April 19, 2015

Highlighted Year: Gary Anderson, 1986

Running Back, San Diego Chargers


Age: 25
5th season in pro football, 2nd in NFL & with Chargers
College: Arkansas
Height: 6’0”   Weight: 190

Prelude:
An outstanding all-purpose back in college, Anderson received All-Southwestern Conference honors in 1982 and was chosen in the first round (20th overall) of the 1983 NFL draft by the San Diego Chargers and in the USFL draft by the New Jersey Generals (fifth overall). The Chargers intended to convert him into a wide receiver, but Anderson expressed an interest in playing for Tampa Bay of the new spring league, and his draft rights were accordingly dealt to the Bandits. He didn’t join the team until halfway through the ’83 season but had an impact when he did, rushing for 516 yards on 97 carries (5.3 avg.) and catching 29 passes for 347 yards in eight games. In 1984, Anderson led the league in rushing touchdowns (19) and touchdowns overall (21, tied with Herschel Walker) while gaining 1008 yards on 268 carries and catching 66 passes for 682 more yards. He had another outstanding season in ‘85, rushing for 1207 yards, catching 72 passes for 678 yards, and scoring a total of 20 touchdowns. He was named to the official USFL All-League team and was also an All-USFL selection by The Sporting News. With the demise of the USFL, Anderson joined the Chargers during the ’85 NFL season and accumulated 1153 all-purpose yards in 12 games.

1986 Season Summary
Appeared in all 16 games
[Bracketed numbers indicate league rank in Top 20]

Rushing
Attempts – 127
Most attempts, game – 25 (for 100 yds.) vs. Kansas City 11/2
Yards – 442
Most yards, game – 100 yards (on 25 carries) vs. Kansas City 11/2
Average gain – 3.5
TDs – 1
100-yard rushing games – 1

Pass Receiving
Receptions – 80 [6, tied with J.T. Smith] 
Most receptions, game – 11 (for 92 yds.) at Kansas City 10/19
Yards – 871
Most yards, game – 113 (on 7 catches) vs. LA Raiders 11/20
Average gain – 10.9
TDs – 8 [10, tied with four others]
100-yard receiving games – 1

Passing
Attempts – 1
Completions – 1
Yards – 4
TDs – 1
Interceptions – 0

Kickoff Returns
Returns – 24
Yards – 482
Most yards, game – 89 (on 4 ret.) vs. Kansas City 11/2
Average per return – 20.1
TDs – 0
Longest return – 35 yards

Punt Returns
Returns – 25 [20]
Yards – 227 [18, tied with Eric Martin]
Most yards, game – 54 (on 4 ret.) vs. Kansas City 11/2
Average per return – 9.1 [12]
TDs – 0
Longest return – 30 yards

All-Purpose yards – 2022 [2, 1st in AFC]

Scoring
TDs – 9 [17, tied with seven others]
Points – 54

Awards & Honors:
Pro Bowl

Chargers went 4-12 to finish fifth in the AFC West.

Aftermath:
Anderson had a lesser year in the strike-interrupted 1987 season while splitting time with Curtis Adams at halfback, but rushed for 1119 yards in ’88. A contract dispute led to his sitting out in 1989 and he was traded to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in ’90. While Anderson gained 1110 yards from scrimmage that year despite dealing with nagging injuries, his production dropped off significantly thereafter as he was used more as a specialty receiver out of the backfield. He finished up with Detroit, who obtained him during the ’93 season. Anderson came out of retirement in 1995 to play for the Memphis Mad Dogs of the CFL, rushing for 250 yards and catching 28 passes in his final pro season. Overall in the USFL, Anderson rushed for 2731 yards on 641 attempts (4.3 avg.), had another 1707 yards on 167 catches, and scored 45 touchdowns. In the NFL, he gained 3409 yards on the ground, 2999 on 302 pass receptions, and adding in kick returns accumulated 9572 all-purpose yards while scoring 32 TDs.

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Highlighted Years features players who were consensus first-team All-League* selections or league* or conference** leaders (NFC/AFC since 1970) in the following statistical categories:

Rushing: Yards, TDs (min. 10)
Passing: Yards, Completion Pct., Yards per Attempt, TDs, Rating
Receiving: Catches, Yards, TDs (min. 10)
Scoring: TDs, Points, Field Goals (min. 5)
All-Purpose: Total Yards
Defense: Interceptions, Sacks
Kickoff Returns: Average
Punt Returns: Average
Punting: Average

*Leagues include NFL (1920 to date), AFL (1926), AFL (1936-37), AAFC (1946-49), AFL (1960-69), WFL (1974-75), USFL (1983-85)

**NFC/AFC since 1970