Benjamin Prince "Bennie" McRae (December 8, 1939November 22, 2012) was an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

player. A native of Newport News, Virginia, McRae played college football as a halfback at the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

from 1959 to 1961 and professional football, principally as a

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover Wide receiver, receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such Play from scrimmage, offensive running plays as sweep ...

, for 10 seasons in the

National Football League 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 ...

(NFL) with the Chicago Bears (1962–1970) and New York Giants (1971).

Early years

McRae was born in

Aberdeen, North Carolina Aberdeen is a town in Moore County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 6,350 at the 2010 census. History Scottish emigrants were the first Europeans to settle the area beginning in 1745. They were drawn to the area by bountiful ...

, in 1939. He attended

Collis P. Huntington High School Collis P. Huntington High School, commonly referred to as just Huntington High School (opened in 1927) was a black high school located in the East End (Newport News, Virginia), East End section of Newport News, Virginia, US, during the era of raci ...

in Newport News, Virginia.

University of Michigan

McRae enrolled at the

in 1958 and played college football at the halfback position for head coach

Bump Elliott Chalmers William "Bump" Elliott (January 30, 1925 – December 7, 2019) was an American football player, coach, and college athletics administrator. He played halfback at Purdue University (1943–1944) and the University of Michigan (1946–19 ...

's Michigan Wolverines football teams from 1959 to 1961. In November 1961, McRae demonstrated his versatility, scoring three touchdowns—on a five-yard run, a 15-yard reception, and a 34-yard interception return—in a 28–14 victory over Duke. In three years at Michigan, he rushed for 1,037 yards on 231 carries for an average of 4.5 yards per carry. He also had 411 receiving yards, 465 yards on 24 kickoff returns and 171 yards on 29 punt returns. McRae was also a star track athlete at Michigan, competing in both the high and low hurdles. He won four

Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...

hurdle championships and was ranked as one of the top 10 hurdlers in the world in 1961 by ''Track and Field News''. He was inducted into the

University of Michigan Athletic Hall of Honor The University of Michigan Athletic Hall of Honor, founded in 1978, recognizes University of Michigan athletes, coaches, and administrators who have made significant contributions to the university's athletic programs.

in 2002.

Professional football

McRae was selected by the Chicago Bears in the second round (21st overall pick) of the

1962 NFL Draft The 1962 National Football League draft was held on December 4, 1961 at the Sheraton Hotel in Chicago, Illinois. The Washington Redskins used the first overall pick of the draft to select running back Ernie Davis, then subsequently traded him ...

. He signed with the Bears in June 1962, and went on to play nine seasons for the Bears from 1962 to 1970, principally at the

position. In October 1966, McRae was named the NFL's Defensive Player of the Week after intercepting two Johnny Unitas passes and knocking down several others to lead the Bears to an upset victory over the Baltimore Colts. One of his interceptions was made seven yards into the end zone and was followed by a 53-yard runback. In nine seasons with the Bears, McRae had 27 interceptions, including six during the

1963 NFL season The 1963 NFL season was the 44th regular season of the National Football League. On April 17, NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle suspended Green Bay Packers running back Paul Hornung and Detroit Lions defensive tackle Alex Karras indefinitely fo ...

. He also held the Bears' franchise record with four interceptions returned for touchdowns. In September 1971, the Bears traded McRae and

Bob Hyland Robert Joseph Hyland (born July 21, 1945) is a former American football guard who played eleven seasons in the National Football League (NFL) for the Green Bay Packers, Chicago Bears, New York Giants, and the New England Patriots. He played coll ...

to the New York Giants in exchange for the Giants' No. 1 pick in the

1972 NFL Draft The 1972 NFL draft was held February 1–2, 1972, at the Essex House in New York City, New York. With the first overall pick of the draft, the Buffalo Bills selected defensive end Walt Patulski. Player selections Round one Round two ...

. McRae appeared in eight games for the Giants during the 1971 NFL season.

Later years

After retiring from football, McRae went into the construction business as the proprietor of McRae Construction Co. in Newport News. In 1973, he left the contracting business to focus on developing plans for housing projects. McRae was married, and he and his wife, Suzanne, had seven children. McRae died in 2012 due to an illness at age 72.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McRae, Bennie 1939 births 2012 deaths American football cornerbacks Chicago Bears players Michigan Wolverines football players Michigan Wolverines men's track and field athletes New York Giants players Players of American football from Virginia Sportspeople from Newport News, Virginia Track and field athletes from Virginia

Early years

University of Michigan

Professional football

Later years

See also

References