:Cecil Turner
{{Short description|American football player (born 1944)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2024}}
{{Use American English|date=February 2023}}
{{Infobox NFL biography
| name = Cecil Turner
| image =
| alt =
| caption =
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1944|4|2}}
| birth_place = Washington, D.C., U.S.
| death_date =
| death_place =
| number =
| position = Wide receiver, return specialist
| height_ft =
| height_in =
| weight_lb =
| high_school = Spingarn {{nowrap|(Washington, D.C.)}}
| draftyear = 1968
| draftround = 5
| draftpick = 127
| pastteams =
- Chicago Bears ({{nfly|1968}}–{{nfly|1973}})
| highlights =
}}
Cecil Turner (born April 2, 1944) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver for six seasons for the Chicago Bears of the National Football League (NFL). He went to the Pro Bowl after the 1970 season, when he tied a record (set in 1967 by Green Bay's Travis Williams) by returning four kickoffs for touchdowns,{{Cite news |date=January 12, 1971 |title=Ex-Poly gridder Turner to play in Pro Bowl |pages=6 |work=San Luis Obispo Telegram-Tribune}} a record that still stands.
Early life
Turner graduated from Spingarn High School in Washington D.C.
College career
Turner started his college career as a track & field standout. Competing for Pratt College, he won the 1964 NJCAA 100-yard dash title, with a time of 9.5 seconds at the meet hosted in Big Spring, Texas.{{Cite news |last=Nettleship |first=Johnny |date=September 16, 1966 |title=Cal Poly's running game boosted by Ratley, Turner |pages=10 |work=San Luis Obispo Telegram-Tribune}} He continued to excel in track after transferring to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, bettering his time to 9.3 seconds and ultimately leading the Mustangs to the 1968 NCAA College Division outdoor track and field team national title.{{Cite news |date=August 5, 1968 |title=Poly's Turner impressive in pro start with Bears |pages=8 |work=San Luis Obispo Telegram-Tribune}}
Midway through his senior football season for Cal Poly, Turner was hailed as "the fastest college football player in the nation,"{{Cite news |date=October 13, 1967 |title=Mr. Swift |pages=4 |work=Mustang Daily |url=https://digitalcommons.calpoly.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2340&context=studentnewspaper |access-date=September 8, 2022}} as he accumulated four touchdowns through the first four games of the year, but he missed most of the rest of the fall of 1967 due to injury.
Turner, whose top college football season as a junior included 16 catches for 366 yards (a 22.9-yard average) and two touchdown receptions (plus an 87-yard kickoff return for a TD) in 1966, was later elected to the Cal Poly Hall of Fame in 1989.{{Cite news |last=Wallner |first=Peter J. |date=September 30, 1989 |title=Cal Poly comes through for Turner |pages=B-1 |work=San Luis Obispo Telegram-Tribune}}
Professional career
Turner was selected in the fifth round of the 1968 NFL/AFL Draft by the Chicago Bears.{{Cite news |last=Neel |first=Don |date=February 2, 1968 |title=Chicago Bears draft Cecil Turner |pages=4 |work=Mustang Daily |url=https://digitalcommons.calpoly.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2367&context=studentnewspaper |access-date=September 8, 2022}}
Larry Mayer ranked Turner as the seventh-greatest return specialist in Bears history on the team's official website, noting his 32.7-yard average for the 1970 season.{{Cite web |title=Top 10: Bears return specialists |url=https://www.chicagobears.com/photos/top-10-bears-return-specialists |access-date=2022-09-09 |website=www.chicagobears.com |language=en-US}} In 2010, Bleacher Report selected Turner as an honorable mention in the kickoff return position to their all-time Bears team, with the spot going to Gale Sayers.{{Cite web |last=Curts |first=Jeff |title=Meet The All-Time Chicago Bears Team |url=https://bleacherreport.com/articles/399956-my-all-time-chicago-bears-team |access-date=2022-09-09 |website=Bleacher Report |language=en}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [https://www.footballdb.com/players/cecil-turner-turnece01 Football Database]
{{Bears1968DraftPicks}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Turner, Cecil}}
Category:American football return specialists
Category:American football wide receivers
Category:Cal Poly Mustangs football players
Category:Cal Poly Mustangs men's track and field athletes
Category:Chicago Bears players
Category:Florida Blazers players
Category:National Conference Pro Bowl players