Samuel Louis Graddy III (born February 10, 1964) is an American former athlete and American football player, winner of gold medal in 4 × 100 m relay at the 1984 Summer Olympics.
No. 83, 85 | |
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Position: | Wide receiver |
Personal information | |
Born: | (1964-02-10) February 10, 1964 (age 58) Gaffney, South Carolina |
Height: | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) |
Weight: | 175 lb (79 kg) |
Career information | |
High school: | Northside High School |
College: | University of Tennessee |
Undrafted: | 1987 |
Career history | |
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Player stats at PFR | |
Born in Gaffney, South Carolina, Sam Graddy was second in the 100 m and was a member of gold medal winning American 4 × 100 m relay team at the 1983 Pan American Games.
Medal record | ||
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Men's athletics | ||
Representing the United States | ||
Olympic Games | ||
1984 Los Angeles | 4 × 100 metres relay | |
1984 Los Angeles | 100 metres | |
Pan American Games | ||
1983 Caracas | 4 × 100 metres relay | |
1983 Caracas | 100 metres |
Graddy was also a standout track athlete. In 1984, he won the gold medal at the 1984 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in the 100 meters with a time of 10.28 seconds, and as a University of Tennessee at Knoxville student, he also won the 100 meters title at the 1984 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships.[1][2]
At the Los Angeles Olympics, Graddy was second behind Carl Lewis in 100 m and ran the first leg in the American 4 × 100 metres relay team, which won the gold medal with a new world record of 37.83 seconds.
Event | Time (seconds) | Venue | Date |
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60 meters | 6.63 | Paris, France | January 1, 1985 |
100 meters | 10.09 | Baton Rouge, Louisiana | May 12, 1984 |
200 meters | 20.30 | Knoxville, Tennessee | May 10, 1985 |
After graduating from university of Tennessee, Graddy was signed by the Denver Broncos in 1987. He played in Denver during the 1987 and 1988 seasons catching one pass for 30 yards. After being out of football for the 1989 season, he signed with the Los Angeles Raiders where he played from 1990 to 1992. During his Raider career Graddy was plagued with dropped passes therefore moved down the depth chart and mainly limited to kick return duty. His career highlight was in 1991 when he caught an 80-yard touchdown pass against the Houston Oilers. Graddy ended his career with 18 catches, 477 yards, 26.5 average per reception and 3 touchdowns. He also returned 27 kicks for 458 yards.
Pan American Champions in men's 4 × 100 metres relay | |
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Summer Universiade champions in men's 4 × 100 metres relay | |
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1984 USA Olympic track and field team | ||
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Qualification | 1984 United States Olympic Trials (track and field) | |
Men's track and road athletes |
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Men's field athletes |
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Women's track and road athletes |
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Women's field athletes |
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Coaches | — |
US National Championship winners in men's 100-meter dash | |
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1876–1878 New York Athletic Club |
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1879–1888 NAAAA |
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1888–1979 Amateur Athletic Union |
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1980–1992 The Athletics Congress |
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1993–present USA Track & Field |
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Notes |
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