Robert Terrence Flagler (born September 24, 1964) is an American former professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL) for the San Francisco 49ers and Phoenix Cardinals. He played college football for the Clemson Tigers, earning consensus All-American honors in 1986. He was selected by the 49ers in the first round of the 1987 NFL draft with the 25th overall pick.
| No. 32 | |||||||||
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| Position: | Running back | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born: | September 24, 1964 New York, New York, U.S. | ||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | ||||||||
| Weight: | 200 lb (91 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school: | Fernandina Beach (Fernandina Beach, Florida) | ||||||||
| College: | Clemson | ||||||||
| NFL draft: | 1987 / round: 1 / pick: 25 | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
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| * Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||
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Early life
editFlagler attended Fernandina Beach High School, where as a senior he posted 1,683 rushing yards on 200 carries and 20 touchdowns, including one of the greatest games in Northeast Florida high school history, when against West Nassau (October 23, 1981) he had 405 rushing yards and 7 touchdowns. He also practiced basketball and led the district in scoring as a senior.
College career
editHe accepted a scholarship from Clemson University and became a full-time starter until his senior season. He helped the team win an ACC championship, while finishing with 1,258 rushing yards (13th in nation), 10 touchdowns, six 100-yard rushing games (including 2 games with over 200 rushing yards), 274 all purpose yards in one game (school record), 106.9 rushing yards per game in one season (school record). He was a runner-up in the ACC Player of the Year voting.
In 2013, he was inducted into the Clemson Athletic Hall of Fame.
College career statistics
edit| Legend | |
|---|---|
| Bold | Career high |
| Year | Team | Games | Rushing | Receiving | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | Att | Yds | Avg | TD | Rec | Yds | Avg | TD | ||
| 1982 | Clemson | 11 | 29 | 120 | 4.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 |
| 1983 | Clemson | 10 | 31 | 202 | 6.5 | 0 | 2 | 21 | 10.5 | 0 |
| 1984 | Clemson | 11 | 75 | 350 | 4.7 | 5 | 8 | 63 | 7.9 | 2 |
| 1985 | Clemson | 9 | 52 | 232 | 4.5 | 2 | 10 | 54 | 5.4 | 0 |
| 1986 | Clemson | 11 | 180 | 1,176 | 6.5 | 10 | 13 | 163 | 12.5 | 3 |
| 52 | 367 | 2,080 | 5.7 | 17 | 33 | 301 | 9.1 | 5 | ||
Professional career
editSan Francisco 49ers (first stint)
editFlagler was selected by the San Francisco 49ers in the first round (25th overall) of the 1987 NFL draft.[1] In three years he only had 42 carries for 145 yards and one touchdown, while playing behind Roger Craig.[2]
After asking for a trade, he was sent along with Danny Stubbs, a third (#81-Craig Veasey) and an eleventh-round (#304-Myron Jones) draft pick to the Dallas Cowboys, in exchange for a second (#47-Dennis Brown) and third-round (#68-Ron Lewis) draft choices on April 19, 1990.[3]
Dallas Cowboys
editA week after Flagler was acquired by the Dallas Cowboys to improve the running game, the team selected future hall of fame running back Emmitt Smith in the 1990 NFL draft.[4] He was waived on September 2, 1990.[5]
Phoenix Cardinals
editOn September 26, 1990, he was signed as a free agent by the Phoenix Cardinals for depth purposes, after Ron Wolfley was lost for the year.[6] On August 12, 1991, he was traded to the San Francisco 49ers in exchange for a conditional draft choice (not exercised).[7]
San Francisco 49ers (second stint)
editFlagler was cut on August 26, 1991, when the San Francisco 49ers chose to keep veteran Spencer Tillman.[8]
Phoenix Cardinals
editOn September 12, 1991, he was re-signed after starter Larry Centers was lost for the year with a broken foot.[9] He was released on October 29.[10]
Los Angeles Raiders
editOn July 19, 1992, he was signed by the Los Angeles Raiders as a free agent.[11] He was waived on August 24.[12]
Jacksonville Tomcats (AF2)
editIn 2000, he signed with the Jacksonville Tomcats of the Arena Football League 2.[13] He was switched to wide receiver and played until the team folded in 2003.
References
edit- ^ "1987 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved September 25, 2023.
- ^ "From Top, To Bottom". Retrieved May 4, 2016.
- ^ "Conditional Deal For George Could Be The First Of Many". Retrieved May 4, 2016.
- ^ "Draft". Retrieved May 4, 2016.
- ^ "Dallas Gives Flagler His Release". Retrieved May 4, 2016.
- ^ "Transactions". Archived from the original on April 21, 2013. Retrieved May 4, 2016.
- ^ "Flagler Traded Back to 49ers". Retrieved May 4, 2016.
- ^ "Another in a series of NFL sizeups: The San Francisco 49ers". Retrieved May 4, 2016.
- ^ "Transactions". Retrieved May 4, 2016.
- ^ "Transactions". Retrieved May 4, 2016.
- ^ "Free Agent Flagler Signs". Retrieved May 4, 2016.
- ^ "Eight players are cut, including veteran running back Vance Mueller". Retrieved May 4, 2016.
- ^ "Flagler endures punishing year". Retrieved May 4, 2016.
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