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.

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