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Napoleon McCallum

Date of birth:	October 6, 1963 (1963-10-06) (age 46)
Place of birth:	Jefferson City, Missouri , United States
Career information
Position(s):	Running back
Jersey №:	41
College:	Navy
NFL Draft:	1986 / Round: 4/ Pick 108
Organizations
As player:
1986, 1990-1994	Los Angeles Raiders
Playing stats at NFL.com
College Football Hall of Fame

Napoleon Ardel McCallum (born on October 6, 1963 in Jefferson City, Missouri) is a former professional American football running back who played for the Los Angeles Raiders in 1986 and from 1990 to 1994. McCallum went to Milford High School (Ohio) near Cincinnati, Ohio and played college football for the U.S. Naval Academy.

U.S. Naval Academy

McCallum attended the U.S. Naval Academy where he played football and was the star tailback, punt returner and kick returner. During his time at Navy, he was a two-time consensus All-American and set an NCAA record with 7,172 career all-purpose yards. He is also the career rushing leader at Navy with 4,179 yards.

McCallum was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2003.

At practice

McCallum was a computer science major at the USNA and in 1986 held 16 football records there.^[1]

Pro career

In 1986, McCallum played for the Los Angeles Raiders while splitting duty with the United States Navy before having to spend his 5-year commitment with the Navy. He rushed for his season-high NFL totals with 536 yards while splitting playing time with incumbent Marcus Allen.

After serving his duty with the Navy until 1990, McCallum rejoined the Raiders. His playing time was limited as he played special teams and as a short-yardage specialty back. In the 1993 playoffs, he rushed for 3 touchdowns in a wild-card victory over the Denver Broncos.

He was stationed onboard the USS Peleliu (LHA-5).

Injury

On September 5, 1994, during a Monday Night Football contest and the Raiders' opening game of the season at the San Francisco 49ers, McCallum's career ended prematurely when 49ers linebacker Ken Norton Jr. twisted him to the ground. McCallum's cleat stuck in the ground, forcing his knee into a horrible dislocation. Norton lay pinned underneath a motionless McCallum for a couple of minutes while trainers attended to McCallum.^[2]

McCallum suffered a complete hyperextension of his left knee, almost to a right angle. He suffered a ruptured artery in his left knee, and tore three ligaments, tore the calf and hamstring from the bone, and suffered nerve damage in the knee.

After football

McCallum moved to Henderson, Nevada in 1996 and started a computer graphics business. He is also an avid golfer ^[3][4].

References

1. ^ Hoffman, Phil. "Photograph caption on the Defense Visual Information Center web site". http://www.dodmedia.osd.mil/DVIC_View/Still_Details.cfm?SDAN=DNST8602357&JPGPath=/Assets/Still/1986/Navy/DN-ST-86-02357.JPG. Retrieved 2008-04-05.  
2. ^ Video footage of Napoleon McCallum's Injury
3. ^ Dewey, Todd. "Napoleon McCallum now takes to the links while living in Vegas". LasVegasGolf.com. http://www.lasvegasgolf.com/departments/features/napoleon-mccallum-golf.htm. Retrieved 10 December 2008.  
4. ^ Jacob, Matt (23 November 1997). "Former Raider lucky he still has two legs". Las Vegas Review-Journal. http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/1997/Nov-23-Sun-1997/sports/6475384.html. Retrieved 10 December 2008.