Wilbur Jackson

Wilbur Jackson

No. 40
Position:	Running back
Personal information
Date of birth:	November 19, 1951
Place of birth:	Ozark, Alabama
Height:	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Weight:	215 lb (98 kg)
Career information
High school:	Ozark (AL) Carroll
College:	Alabama
NFL draft:	1974 / Round: 1 / Pick: 9
Career history
San Francisco 49ers (1974–1979) Washington Redskins (1980–1982)
Career highlights and awards
Super Bowl Champion (XVII)
Career NFL statistics
Player stats at NFL.com
Player stats at PFR

Wilbur Jackson (born November 19, 1951) is a former American football running back for the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted in the first round of the 1974 NFL Draft out of University of Alabama by the 49ers. He played five seasons for San Francisco, and then three years with the Washington Redskins.

Jackson was the first African American offered a football scholarship at the University of Alabama and was inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame in 2007.^[1][2] He still holds the Alabama school record for yards per carry (7.2) for his career (1,529 yards on 212 attempts) from 1971–73. Against Virginia Tech in 1973 he rushed for 138 yards on 5 carries, an average of 27.6 yards per carry.^[3]

During the Super Bowl XVII highlight film, Jackson can be seen pulling up lame with a hamstring injury in a futile attempt to stop Fulton Walker of the Miami Dolphins from returning a kickoff 98 yards for a touchdown, the first such score in Super Bowl history.

References

1. Marshall, Phillip (July 23, 2006). "Jackson made history as first black Tide football player". The Gadsden Times (Google News Archives). p. C7. Retrieved October 21, 2013.
2. "Five Tide stars inducted into ASHOF". RollTide.com. University of Alabama Department of Intercollegiate Athletics. November 1, 2006. Retrieved October 21, 2013.
3. "2012 Alabama Crimson Tide Football Record Book" (PDF). Tuscaloosa, Alabama: University of Alabama Athletics Media Relations Office. 2012. p. 12. Retrieved October 21, 2013.