Bruce Allan Laird (born May 23, 1950) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

player who was a

strong safety Safety is a position in gridiron football on the defense. The safeties are defensive backs who line up ten to fifteen yards from the line of scrimmage. There are two variations of the position: the free safety and the strong safety. Their dut ...

and return specialist in the National Football League (NFL) and United States Football League (USFL). He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

at American International College. Laird played in the NFL with the

Baltimore Colts The Baltimore Colts were a professional American football team that played in Baltimore from its founding in 1953 to 1984. The team now plays in Indianapolis, as the Indianapolis Colts. The team was named for Baltimore's history of horse breed ...

from 1972–1981, then for the

San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team that played in San Diego from 1961 until the end of the 2016 season, before relocating to Los Angeles, where the franchise had played its inaugural 1960 season. The team is now ...

for two seasons, before moving to the USFL after the 1983 season.Bruce Laird NFL Football Statistics - Pro-Football-Reference.com
/ref> Over his 12 year NFL career he started in 127 games, and played in a total of 164 games. The first half of his career, Laird was a special teams punt and kick returner. Although he never returned one for a touchdown, he accumulated 3,748 yards in 213 attempts, with a career long of 73 yards. His average punt return was 6.6 yards per attempt, and he averaged 24.7 yards per kick return attempt.

Early years

Bruce Allan Laird was born May 23, 1950 in Lowell, Massachusetts. He moved to the coast, and attended Scituate High School where he was a four-sports star.About Us , Fourth and Goal Unites

College years

Laird attended American International College, where he was an All-American his junior and senior years. He graduated with dual degrees in history and political science.

Later years

After Bruce's final season with the

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the major ...

, he played in the USFL for the

Arizona Wranglers The Arizona Wranglers were a professional American Football team in the United States Football League that, name-wise, existed from late 1982 to mid-1985. They played at Sun Devil Stadium on the campus of Arizona State University in Tempe, a su ...

and Arizona Outlaws. Once retired from the game, Laird remained active with the NFL, as a member of the Board of Directors of "Fourth & Goal", an independent organization for the benefit of retired NFL players. Laird currently works as a senior marketing executive for a medical practice, Multi-Specialty HealthCare, and resides in the Baltimore metropolitan area, with his second wife, Mary, and his three sons from his first wife. He has also been the NFL's uniform inspector for Baltimore Ravens home games at M&T Bank Stadium since 1998.Cowherd, Kevin. "Bruce Laird, Ravens' uniform officer, keeps players on their toes," ''The Baltimore Sun'', Monday, November 1, 2010.
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Laird, Bruce 1950 births Living people Sportspeople from Lowell, Massachusetts Players of American football from Middlesex County, Massachusetts American football safeties American International Yellow Jackets football players Baltimore Colts players San Diego Chargers players American Conference Pro Bowl players Arizona Wranglers players Arizona Outlaws players