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Buck Buchanan

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Buck Buchanan
Buchanan playing with the Chiefs in Super Bowl IV
Buchanan in the Super Bowl IV
No. 86
Position:Defensive tackle
Personal information
Born:(1940-09-10)September 10, 1940
Gainesville, Alabama, U.S.
Died:July 16, 1992(1992-07-16) (aged 51)
Kansas City, Missouri, U.S.
Height:6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
Weight:270 lb (122 kg)
Career information
High school:Parker
(Birmingham, Alabama)
College:Grambling (1959–1962)
NFL draft:1963 / round: 19 / pick: 265
AFL draft:1963 / round: 1 / pick: 1
Career history
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics
Safeties:1
Interceptions:3
Fumble recoveries:3
Stats at Pro Football Reference
Pro Football Hall of Fame
College Football Hall of Fame

Junious "Buck" Buchanan (September 10, 1940 – July 16, 1992) was an American professional football defensive tackle who played for the Kansas City Chiefs in the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NFL).[1][2] Buchanan was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1996 and the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1990. He was selected to the NFL 100th Anniversary Team. Buchanan was massive for his era, standing at 6'7", and weighing 270 lbs. His height gave him a big advantage against lineman in the trenches.

Early life

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Buchanan was born in Gainesville, Alabama, on September 10, 1940,[3][4][5] the son of a steelworker Wallace Buchanan and Fannie Mae Buchanan,[6][7] though some report him being born in Birmingham, Alabama. Some also report his birth year as 1939, rather than 1940.[8][9] He attended A. H. Parker High School in Birmingham, Alabama, where he was the captain and a standout player both in football and basketball.[10][11]

College career

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Football head coach Eddie Robinson of Grambling State University in Louisiana offered Buchanan a scholarship after being contacted by Buchanan's uncle who was determined Buchanan should go to college, and Buchanan attended Grambling.[6] He was a letterman in football and in 1962 was an NAIA All-America selection, as well as a Black College All America. He was All Conference from 1960-1962, and played in the 1963 Chicago All Star Game where the college all stars defeated the Green Bay Packers.[11][7]

Buchanan also played on the basketball team, and among his teammates were future Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame player Willis Reed, and future AFL player and Chiefs' teammate Ernie Ladd.[7]

Buchanan was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1996.[11] He is one of four Grambling State players, Willie Brown, Willie Davis, and Charlie Joiner coached by Eddie Robinson enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.[2][12] In 1999, Sports Illustrated included him on its All-Century Team for college football.[13]

The FCS (Football Championship Subdivision) presents the Buck Buchanan Award annually to the FCS's best defensive player.[14]

Professional career

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The 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 287 lb (130 kg) Buchanan was selected in both the NFL and AFL drafts in 1963. The New York Giants took him 265th overall in the 19th round of the 1963 NFL draft, while he was the first overall selection in the AFL Draft by the Kansas City Chiefs (the Dallas Texans at the time).[1][15] Eddie Robinson, his coach at Grambling State, where he had been an NAIA All-American in 1962, called him "the finest lineman I have seen."[4] Buchanan was the first player from an historically black college and first black player taken as a number one draft choice in Professional Football.[7][11]

Others who had watched Buchanan in action were equally enthusiastic. Buchanan had the physical size and athletic instincts to be exceptionally successful. He was particularly effective at intimidating the passer and in 1967 batted down 16 passes at or behind the line of scrimmage. He was clocked at 4.9 in the 40-yard dash and 10.2 in the 100-yard dash at Grambling State, allowing him to range from sideline to sideline to make tackles.[4]

Buchanan (left) and fellow Football Hall of Famer Curley Culp stop a Vikings running play during Super Bowl IV

In spite of the weekly pounding he took on the line of scrimmage, Buchanan was extremely durable. He played in 182 career games that included a string of 166 straight, and missed only one game in 13 years. After dabbling briefly at defensive end as a rookie, Buchanan settled down to his permanent job as the Chiefs' defensive right tackle. He was named to his first AFL All-Star Game after his second season and played in six AFL All-Star games and two AFC-NFC Pro Bowls. He was All-AFL from 1966 through 1969, All-AFC in 1970 and 1971.[4][3] The Chiefs' player selected him as their MVP in 1965 and 1967, and made him a co-captain in 1968.[7]

He played in the first Super Bowl, and recorded the first quarterback sack in Super Bowl history (against Green Bay Packer quarterback Bart Starr).[2] In the 1964 season, he batted down 16 passes.[3][16]

He teamed with future hall of famer Curley Culp, Aaron Brown and Jerry Mays to establish a dominant front four for the Chiefs,[17] culminating in their victory over the Minnesota Vikings in Super Bowl IV, when they allowed Viking runners only 67 yards rushing in 19 carries, 172 net passing yards, only two rushing first downs, to go along with three interceptions and two fumble recoveries.[18][19][20] Buchanan and Culp in particular dominated the opposing center, Mick Tingelhoff, a 5-time AP first-team All-Pro selection up to that 1969 season,[18] as handily as the left guard, Jim Vellone.[citation needed] A total of six Chiefs on the team’s defense were eventually selected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame (Buchanan, Culp, Willie Lanier, Bobby Bell, Emmitt Thomas and Johnny Robinson).[17][21]

Buchanan was selected to the second-team of the AFL All-Time Team,[22][23] and was inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame in 1987[5] and the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1990, the first AFL defenseman line to be selected.[4][3] He was selected to the NFL 100th Anniversary All Time Team, along with defense teammates Bell and Lanier, and kicker Jan Stenerud.[24]

Hall of Fame guard Gene Upshaw of the archrival Oakland Raiders said playing against Buchanan was like trying to block a ghost, and while he enjoyed most challenges he could not sleep the night before games against Buchanan. Upshaw's coach, hall of famer John Madden, said Buchanan revolutionized football.[3] Raiders owner Al Davis had specifically drafted Upshaw to combat Buchanan.[7]

In 1999, he was ranked number 67 on The Sporting News' list of the 100 Greatest Football Players, right behind his former Chiefs teammate Bobby Bell, and above his former teammate Emmitt Thomas. Willie Lanier was at number 42.[25] In 1981, the Chiefs inducted Buchanan into their Hall of Honor and retired his uniform number 86.[26] In 2021, The Athletic ranked him 86 on its list of all-time greatest football players.[3]

Personal life and death

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After retiring as a player, Buchanan became the defensive line coach for Hank Stram (his coach in Kansas City) and the New Orleans Saints in 1976. He went to coach for the Cleveland Browns in 1978, after Stram left the Saints, but left after one year. He went back to Kansas City and became a highly respected businessman and civic leader. Among other things, he ran a construction and advertising business, became president of the Black Chamber of Commerce (1986-1989), and was appointed to the Kansas City Board of Election Commissioners in 1989.[6][11]

Buchanan was diagnosed with lung cancer a week before his Hall of Fame induction and died two years later at age 51 in his Kansas City home on July 16, 1992.[27] Buchanan never mentioned his cancer diagnosis during this hall of fame induction because he did not want to spoil the day for the other inductees.[6]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Cancer claims hall of famer Buck Buchanan". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Florida. Associated Press. July 17, 1992. p. 1C.
  2. ^ a b c Tucker, Doug (July 17, 1992). "Former Chiefs' standout Buck Buchanon is dead". Nevada Daily Mail. Missouri. Associated Press. p. 8.
  3. ^ a b c d e f Jr, Paul Dehner. "NFL 100: At No. 86, Buck Buchanan revolutionized game, left legacy on and off the field". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved November 2, 2024.
  4. ^ a b c d e "Junious (Buck) Buchanan | Pro Football Hall of Fame". pfhof. Retrieved November 1, 2024.
  5. ^ a b "Buck Buchanan - Alabama Sports Hall of Fame". ashof.org. September 10, 2019. Retrieved November 1, 2024.
  6. ^ a b c d "Buck Buchanan, 51, Star on Line for Football's Kansas City Chiefs". New York Times. July 17, 1992.
  7. ^ a b c d e f BUCK BUCHANAN. Great Athletes. Salem Press. 2001.
  8. ^ "Junious "Buck" Buchanan (1939-1992) - Find a..." www.findagrave.com. Retrieved November 2, 2024.
  9. ^ "Buck Buchanan Pro Football Stats, Position, College, Transactions". www.profootballarchives.com. Retrieved November 2, 2024.
  10. ^ "Birmingham Parker High School's Buck Buchanan named to NFL 100 All Time Team of Greatest Players | Bham Now". bhamnow.com. January 31, 2020. Retrieved November 1, 2024.
  11. ^ a b c d e "Buck Buchanan, College Football Hall of Fame". College Football Hall of Fame.
  12. ^ "Pro Hall of Fame". The Grambling Legends. Retrieved November 1, 2024.
  13. ^ Maisel, Ivan (August 16, 1999). "Team of the Century". Sports Illustrated. 91 (6).
  14. ^ "Buck Buchanan Award: Complete history of the FCS defensive honor | NCAA.com". www.ncaa.com. Retrieved November 2, 2024.
  15. ^ "Dallas picks tackle in AFL's pro draft, 274-lb. Buchanan". Palm Beach Post. Florida. Associated Press. December 2, 1962. p. 33.
  16. ^ Tribune, Chicago (December 28, 1990). "NFL GREAT BUCHANAN VOWS TO SACK HIS CANCER". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved November 2, 2024.
  17. ^ a b Verderame, Matt (February 9, 2015). "The '69 Chiefs: A defense for the ages". Arrowhead Pride. Retrieved November 1, 2024.
  18. ^ a b Popovich, Mike. "Culp made an impact in Super Bowl victory". Canton Repository. Retrieved November 1, 2024.
  19. ^ "Super Bowl IV Box Score | The Football Database". FootballDB.com. Retrieved November 1, 2024.
  20. ^ iHaveNet.com, The NFL on (February 6, 2011). "Super Bowl IV Chiefs 23 Vikings 7 | MVP Len Dawson". www.ihavenet.com. Retrieved November 1, 2024.
  21. ^ "Johnny Robinson | Pro Football Hall of Fame". pfhof. Retrieved November 1, 2024.
  22. ^ "American Football League All-time Team". www.remembertheafl.com. Retrieved November 1, 2024.
  23. ^ Tobias, Todd. ">The AFL All-Time Second Team". Tales from the AFL. Retrieved November 1, 2024.
  24. ^ "NFL 100". NFL.com. Retrieved November 1, 2024.
  25. ^ "The Sporting News 100 Greatest Players of All-Time (1999)". futurefootballlegends.com. Retrieved November 1, 2024.
  26. ^ Forsyth, Travis (July 1, 2023). ""Buck" Buchanan | Arrowhead Illustrated Arrowhead Illustrated". Retrieved November 1, 2024.
  27. ^ "Hall of Famer Buchanan Dies". Chicago Tribune. July 17, 1992.
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