 [2016-17]) and...Anthony Davis (2,110 [2017-18]). He finished 4th in MVP voting that year to Mel Daniels (an underrated player if there ever was one, who averaged 24.0 ppg/16.5 rebounds per game)

He finished 9th the following year while averaging 20.7 points per game and made the All-Star Game. When the team moved to Memphis in 1970, he had 19.6 points per game before moving over to Utah, which had won the 1971 championship with legends such as Zelmo Beaty and Willie Wise and Ron Boone. Jones and his 15.5 points per game that year didn't get him an All-Star bid.  His 7733 total points in his first five seasons actually ranks as 80th best for all players in their first five years. He came back to form with 16.7 points per game in 80 games of play in 1972-73. The 1973-74 season saw him join the 10,000-point club for a career (one of five with Louie Dampier, Mel Daniels, Donnie Freeman, Roger Brown), all done before being 30 years old. A prideful guard, here is perhaps the best quote from Jones to use about his thoughts about his play in 1974: 

"I know my assets and liabilities. Like I don’t feel I’m in the top four defensive guard in the league. You’ve got guys like Mike Gale (New York), Al Smith (Denver), Fatty Taylor (Virginia), and Ted McClain (Carolina), who I feel are the top defensive guards. And I don’t feel that I’m the overpowering-type guard either.

But whenever I have the height advantage on another guard, I figure I can take advantage of him. It seems like it’s a lot harder to post guys the last two years. Teams are playing tougher defense and trying to help out more. We try to clear out a side, like we do in our guard ‘41’ play, and get into a good shooting area. You really don’t have to worry about posting them or jockeying for a layup. Any time you shoot a 15-footer on them, it’s like shooting a layup in the pros."

He played 83 games and scored 16.8 points per game with 4.3 rebounds and made his sixth and final All-Star Game. He led the league with 88.4 percent shooting from the free-throw line while playing over 35 minutes a game for the seventh straight year. He logged in heavy minutes for the playoffs, which saw the Western Division champion fight off San Diego (six games) and Indiana (seven games, where they won Game 7 after being up 3-0) to make the Finals against the Eastern Division champion Nets. The injuries to Zelmo Beaty (who missed the opening two games) and blown leads in Game 1 and 3 proved too much as the Nets won in five games. Wanting money and not being that big on Utah, he corralled his way onto the Washington Bullets in 1974. He averaged 19 minutes with 7 points a game on a team where Kevin Porter got heavy minutes at point guard but won 60 games. Jones played an average of 19 minutes with 6 points in the playoff run before Game 4 of the Conference Finals, where he tore ligaments in his right knee that required surgery (as for the Bullets, they were upset in the Finals by the Golden State Warriors)

 The following year saw him make appearance in 64 games with an average of 17.7 minutes played and 5.9 points scored. In his final playoff run in 1976, he got 20 minutes a game in the seven-game series against Cleveland...where they were upset by the Cavaliers in the famed "Miracle at Richfield" (Cleveland had so few miracles that winning *one* playoff series had a nickname, this was the Conference semifinals).  Jones played three games of the 1976-77 season before retiring, with his knees still bothering him. As of 2026, Jones is still active as an Uber driver and marketing for Amway*. As of this year, the NBA foolishly doesn't even recognize the statistics of the ABA, but you can check the stats from Basketball Reference like a winner. I can't make a case based on longevity, but I will present the fact that only four players made the All-Star Game six times in the ABA era, which went long enough to be considered its own era in my book: Mel Daniels, Louie Dampier, Dan Issel, and Jones. You've got one ESPN guy considering Jones the most deserving ABA candidate remaining, at least. The one mark of recognition for Jones came in 1997, when the 30th anniversary of the ABA led to 30 players being named to an All-Time Team. 27 of the 50 voters put Jones on that team. Maybe he won't make the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, but Jones deserves to have a wider profile to actually see who he was beyond the usual tales people get from the ABA.

On behalf of the Unsung Hall of Fame, it is my privilege to welcome Jimmy Jones to the Hall.

N O T E S

*It should be mentioned that the NBA refuses to pay players like Jones more than the small pension that they receive for playing in the NBA. The league had come to an agreement in 2022 with less fortunate former ABA players but not players such as Jones, as seen here: A handful of ex-ABA players hope for a last-second financial long shot from the NBA - The Athletic

*Interview with Jones