Mack Herron

{{Short description|American gridiron football player (1948–2015)}}

{{Infobox CFL biography

| name =

| image =

| alt =

| caption =

| birth_date = {{birth date|1948|7|24|mf=y}}

| birth_place = Biloxi, Mississippi, U.S.

| death_date = {{death date and age|2015|12|6|1948|7|24|mf=y}}

| death_place = Chicago, Illinois, U.S.

| team =

| number = 26, 42

| status =

| import = yes

| position1 = Running back

| height_ft = 5

| height_in = 5

| weight_lb = 170

| college = Kansas State

| NFLDraftedYear = 1970

| NFLDraftedRound = 6

| NFLDraftedPick = 143

| NFLDraftedTeam = Atlanta Falcons

| playing_years1 = {{CFL Year|1970}}–{{CFL Year|1972}}

| playing_team1 = Winnipeg Blue Bombers (CFL)

| playing_years2 = 1973–1975

| playing_team2 = New England Patriots

| playing_years3 = 1975

| playing_team3 = Atlanta Falcons

| career_highlights =

| CFLAllStar = {{CFL Year|1972}}

| CFLWestAllStar = {{CFL Year|1971}}, {{CFL Year|1972}}

| awards =

| DatabaseFootball = HERROMAC01

}}

Mack Willie Herron (July 24, 1948 – December 6, 2015) was an American professional football player who was a running back in the Canadian Football League (CFL) and National Football League (NFL) from 1970 to 1975. He played college football for the Kansas State Wildcats, finishing second in the nation in scoring during his senior season in 1969.MacCambridge, Michael (Ed.). ESPN College Football Encyclopedia: The Complete History of the Game, p. 1291. ESPN Books, 2005. {{ISBN|1-4013-3703-1}}.

History

Standing {{convert|5|ft|5+1/2|in|m|2|abbr=off}} and weighing in at {{convert|170|lb|1}}, Herron was selected by the Atlanta Falcons in the sixth round (143rd overall) of the 1970 NFL draft,NFL.com. [http://www.nfl.com/draft/history/fulldraft?teamId=0200&type=team "NFL Draft History: By Team"]. Retrieved on May 11, 2013. but joined the Canadian Football League out of college.{{citation needed|date = February 2017}}

In 1972, while playing for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, he won the Eddie James Memorial Trophy for being the leading rusher in the CFL's West Division. He led the league in all-purpose yards in both of his CFL seasons.{{citation needed|date = February 2017}} The Blue Bombers released him as a result of a drug arrest in May 1972.

Herron moved to the NFL in 1973, when he joined the New England Patriots. He later played for the Atlanta Falcons. In three seasons, he gained 1,298 rushing yards and scored 9 rushing touchdowns.Neft, David S. & Cohen, Richard M. The Football Encyclopedia: The Complete History of Professional NFL Football from 1892 to the Present. St. Martin's Press, 1991. {{ISBN|0-312-05089-5}}. He also caught 61 passes in his career for 789 yards and 6 touchdowns.Neft & Cohen, p. 694.

After leading the NFL in kickoff returns and kickoff return yardage in 1973, Herron's best season was 1974 with the Patriots, when he set the then-NFL recordNeft & Cohen, p. 576. for all-purpose yards with 2,444.Coleman, Jim. [https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1946&dat=19780712&id=n4Y1AAAAIBAJ&sjid=7aEFAAAAIBAJ&pg=1480,3002511 "Some demand flash, some a work-horse"]. Montreal Gazette, July 12, 1978, p. 55. Retrieved on May 11, 2013.{{cite news|title=Dolphins Rally, Topple Patriots|newspaper=Panama City News-Herald|page=1B|date=December 16, 1974|access-date=2020-03-26|via=newspapers.com|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/47391841/panama-city-news-herald/}} The Patriots released him midway through the following season, with coach Chuck Fairbanks claiming the release was the result of disappointment with Herron's performance that season and with a late night party Herron threw for teammate Leon Gray.{{cite news|title=Patriots Back Fired Because of a Party?|newspaper=The Afro American|date=November 22, 1975|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2211&dat=19751122&id=5yImAAAAIBAJ&sjid=Dv4FAAAAIBAJ&pg=4776,2286667|page=9|access-date=May 11, 2018}} He was then signed by the Falcons. He remains 16th all time in career punt return average and 86th in kickoff return average. In 2009, he was named by the Patriots Hall of Fame nomination committee to the Patriots All-Decade Team for the 1970s as a kick returner.{{cite web

| url = http://www.patriots.com/news/2009/03/31/patriots-all-decade-teams-announced

| title = Patriots All-Decade teams announced

| work = Patriots.com

| date = 2009-03-31

| access-date = 2016-04-25

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160921210609/http://www.patriots.com/news/2009/03/31/patriots-all-decade-teams-announced

| archive-date = 2016-09-21

| url-status = dead

}}

Herron, a devout Muslim who did not drink or smoke, was arrested some 20 times and served jail time, mainly on drug convictions, according to Chicago Police.Sinclair, Gordon. [http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/how-heroin-felled-a-hero-200996661.html "How heroin felled a hero"]. Winnipeg Free Press, April 2, 2013. Retrieved on May 11, 2013. He died on December 6, 2015, at the age of 67.{{cite news|last1=Healey|first1=Tim|title=Former Patriot Mack Herron dies at 67|url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/2015/12/07/former-patriot-mack-herron-dies/3PVpaRYd0aP4ogyZMSNYuI/story.html|access-date=December 12, 2015|work=Boston Globe|date=December 7, 2015}}

References

Category:1948 births

Category:2015 deaths

Category:American football running backs

Category:Canadian football running backs

Category:Atlanta Falcons players

Category:Farragut Career Academy alumni

Category:Hutchinson Blue Dragons football players

Category:Kansas State Wildcats football players

Category:New England Patriots players

Category:Winnipeg Blue Bombers players

Category:Sportspeople from Biloxi, Mississippi

Category:Players of American football from Mississippi

Category:African-American Muslims

Category:20th-century African-American sportsmen

Category:20th-century American sportsmen

Category:21st-century African-American sportsmen

Category:Muslims from Mississippi