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| Position | Running back | ||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||
| Born | September 7, 1934 Birmingham, Michigan, U.S. | ||||||||||||
| Died | January 24, 1996 (aged 61) Madison Heights, Michigan, U.S. | ||||||||||||
| Height | 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) | ||||||||||||
| Weight | 205 lb (93 kg) | ||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||
| College | Tennessee | ||||||||||||
| NFL draft | 1956: 5th round, 50th overall pick | ||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||
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| Awards and highlights | |||||||||||||
| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||||||
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John Thomas "Tom The Bomb" Tracy (September 7, 1934 – January 24, 1996) was an American professional football halfback-fullback in the National Football League (NFL) for the Detroit Lions, Pittsburgh Steelers and Washington Redskins as well as the Canadian Football League (CFL) with the Ottawa Rough Riders. [1] [2] He was a fifth round draft pick (50th overall) by the Detroit Lions in the 1956 NFL draft. [3]
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Tracy played college football for the Tennessee Volunteers before he embarked on a professional football career in Canada, where he spent one full season and part of another with the Ottawa Rough Riders. He earned All-Star recognition in his rookie year. After nearly two seasons with the Lions, he went on to play in a pair of Pro Bowls as the Steelers feature back. [4] [5] He was voted as a first team All-Conference All-Pro by the Sporting News for the 1960 season. [6]
Consistently listed at 5-foot-9 or 5-foot-10 and 205 pounds, Tracy was one of the smaller NFL players of his era. He went by the nickname of Tom The Bomb because of his squatty body, deceptive strength and well-timed cuts that allowed him to explode into the open field. Despite his size, he was a willing and able blocker.
In in his prime, Tracy was one of the most lethal triple threats in the NFL. Over a three-year span (1958-60), he touched the ball 639 times and gained 4,096 yards on runs and pass receptions. Only Cleveland Browns fullback Jim Brown had more, and the vast majority of his totals came on runs from scrimmage. What separated Tracy from the rest was his ability to make big plays with his arm on the option pass -- he completed 18 passes for 751 yards, a staggering 41.7 yards per completion. A half-dozen of them resulted in touchdowns.
In an NFL career that spanned eight seasons, Tracy carried the ball 808 times from scrimmage for 2,912 yards and 17 touchdowns, caught 113 passes for 1,468 yards and 14 TDs and passed for 854 yards and 12 TDs. He also kicked three field goals and four extra points. [1]