Lionel Manuel

{{Infobox NFL biography

| name = Lionel Manuel

| number = 86, 80

| position = Wide receiver

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1962|4|13}}

| birth_place = Los Angeles, California, U.S.

| height_ft = 5

| height_in = 11

| weight_lb = 178

| high_school = Bassett
(La Puente, California)

| college = Pacific

| draftyear = 1984

| draftround = 7

| draftpick = 171

| pastteams =

New York Giants ({{NFL Year|1984|1990}})
Buffalo Bills ({{NFL Year|1991}})*
Barcelona Dragons (1992)*

| highlights =

Super Bowl champion (XXI)

| statlabel1 = Receptions

| statvalue1 = 232

| statlabel2 = Receiving yards

| statvalue2 = 3,941

| statlabel3 = Touchdowns

| statvalue3 = 23

| pfr = ManuLi00

}}

Lionel Manuel Jr. (born April 13, 1962) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Pacific Tigers. Manuel was selected in the seventh round (171st pick overall) of the 1984 NFL draft by the New York Giants, and played seven seasons in the NFL.

Early life

Manuel was born in Los Angeles, California and attended Bassett High School.{{cite web|url= http://articles.latimes.com/keyword/bassett-high-school/featured/3|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20131024212405/http://articles.latimes.com/keyword/bassett-high-school/featured/3|url-status= dead|archive-date= October 24, 2013|title=The Day That Lester Hayes Fell Silent|work=Los Angeles Times |accessdate= October 22, 2013}} He played college football at Citrus College before transferring to the University of the Pacific where he played wide receiver and running back for the Pacific Tigers.{{cite web|url=http://www.databasefootball.com/players/playerpage.htm?ilkid=MANUELIO01 |title=Lionel Manuel |publisher=databaseFootball.com |accessdate=October 20, 2013 |url-status=usurped |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160411235645/http://www.databasefootball.com/players/playerpage.htm?ilkid=MANUELIO01 |archivedate=April 11, 2016 }}

Professional career

The 5'11, 180-lb wide receiver was selected in the seventh round of the 1984 NFL draft by the New York Giants, and played in seven NFL seasons. Manuel spent his entire career with the Giants (1984–1990), including the XXI Giants Super Bowl Team when they beat the Denver Broncos 39–20. His peak performance was during the 1988 season, when he caught 65 passes for 1,029 yards and scored four touchdowns.

Manuel's career ended after several injuries in the 1990 season when he played under Head Coach Bill Parcells. The Giants finished the 1990 season 13–3, and won the Super Bowl XXV against the Buffalo Bills 20–19.{{cite web|url= https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1987-01-23-sp-686-story.html|title= This Lionel Is Fresh and Ready to Roll|work=Los Angeles Times |date= 23 January 1987|access-date= October 22, 2013}} Parcells waived Manuel in December 1990, citing Manuel's poor attitude after losing his starting position.{{cite news|url= https://www.nytimes.com/1990/12/19/sports/giants-waive-manuel-citing-a-bad-attitude.html|title= Giants Waive Manuel, Citing a Bad Attitude|work=The New York Times |date= 19 December 1990|accessdate= October 22, 2013|last1= Litsky|first1= Frank}} Manuel then signed with the Buffalo Bills as a free agent but was waived due to injuries and did not play for the team.{{cite web|url= http://articles.philly.com/1991-08-02/sports/25807585_1_training-camp-eagles-receiver|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20131023055830/http://articles.philly.com/1991-08-02/sports/25807585_1_training-camp-eagles-receiver|url-status= dead|archive-date= October 23, 2013|title=Bills Waive Wide Receiver Manuel|publisher=philly.com|accessdate= October 22, 2013}} Manuel played European football with the Barcelona Dragons before retiring in 1993.{{cite web|url= http://www.footballdb.com/teams/wlaf/barcelona-dragons/stats/1992|title= 1992 Barcelona Dragons Stats|publisher=The Football Database|accessdate= October 22, 2013}}

NFL career statistics

class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"

! colspan="2"| Legend

style="background:#afe6ba; width:3em;"|

| Won the Super Bowl

Bold

| Career high

= Regular season =

rowspan="2"\| Year !rowspan="2"\| Team !colspan="2"\| Games !colspan="5"\| Receiving
class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
GP	GS	Rec	Yds	Avg	Lng	TD
1984	NYG \| 16 \|\| 5 \|\| 33 \|\| 619 \|\| 18.8 \|\| 53 \|\| 4
1985	NYG \| 12 \|\| 12 \|\| 49 \|\| 859 \|\| 17.5 \|\| 51 \|\| 5
1986	style="background:#afe6ba; width:3em;"\| NYG \| 4 \|\| 4 \|\| 11 \|\| 181 \|\| 16.5 \|\| 35 \|\| 3
1987	NYG \| 12 \|\| 12 \|\| 30 \|\| 545 \|\| 18.2 \|\| 50 \|\| 6
1988	NYG \| 16 \|\| 16 \|\| 65 \|\| 1,029 \|\| 15.8 \|\| 46 \|\| 4
1989	NYG \| 16 \|\| 12 \|\| 33 \|\| 539 \|\| 16.3 \|\| 49 \|\| 1
1990	NYG \| 14 \|\| 0 \|\| 11 \|\| 169 \|\| 15.4 \|\| 19 \|\| 0
colspan="2"\|	90	61	232	3,941	17.0	53	23

= Playoffs =

rowspan="2"\| Year !rowspan="2"\| Team !colspan="2"\| Games !colspan="5"\| Receiving
class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
GP	GS	Rec	Yds	Avg	Lng	TD
1984	NYG \| 2 \|\| 1 \|\| 5 \|\| 84 \|\| 16.8 \|\| 25 \|\| 0
1985	NYG \| 2 \|\| 2 \|\| 3 \|\| 56 \|\| 18.7 \|\| 21 \|\| 0
1986	style="background:#afe6ba; width:3em;"\| NYG \| 3 \|\| 1 \|\| 5 \|\| 79 \|\| 15.8 \|\| 25 \|\| 1
1989	NYG \| 1 \|\| 1 \|\| 1 \|\| 24 \|\| 24.0 \|\| 24 \|\| 0
colspan="2"\|	8	5	14	243	17.4	25	1

Life after the NFL

Manuel went on to coach several college football teams including The LaVerne Leopards,{{cite web|url= http://www.laverne.edu/ctimes/991001/coaches.htm|title= Football welcomes new assistants|publisher=University of LaVerne |accessdate= October 22, 2013}} and later became a professional chef and restaurateur after attending the Scottsdale Culinary Institute.{{cite web|url= http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/food/articles/0104foodpeople0104.html|title= Griddle replaces gridiron|publisher=The Arizona Republic |accessdate= October 22, 2013}} Manuel worked as a high school varsity coach in Fontana, California.

Manuel was inducted into the University of the Pacific Hall of Fame in 2012.{{cite web|url= http://www.pacifictigers.com/genrel/Hall_of_Fame/2012_Hall_of_Fame|title= Pacific Athletics Hall Of Fame Induction Ceremony Set For April 21, 2012|publisher=Pacific Athletics|accessdate= October 22, 2013}}