Curtis Edward Warner (born March 18, 1961) 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

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offen ...

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). A two-time

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...

n at

Penn State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a public state-related land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsylvania. Founded in 1855 as the Farmers' High School of Pennsylvania, Penn State became ...

, Warner was drafted by the

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) West, which they rejoined in 2002 as ...

in the

first round First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and reco ...

of the

1983 NFL Draft The 1983 NFL Draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 26–27, 1983, at the New York She ...

. Warner was inducted into the

College Football Hall of Fame The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and interactive attraction devoted to college football. The National Football Foundation (NFF) founded the Hall in 1951 to immortalize the players and coaches of college football that were vote ...

on December 8, 2009. Warner was the

1983 The year 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to Internet protocol suite, TCP/IP is officially completed (this is consid ...

AFC Offensive Player of the Year in his rookie NFL season.

Penn State

Warner was a standout at Pineville High School in

Pineville, West Virginia Pineville is a town in and the county seat of Wyoming County, West Virginia, United States, situated along the Guyandotte River. The population was 648 at the 2020 census. History Pineville was settled by William Short in 1853. In 1863, Hiram ...

, graduating in a class of only 90 students. He would lead Penn State in rushing in 1980, 1981, and 1982, and help the

Nittany Lions The Penn State Nittany Lions are the athletic teams of Pennsylvania State University, except for the women's basketball team, known as the Lady Lions. The school colors are navy blue and white. The school mascot is the Nittany Lion. The interc ...

capture their first

national championship A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or competition, contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the be ...

in the

1983 Sugar Bowl The 1983 Sugar Bowl was the 49th edition of the college football bowl game, played at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana, on Saturday, January 1. Part of the 1982–83 bowl game season, it matched the undefeated and top-ranked ...

. When his collegiate career was over, he owned 42 Penn State records (his 3,398 career rushing yards is 3rd in school history, and his 18 100-yard rushing games remains a Penn State record). On October 30, 2010, Evan Royster surpassed Warner to take over the career rushing yards record. He was named an

n twice, in 1981 and 1982. Warner earned a Bachelor of Arts in speech communication from Penn State in 1983.

Statistics

Professional career

Warner was the third overall pick of the

1983 NFL draft The 1983 NFL Draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 26–27, 1983, at the New York She ...

, selected by the

. He followed future hall of famers

John Elway John Albert Elway Jr. (born June 28, 1960) is an American professional football executive and former quarterback who is the president of football operations for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League (NFL). Elway played college f ...

and

Eric Dickerson Eric Demetric Dickerson (born September 2, 1960) is an American former professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL) for 11 seasons. Dickerson played college football for the Mustangs of Southern Me ...

. Warner led the AFC in rushing yards his

rookie A rookie is a person new to an occupation, profession, or hobby. In sports, a ''rookie'' is a professional athlete in their first season (or year). In contrast with a veteran who has experience and expertise, a rookie is usually inexperienced ...

season in

, helping Seattle to its first Conference Championship game which they lost to the

Los Angeles Raiders The Los Angeles Raiders were a professional American football team that played in Los Angeles from 1982 to 1994 before relocating back to Oakland, California, where the team played from its inaugural 1960 season to the 1981 season and then agai ...

, the eventual league champion. The following year, Warner suffered a torn ACL in the 1984 season opener against

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

and was sidelined for the rest of the year. He came back in the

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...

and had a number of successful seasons before ending his career with the

Los Angeles Rams The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division. The Rams play ...

. Warner is a three-time

Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (starting in 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's star players. The format has changed thro ...

er (1983, 1986, 1987), and was inducted into the

Seattle Seahawks Ring of Honor The Seattle Seahawks Ring of Honor is a group of people honored for their contributions to the Seattle Seahawks, a professional football team in the National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American ...

in 1994.

After football

Warner owned Curt Warner Chevrolet in

Vancouver, Washington Vancouver is a city on the north bank of the Columbia River in the U.S. state of Washington, located in Clark County. Incorporated in 1857, Vancouver has a population of 190,915 as of the 2020 census, making it the fourth-largest city in Was ...

from 1999 until 2010. He is the current running backs coach at

Camas High School Camas High School is an American public high school located in Clark County, in the city of Camas, Washington. The principal is Kelly O'Rourke. It has a grade span of 9th through 12th, and contains a total of 2,063 students as of March 2018. It ...

Camas, Washington Camas is a city in Clark County, Washington, with a population of 26,065 at the 2020 census. The east side of town borders the city of Washougal, Washington, and the west side of town borders Vancouver, Washington. Camas lies along the Washing ...

and founder and president of the Curt Warner Autism Foundation. Warner and his wife Ana have three sons, Jonathan, twins Austin and Christian, and a daughter, Isabella. In 2018,

Little A Amazon Publishing (simply APub) is Amazon's book publishing unit launched in 2009. It is composed of 15 imprints including AmazonEncore, AmazonCrossing, Montlake Romance, Thomas & Mercer, 47North, and TOPPLE Books. Amazon publishes e-books vi ...

publishe
The Warner Boys: Our Family's Story of Autism and Hope
written by Curt Warner and Ana Warner with Dave Boling. The book explores Warner's family life, including how it has been impacted by having twin boys (Austin and Christian) severely impacted by autism.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Warner, Curt 1961 births Living people People from Pineville, West Virginia American football running backs Penn State Nittany Lions football players Seattle Seahawks players Los Angeles Rams players American Conference Pro Bowl players College Football Hall of Fame inductees Ed Block Courage Award recipients