Hugh Douglas (American football)

Last updated

Hugh Douglas
Hugh Douglas cropped.jpg
Douglas in 2008
No. 53, 99, 58
Position: Defensive end
Personal information
Born: (1971-08-23) August 23, 1971 (age 53)
Mansfield, Ohio, U.S.
Height:6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Weight:281 lb (127 kg)
Career information
High school: Mansfield
College: Central State
NFL draft: 1995: 1st round, 16th pick
Career history
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics
Tackles:358
Sacks:80.0
Forced fumbles:13
Fumble recoveries:5
Interceptions:1
Defensive touchdowns:1
Stats at Pro Football Reference

Hugh Lamont Douglas (born August 23, 1971) is an American former professional football player who was a defensive end in the National Football League (NFL). His playing career included stints with the New York Jets, Philadelphia Eagles (twice), and the Jacksonville Jaguars. In his first season in 1995, Douglas was named Defensive Rookie of the Year by the Associated Press.

Contents

Douglas currently hosts the 94.1 WIP Midday Show in Philadelphia. He previously served as a football analyst for ESPN.

Early life

Douglas was born in Mansfield, Ohio and attended Mansfield Senior High School. [1]

College career

At Central State University in Wilberforce, Ohio, Douglas majored in elementary education and was a two-time NAIA Division I All-American, made 42 sacks in 32 games in a three-year career, turned in 13 multiple-sack games, and helped lead his team to an NAIA national championship as a sophomore. As a senior, Douglas was named Defensive Player of the Year by The Pigskin Club of Washington, D.C. [1] He is also a member of Phi Beta Sigma fraternity.

NFL career

Douglas was a first-round draft choice of the Jets in the 1995 NFL draft and was traded to the Eagles prior to the 1998 season for draft picks in the second and fifth round. [2] [3] The Jets would then send the second round pick to the Pittsburgh Steelers for three further picks, in the 2nd, 3rd, and 5th round. Those picks would become Dorian Boose, Kevin Williams, and Eric Bateman. The second Philadelphia pick would be used on Casey Dailey. None of the four would leave any sort of lasting mark in the NFL. Douglas spent the 2003 campaign with the Jaguars before re-signing with Philadelphia in 2004. Douglas is ranked sixth behind Reggie White (124), Trent Cole (85.5), Brandon Graham (76.5), Clyde Simmons (76), and Fletcher Cox (70) on the Eagles' all-time sack list with 54.5 during his six seasons. [4]

Douglas was cut by the Eagles prior to the 2005 season, but was hired into the front office position of "Good-Will Ambassador" shortly after. [5]

On November 5, 2005, Douglas was reportedly involved in an altercation with former Eagles teammate Terrell Owens, who was in the midst of a very public war of words with the team. [6] Owens was suspended by the team and was later deactivated when he refused to fully apologize for the altercation, as well as for derogatory remarks made about Eagles' quarterback Donovan McNabb.

NFL career statistics

Legend
BoldCareer high

Regular season

YearTeamGamesTacklesInterceptionsFumbles
GPGSCmbSoloAstSckTFLIntYdsTDLngPDFFFRYdsTD
1995 NYJ 1533325810.0-0000-0200
1996 NYJ 1010362888.0-0000-23641
1997 NYJ 1515393184.0-0000-3000
1998 PHI 15134637912.5-0000-2000
1999 PHI 428622.020000-0000
2000 PHI 161554441015.021190922000
2001 PHI 1515473989.511000022000
2002 PHI 16165345812.520000020000
2003 JAX 1616272253.55000022000
2004 PHI 163151503.05000010000
1381083582926680.06419099135641

Playoffs

YearTeamGamesTacklesInterceptionsFumbles
GPGSCmbSoloAstSckTFLIntYdsTDLngPDFFFRYdsTD
2000 PHI 225412.020000-1000
2001 PHI 338712.020000-0000
2002 PHI 222200.00000010000
2004 PHI 300000.00000000000
107151324.04000011000

Broadcasting career

Douglas was employed for a while as an on-air reporter with WTXF-TV in Philadelphia and in 2005 joined 610 WIP a regular personality on Philadelphia's sports radio station. [7]

In January 2011, Douglas was named co-host of a Six Nations Championship rugby show on BBC America following a successful guest appearance. In his taped segments, Douglas took a stab at the sport, interviewed zookeepers and took an Irish stepdancing lesson. [8] [9]

On August 1, 2011 ESPN announced that Douglas would join the network as an NFL studio analyst. He provided analysis across a myriad of studio programs such as SportsCenter, NFL Live, First Take and ESPNews. [10]

In September 2012, Douglas joined Jalen Rose as a full-time analyst on ESPN2's Numbers Never Lie , but was fired on August 13, 2013, after reportedly calling colleague Michael Smith an "Uncle Tom". [11]

Douglas worked for 92.9 The Game sports talk radio station in Atlanta, GA from 2015 until 2023. [12]

On February 20, 2023, Douglas returned to Philadelphia to co-host the Midday Show with Joe Giglio on 94.1 WIP.

References

  1. 1 2 "Hugh Douglas". Philadelphia Eagles. Archived from the original on March 22, 2006.
  2. "1995 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved March 31, 2023.
  3. AROUND THE NFL The Washington Post (staff). March 15, 1998. Retrieved 2020-01-28.
  4. "Philadelphia Eagles Career Defense Leaders". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved March 17, 2025.
  5. Ambassador Hugh Douglas. SportsFan Magazine (September 26, 2005).
  6. ESPN – Owens-Douglas fistfight contributed to suspension – NFL. Sports.espn.go.com (November 7, 2005). Retrieved on 2012-12-15.
  7. Hugh Douglas on Sports Radio 610 WIP. Philadelphia's Sports Radio
  8. Irish Stepdancing with Hugh Douglas on Vimeo. Vimeo.com (March 19, 2011). Retrieved on 2012-12-15.
  9. Videos Archived February 18, 2011, at the Wayback Machine . BBC America. Retrieved on December 15, 2012.
  10. Nwulu Mac (August 1, 2011). Hugh Douglas Joins ESPN as NFL Studio Analyst. espnmediazone.com
  11. "ESPN Fires Hugh Douglas Following Racial Altercation". Yahoo!. August 13, 2013. Retrieved August 13, 2013.
  12. Rodney Ho (December 18, 2015). "92.9/The Game's newest morning show: John Fricke, Hugh Douglas". Atlanta Journal-Constitution . Retrieved June 5, 2017.