Bennie Lee Cunningham, Jr. (December 23, 1954 – April 23, 2018[1]) was an American football tight end. Cunningham was drafted out of the Clemson University in the 1976 NFL Draft by the Pittsburgh Steelers. During his career, he played in 118 games and caught 202 receptions for 2,879 yards and 20 touchdowns.
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Position: | Tight End | ||||||||
Personal information | |||||||||
Born: | (1954-12-23)December 23, 1954 Laurens, South Carolina | ||||||||
Died: | April 23, 2018(2018-04-23) (aged 63) Cleveland, Ohio | ||||||||
Height: | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | ||||||||
Weight: | 254 lb (115 kg) | ||||||||
Career information | |||||||||
High school: | Seneca High School | ||||||||
College: | Clemson | ||||||||
NFL Draft: | 1976 / Round: 1 / Pick: 28 | ||||||||
Career history | |||||||||
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Career highlights and awards | |||||||||
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Career NFL statistics | |||||||||
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Player stats at NFL.com · PFR | |||||||||
Cunningham's most famous play in the NFL was a game-winning touchdown in a Pittsburgh home game versus divisional rival Cleveland on September 24, 1978. It came on a flea-flicker play, culminating in a pass from Terry Bradshaw to Cunningham, who caught the ball in the back right corner of the end zone. It gave the Steelers a dramatic 15-9 victory over the Browns in sudden-death overtime.
On April 23, 2018, Cunningham died at age 63 at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio, where he had been fighting cancer for about three months.
Pittsburgh Steelers Super Bowl XIII champions | |
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Pittsburgh Steelers Super Bowl XIV champions | |
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1974 College Football All-America Team consensus selections | |
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1976 NFL Draft first-round selections | |
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Pittsburgh Steelers first-round draft picks | |
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Formerly the Pittsburgh Pirates (1933–1939) | |
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Pittsburgh Steelers 1976 NFL draft selections | |
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Pittsburgh Steelers All-Time Team | |
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