Randall Cunningham

Randall Wade Cunningham Sr. (born March 27, 1963) is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 16 seasons.

He spent the majority of his career with the Philadelphia Eagles and is also known for his Minnesota Vikings tenure.

A four-time Pro Bowl selection, Cunningham is fourth in NFL quarterback rushing yards, which he led at the time of his retirement.

Cunningham was born in Santa Barbara, California, in 1963.

His older brother Sam would also become a future NFL player.

He attended Santa Barbara High School, and was a graduate of the class of 1981.

As a senior, he led his team to a League title and the CIF Finals.

He also competed in track and field at SBHS in the high jump; his elder brother Frank was the state champion in the shot put.

He then went on to attend the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV).

He was a 1983 and 1984 College Football All-America Team selection as a punter.

In 1984, his senior year, he led the UNLV Rebels to an 11–2 season—still the school's only 10-win season ever—however this was adjusted to 0–13 when it was found out several players were ineligible.

Cunningham earned first-team All-American honors at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas and was selected in the second round of the 1985 NFL Draft by the Eagles, where he spent his first 11 seasons.

Cunningham was the Eagles' second-round pick, and the first quarterback selected in the 1985 NFL Draft.

Cunningham was also sought by the United States Football League's Tampa Bay Bandits that same year.

Eagles owner Norman Braman refused to negotiate with Cunningham if he accepted offers from the Bandits.

Ultimately, the USFL folded, thus ending that issue.

In his rookie season he played sparingly as a backup to veteran Ron Jaworski but made a big splash with his uncanny scrambling ability, though he completed just 34 percent of his passes and threw just one touchdown against eight interceptions.

In 1986, new head coach Buddy Ryan arrived in Philadelphia and made wholesale changes, many of them unorthodox, mostly due to his defensive-minded philosophy.

At the quarterback position, Ryan designated 35-year-old Ron Jaworski the starter but would replace the veteran with the fleet-footed Cunningham in third-and-long situations where the latter's scrambling would presumably put the defense on its heels.

After a hand injury to Jaworski in week 10, Cunningham would replace him as the Eagles' starter.

Despite his limited service and speed, the Eagles' porous offensive line allowed him to be sacked a franchise record (and NFL record at the time) 72 times that season.

Cunningham was permanently handed the Eagles' starting job for the 1987 season.

Cunningham was said to have reached "elite" status during the 1988 season, as he was elected by league players as the NFC starting quarterback for the AFC-NFC Pro Bowl (the first black quarterback to ever be elected a starter).

That same year, he combined with fellow Eagle Pro Bowler Reggie White to lead the Eagles to the NFC Eastern Division Championship.

In the 1988 Divisional Playoffs, Cunningham threw 54 passes for 407 yards during the "Fog Bowl" 20–12 loss against the Chicago Bears, both of which remain playoff franchise records.

Unfortunately, he also shares the franchise record with 3 interceptions in that same game.

In the subsequent Pro Bowl a few weeks later, Cunningham was named game MVP as the NFC defeated the AFC, 28–3.

In 1989, on October 2 Cunningham also set the regular season franchise record with 62 pass attempts (now shared with Nick Foles), also against the Chicago Bears.

He had been an all-conference quarterback and punter while at UNLV, and unleashed a 91-yard punt against the Giants on December 3, the longest in Eagles history (and the fourth-longest ever).

He had 20 punts during his career, with an average of 44.7 yards per punt.

In a 1990 game against the Buffalo Bills, Cunningham, throwing from his end zone, was about to be sacked by Bruce Smith from his blind side.

Cunningham ducked and threw a pass 60 yards to wide receiver Fred Barnett, resulting in a 95-yard touchdown.

That same year, Cunningham finished with 942 rushing yards, the 2nd most ever for a quarterback at the time and 10th best in the league.

He averaged 8.0 yards per rush, the most ever by an Eagle of any position with 100 attempts on the season, and third most in NFL history.

He retired after the 1995 season, but returned a year later to join the Vikings.

In 1998, he enjoyed the strongest season of his career and helped the team set the NFL record for the most regular season points scored, although the Vikings would be upset in the NFC Championship Game.

Cunningham lost his starting position during the 1999 season due to a performance decline and was released afterwards.

In his final two seasons, he held a backup role with the Dallas Cowboys and Baltimore Ravens.

He was inducted to the College Football Hall of Fame in 2016.

Upon retiring a second and final time, Cunningham became an ordained Protestant minister and served as the team chaplain for the Las Vegas Raiders from 2020 to 2022.