Craig Baynham

Last updated
Craig Baynham
No. 46, 48
Position: Halfback / Split end
Personal information
Born: (1944-07-24) July 24, 1944 (age 74)
Casper, Wyoming
Height:6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Weight:203 lb (92 kg)
Career information
High school: North Augusta High School
College: Georgia Tech
NFL Draft: 1966  / Round: 12 / Pick: 176
AFL draft: 1966  / Round:  Red Shirt 9  / Pick: 73
(by the Miami Dolphins)
Career history
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Career NFL statistics
Games played:50
Player stats at NFL.com
Player stats at PFR

Gordon Craig Baynham (born July 24, 1944 in Casper, Wyoming) is a former American football running back in the National Football League for the Dallas Cowboys, Chicago Bears, and St. Louis Cardinals. He played college football at Georgia Tech and was drafted in the 12th round of the 1966 NFL Draft.

Casper, Wyoming City in Wyoming, United States

Casper is a city in and the county seat of Natrona County, Wyoming, United States. Casper is the second largest city in the state, according to the 2010 census, with a population of 55,316. Only Cheyenne, the state capital, is larger. Casper is nicknamed "The Oil City" and has a long history of oil boomtown and cowboy culture, dating back to the development of the nearby Salt Creek Oil Field. In 2010, Casper was named the highest-ranked family-friendly small city in the West, and ranked eighth overall in the nation in Forbes magazine's list of "the best small cities to raise a family".

American football Team field sport

American football, referred to as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, which is the team controlling the oval-shaped football, attempts to advance down the field by running with or passing the ball, while the defense, which is the team without control of the ball, aims to stop the offense's advance and aims to take control of the ball for themselves. The offense must advance at least ten yards in four downs, or plays, and otherwise they turn over the football to the defense; if the offense succeeds in advancing ten yards or more, they are given a new set of four downs. Points are primarily scored by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone for a touchdown or kicking the ball through the opponent's goalposts for a field goal. The team with the most points at the end of a game wins.

Running back position in American and Canadian football

A running back (RB) is an American and Canadian football position, a member of the offensive backfield. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback for a rushing play, to catch passes from out of the backfield, and to block. There are usually one or two running backs on the field for a given play, depending on the offensive formation. A running back may be a halfback, a wingback or a fullback. A running back will sometimes be called a "feature back" if he is the team's starting running back.

Contents

Early years

Baynham attended North Augusta High School. After playing in only two games as a junior, he had an excellent senior season, that earned him the opportunity to play in the South Carolina All-Star game, where he suffered a knee injury.

North Augusta High School

North Augusta High School is a four-year public high school located in North Augusta, South Carolina. Approximately 2,000 students attend the school. The school offers over thirty student organizations including Future Business Leaders of America, National Beta Club, NAHS Jacket Regiment, Engineering Team, NJROTC, National Honor Society, Academic Team, Foreign Language Clubs, Art Club, and a Mock Trial team. North Augusta is an AP Magnet School and is partnered with the National Math and Science Initiative to provide various programs, resources, and help to students enrolled in AP courses at the school.

As a freshman at Georgia Tech, besides dealing with his knee rehab, he also broke his arm playing against Clemson University. As a sophomore during the fall, he injured the same knee and required surgery. [1]

Clemson University university in South Carolina, United States

Clemson University is an American public, coeducational, land-grant research university in Clemson, South Carolina, United States. Founded in 1889, Clemson is the second-largest university in student population in South Carolina. For the fall 2017 semester, the university enrolled a total of 19,402 undergraduate students and 4,985 graduate students, and the student/faculty ratio was 18:1. Clemson's 1,400 acre campus is in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains and sits next to Lake Hartwell. The university manages the nearby 17,500 acre Clemson Experimental Forest that is used for research, education, and recreation.

Baynham enjoyed a healthy season as a junior, setting a school record with 7 receiving touchdowns in a season, while playing wingback, and making 30 catches. He suffered a separated shoulder during his last year in college, that ended up limiting his playing efficiency. [2]

A wingback is a position in American football in the single wing formation or variations thereof; the most obvious running back is the wingback and a halfback, lined up wide beyond the end. One of the positions requirements is versatility. It is the precursor to the flanker wide receiver. A wingback is a running back.

He was a captain of the track team and set a school record with 9.6 seconds in the 100-yard dash.

The 100-yard dash is a track and field event of 100 yards or 91.44 metres. It was part of the Commonwealth Games until 1966, and was included in the decathlon of the Olympics, at least in 1904. It is not generally used in international events. However, it is still occasionally run in the United States in certain competitions. Walter Halben Butler (1852–1931) is credited with being the first to run the race in 10 seconds.

Professional career

Dallas Cowboys

Baynham was selected by the Dallas Cowboys in the twelfth round (176th overall) of the 1966 NFL Draft and also in the ninth round (73rd overall) of the 1966 AFL Redshirt Draft by the Miami Dolphins of the American Football League. He was selected with a future pick, which allowed the team to draft him before his college eligibility was over. As a rookie in 1967, because of his speed, he was listed as a split end behind Bob Hayes, but also served as a backup at running back. He averaged 27.6 yards on his 12 kickoff returns. He replaced an injured Dan Reeves in the Eastern Conference Championship game against the Cleveland Browns, scoring 3 touchdowns (2 rushing and one receiving). [3]

Dallas Cowboys National Football League franchise in Arlington, Texas

The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team is headquartered in Frisco, Texas, and plays its home games at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, which opened for the 2009 season. The stadium took its current name prior to the 2013 season. The Cowboys joined the NFL as an expansion team in 1960. The team's national following might best be represented by its NFL record of consecutive sell-outs. The Cowboys' streak of 190 consecutive sold-out regular and post-season games began in 2002. The franchise has made it to the Super Bowl eight times, tied with the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Denver Broncos for second most Super Bowl appearances in history, just behind the New England Patriots record eleven Super Bowl appearances. This has also corresponded to eight NFC championships, most in the NFC. The Cowboys have won five of those Super Bowl appearances, tying them with their NFC rivals, the San Francisco 49ers; both are second to Pittsburgh's and New England’s record six Super Bowl championships. The Cowboys are the only NFL team to record 20 straight winning seasons (1966–85), in which they missed the playoffs only twice.

The 1966 National Football League draft was held at the Summit Hotel in New York City on Saturday, November 27, 1965.

Miami Dolphins National Football League franchise in Miami, Florida

The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. The Dolphins compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The Dolphins play their home games at Hard Rock Stadium in the northern suburb of Miami Gardens, Florida, and are headquartered in Davie, Florida. The Dolphins are Florida's oldest professional sports team. Of the four AFC East teams, they are the only team in the division that was not a charter member of the American Football League (AFL).

In 1968, Reeves was the starter at halfback, until week 4 when he tore ligaments in his right knee and was lost for the year. Baynham took over starting 8 games and had his best season in the NFL, registering 438 rushing yards, 29 receptions (third on the team) for 380 yards and 8 touchdowns. He averaged 25.7 yards on his 23 kickoff returns.

In 1969, with Reeves struggling after having off-season knee surgery and Baynham suffering from bruised ribs, [4] it opened the door for rookie Calvin Hill to win the starting halfback job in the second preseason game. [5]

On January 26, 1970, he was traded to the Chicago Bears along with cornerback Phil Clark, in exchange for a second round draft choice (used to draft Bob Asher). [6]

Chicago Bears

In 1970, he played in 5 games before dislocating a tendon in his ankle. [7] On August 17, 1971, he broke a left wrist in practice that sidelined him for a month. On September 13, Baynham was waived injured after suffering torn ligaments in his right shoulder during a practice. [8]

St. Louis Cardinals

On May 3, 1972 after a year out of football, the St. Louis Cardinals claimed him on waivers from the Chicago Bears, but would miss half the season with a shoulder injury. On June 9, 1973, he announced his retirement. [9]

Personal life

His son, Grant Baynham, played for the Georgia Tech as well, receiving the Robert Cup, an award given to school's top student athlete. [10]

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References

  1. ↑ "Tech's Injury Woes Mount" . Retrieved September 10, 2017.
  2. ↑ "Craig Baynham Has Had Shares Of Hard Knocks" . Retrieved September 10, 2017.
  3. ↑ "Speeding Bob Hayes Leads Rout Over Browns" . Retrieved September 10, 2017.
  4. ↑ "Cowboys activate Welch to replace injured Baynham" . Retrieved September 10, 2017.
  5. ↑ "Clavin Hill Cracks Lineup; Dallas To Player Limit" . Retrieved September 10, 2017.
  6. ↑ "Bears Trade" . Retrieved September 10, 2017.
  7. ↑ "Gale Sayers ready in 1971" . Retrieved September 10, 2017.
  8. ↑ "Cappleman Dealt From Vikings To Eagles" . Retrieved September 10, 2017.
  9. ↑ "Injury-plagued veteran retires" . Retrieved September 10, 2017.
  10. ↑ Coffee, Hoyt (Fall 1995). "Yearling Jackets: Young football squad hinges turnaround on return to basics". Tech Topics. Georgia Tech Alumni Association. Archived from the original on 2007-10-12. Retrieved 2007-06-09.
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