James lofton biography

American football player and coach (born )

For the baseball player, see James Lofton (baseball).

American football player

Lofton on the Packers
Position:	Wide receiver
Born:	() July 5, (age&#;68) Fort Ord, California, U.S.
Height:	6&#;ft 3&#;in (&#;m)
Weight:	&#;lb (85&#;kg)
High school:	Washington (Los Angeles, California)
College:	Stanford
NFL draft:	&#;/ round:&#;1&#;/ pick:&#;6
Pro Football Hall of Fame

James David Lofton (born July 5, )^[1] is an American former professional football player and coach.

He played in the National Football League (NFL) as a wide receiver for the Green Bay Packers (&#;), Los Angeles Raiders (&#;), the Buffalo Bills (&#;), Los Angeles Rams () and Philadelphia Eagles (). He was also the NCAA champion in the long jump in while attending Stanford University.

Widely regarded as one of the greatest wide receivers of all time,^[2][3][4] Lofton was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in ^[5][6][1] After his playing career ended, he became a wide receivers coach for the San Diego Chargers and Oakland Raiders.

Early life

Lofton prepped at George Washington High School in Los Angeles, California, where he played quarterback and safety.^[7]

College career

Lofton played college football at Stanford University. As a senior in , he received 57 passes for 1, yards ( yards per reception average) with 14 touchdowns, and was an AP & NEA second-team All-American selection.

Lofton was a member of Theta Delta Chi fraternity, and earned a bachelor's degree in industrial engineering in ^[8]

Track and field

Lofton won the long jump at the NCAA Track and Field Championships with a wind-aided jump of 26 feet 11¾ inches.

James lofton arrested

James lofton stats nfl

James lofton autograph

He won the long jump at the CIF California State Meet with a jump of 24 feet 3½ inches after placing sixth in this meet the year before.^[9] He was also a sprinter of note, with a best of in the meter. He has been an active participant in Masters track and field since

Professional career

Lofton was drafted in the first round (sixth overall) of the NFL draft by the Green Bay Packers.

He was named to the NFL Pro Bowl eight times^[1] (seven with the Packers, one with the Bills). He was also named to four All-Pro teams.

James lofton biography Buffalo Bills 50th Anniversary Team Jones Kramer Langer L. Lofton became the wide receiver coach for the San Diego Chargers in and continued that role until he was fired on January 22, Early life [ edit ].

He also played in three Super Bowls during his career with the Bills.^[10] Lofton was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in

In his 16 NFL seasons, Lofton caught passes for 14, yards and 75 touchdowns. He averaged 20 yards per catch or more in five seasons, leading the league in and with an average of and 22 yards respectively.

He also rushed 32 times for yards and one touchdown.

Lofton is the first NFL player to record 14, yards receiving and was the second (one game after Drew Hill) to score a touchdown in the s, s, and s. During his nine seasons in Green Bay, Lofton played in seven Pro Bowls and left as the team's all-time leading receiver with 9, yards (since broken by Donald Driver).

On April 13, , he was traded for two draft picks to the Raiders in the wake of his charge for second degree sexual assault. A month later, he was found not guilty by Brown County Circuit Court jury. Two mediocre seasons (a combined 69 catches in 28 games) with the Raiders followed before he was signed as a free agent by Buffalo in He was to sign a two-year deal with Oakland in but instead joined the Los Angeles Rams, where he played just one game before finishing the season with Philadelphia.^{[11][12][13][14]}

On the retirement of Steve Largent, Lofton became the NFL's active leader in receiving yards at the start of , through to his retirement in In , Lofton became the oldest player to record 1, receiving yards in a season (since broken by Jerry Rice).

On October 21, of that same year, Lofton became the oldest player to record yards receiving as well as yards from scrimmage in a game (35 years, days). He is also the 2nd oldest player to have + all-purpose yards in a game behind Mel Gray, (35 years, days). He was inducted into the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame in ^[15]

Coaching career

Lofton became the wide receiver coach for the San Diego Chargers in and continued that role until he was fired on January 22, Early in his coaching career, Lofton watched Robert Woods in a high school track meet, he noted that he would be an incredible NFL prospect.

In at the NFL draft, Lofton played catch with Desean Jackson, noting he was going to be an excellent deep ball threat.

James lofton arrested: James Lofton. James Lofton's speed and soft hands made him an immediate deep-threat receiver from the moment he entered the pros in James Lofton. Retrieved August 16,

Lofton was later announced as a candidate to become head coach for Oakland Raiders in but the job would later go to Lane Kiffin. In , the Raiders hired him as their wide receivers coach.^[16] On January 13, , Lofton was let go by the Oakland Raiders and replaced by Sanjay Lal.

Broadcasting career

Lofton served as a color analyst and sideline reporter for NFL coverage on Westwood One radio from to In , he re-joined the network to team with Dave Sims and later Kevin Kugler on Sunday Night Football broadcasts.

He moved to a television position on the NFL on CBS in ,^[17] replacing the departing Solomon Wilcots.^[18] He has been the game analyst paired with Andrew Catalon since then.^[19] In , Lofton was considered by many to be in the running for a promotion to higher tiers of the announcing ranks on CBS.

NFL career statistics

Regular season

Year	Team	Games		Receiving
		GP	GS	Rec	Yds	Avg	Lng	TD
	GB	16	16	46			58	6
	GB	16	16	54			52	4
	GB	16	16	71	1,		47	4
	GB	16	16	71	1,		75	8
	GB	9	9	35			80	4
	GB	16	16	58	1,		74	8
	GB	16	16	62	1,		79	7
	GB	16	16	69	1,		56	4
	GB	15	15	64			36	4
	RAI	12	12	41			49	5
	RAI	16	16	28			57	0
	BUF	12	2	8			47	3
	BUF	16	14	35			71	4
	BUF	15	15	57	1,		77	8
	BUF	16	15	51			50	6
	LARams	1	0	1	16		16	0
	PHI	9	2	13			32	0
Career					14,		80	75

Personal life

Lofton and his wife Beverly have three children including David who also played college football at Stanford.^{[20][citation needed]} Lofton's cousin, Kevin Bass, was a Major League Baseball player.^{[citation needed]}

In October , a dancer at the Marquee Club in Milwaukee accused James Lofton and his Packers teammate Eddie Lee Ivery of sexual assault.

Lofton and Ivery asserted that the acts were consensual. Neither player ended up being charged in the incident due to a lack of evidence. Two years later, Lofton was charged with second-degree sexual assault following an incident in the stairwell of a Green Bay nightclub.

James lofton santa fe Toggle the table of contents. Kelly Lambeau Leemans F. Mara Marshall A. Sanders D.

He was found not guilty of that charge.^[21]

References

External links