Age: 25
(Sept. 7)
3rd
season in pro football & with Packers
College: Ohio
State
Height: 6’0” Weight: 225
Prelude:
Brockington
started at halfback as a sophomore in college, backed up FB Jim Otis for a year,
and then started at fullback as a senior and rushed for a team-record 1142
yards and scored 17 TDs in 1970. He was chosen by the Packers in the first
round (ninth overall) of the ’71 NFL draft and moved directly into the starting
lineup in combination with HB Donny Anderson. Brockington led the NFC with 1105
rushing yards and received consensus first-team All-NFL as well as Rookie of
the Year honors. In 1972 he had a new backfield mate in HB MacArthur Lane and ran
for 1027 yards as the Packers won the NFC Central, achieving All-NFC honors and
again being selected to the Pro Bowl.
1973 Season Summary
Appeared and
started in all 14 games
[Bracketed
numbers indicate league rank in Top 20]
Rushing
Attempts – 265
[4]
Most
attempts, game – 28 (for 137 yds.) vs. St. Louis 11/11
Yards – 1144 [2,
1st in NFC]
Most yards,
game – 142 yards (on 22 carries) at Chicago 12/16
Average gain
– 4.3 [19]
TDs – 3
100-yard
rushing games – 5
Pass
Receiving
Receptions – 16
Most
receptions, game – 3 (for 17 yds.) vs. New Orleans 12/2
Yards – 128
Most yards,
game – 45 (on 2 catches) at New England 11/18
Average gain
– 8.0
TDs – 0
Passing
Attempts – 1
Completions –
0
TDs – 0
INT – 0
Scoring
TDs – 3
Points – 18
Awards & Honors:
1st
team All-NFL: NEA
2nd
team All-NFL: AP, PFWA
1st
team All-NFC: AP, UPI, Pro Football Weekly, Sporting News
Pro Bowl
Packers went 5-7-2
to finish third in the NFC Central.
Aftermath:
After having
become the first player in NFL history to reach a thousand rushing yards in
each of his first three years, Brockington found the going more difficult over
time as the team’s lack of a credible passing attack had defenses keying on
stopping the ground game. After gaining 883 yards rushing in 1974, in addition
to catching a career-high 43 passes, his production dropped sharply as the wear
and tear of his punishing, straight-ahead running style began to take its toll
and he never again gained as many as 500 yards in a season. Released by the
Packers early in the 1977 season, he finished up with the Kansas City Chiefs.
Overall, Brockington rushed for 5185 yards on 1347 carries (all but 161 yards
and 54 carries coming with Green Bay) and caught 157 passes for 1297 yards (19
for 222 yards with the Chiefs), scoring a total of 34 touchdowns (30 rushing, four
receiving). He was a consensus first-team All-NFL selection once, received first-
or second-team All-NFL and All-NFC honors after two other seasons, and was a
three-time Pro Bowl choice.
--
Highlighted Years features players who were consensus
first-team All-League* selections or league* or conference** leaders 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
