Darrell L. Harper (June 18, 1938 – January 19, 2008) 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 with ...

player. He played at the halfback position for 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 1957 to 1959 and for the

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. ...

in the

1960 AFL season The 1960 American Football League season was the inaugural regular season of the AFL. It consisted of 8 franchises split into two divisions: the East Division (Buffalo Bills, Houston Oilers, Titans of New York, Boston Patriots) and the West Div ...

. On September 11, 1960, Harper scored the first official points in the history of the Bills. He also made the Bills' first

kickoff Kickoff or kick-off may refer to * Kick-off (association football) * Kickoff (gridiron football) * ''Kick Off'' (series), a series of computer association football games * ''Kick Off'' (album), a 1985 album by Onyanko Club * ''Kick Off'' (magaz ...

, first

field goal A field goal (FG) is a means of scoring in gridiron football. To score a field goal, the team in possession of the ball must place kick, or drop kick, the ball through the goal, i.e., between the uprights and over the crossbar. The entire ba ...

and first

extra point The conversion, try (American football, also known as a point(s) after touchdown, PAT, or (depending on the number of points) extra point/2-point conversion), or convert (Canadian football) occurs immediately after a touchdown during which the sc ...

kick.

University of Michigan

Harper attended high school in

Royal Oak, Michigan Royal Oak is a city in Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. An inner-ring suburb of Detroit, Royal Oak is about north of Detroit's city limits. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 57,236. Royal Oak is located along th ...

, before enrolling at the

in 1956. He played football for the

Michigan Wolverines football The Michigan Wolverines football team represents the University of Michigan in college football at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision level. Michigan has the most all-time wins in college football history. The team is known for its ...

team from 1957 to 1959. As a junior, Harper appeared in 7 of 9 games for the

1958 Michigan Wolverines football team The 1958 Michigan Wolverines football team represented the University of Michigan in the 1958 Big Ten Conference football season. In its 11th and final year under head coach Bennie Oosterbaan, Michigan compiled a 2–6–1 record (1–5–1 again ...

, three of them as the starting left halfback. He was Michigan's leading

rush Rush(es) may refer to: Places United States * Rush, Colorado * Rush, Kentucky * Rush, New York * Rush City, Minnesota * Rush Creek (Kishwaukee River tributary), Illinois * Rush Creek (Marin County, California), a stream * Rush Creek (Mono Cou ...

er in 1958, totaling 309 rushing yards, 137 receiving yards, 131 passing yards, 60 kickoff return yards and 33 punt return yards. Playing against

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

in October 1958, Harper ran 58 yards for the game-winning touchdown on the first play of the second half. Harper also handled punting duties for Michigan; he had a 61-yard punt against

Michigan State Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the first of its kind in the United States. It i ...

in October 1958. As a senior, Harper started all nine games at the left halfback position for the

1959 Michigan Wolverines football team The 1959 Michigan Wolverines football team was an American football team that represented the University of Michigan in the 1959 Big Ten Conference football season. In its first year under head coach Bump Elliott, Michigan compiled a 4–5 recor ...

. In the third quarter of the October 1959 game against Minnesota, Harper caught a punt at Michigan's 17-yard line and returned it 83 yards for the game's first points. The return set the Michigan record for the longest punt return, a record which stood until 1972 when David Brown returned a punt 88 yards. During the 1959 season, Harper rushed for 224 yards and also contributed 101 yards on punt returns and 62 yards on kickoff returns.

Buffalo Bills

Harper was selected by the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at Ford ...

in the 15th round (171st overall pick) of the

1960 NFL Draft The 1960 National Football League Draft in which NFL teams take turns selecting amateur college American football players and other first-time eligible players, was held at the Warwick Hotel in Philadelphia on November 30, 1959. Many players, in ...

. He signed instead with the

in the newly formed

American Football League The American Football League (AFL) was a major professional American football league that operated for ten seasons from 1960 until 1970, when it merged with the older National Football League (NFL), and became the American Football Conference. ...

. Harper played as a halfback and

placekicker Placekicker, or simply kicker (PK or K), is the player in gridiron football who is responsible for the kicking duties of field goals and extra points. In many cases, the placekicker also serves as the team's kickoff specialist or punter. Spe ...

for the 1960 Buffalo Bills and led the AFL with 10 extra points. At 2:08 p.m. on Sunday, September 11, 1960, Harper made the opening kickoff in the first regular-season game in the history of the

. He also scored "the first official points" in Bills' history (and the first points in the game) on a field goal from the 35-yard line. After taking a 3-0 lead on Harper's field goal, Buffalo did not score again and lost by a score of 27-3 to the New York Titans. In the Bill's second game (and home opener) on September 18, 1960, Harper successfully converted the Bills' first extra point kick after

Wray Carlton Linwood Wray Carlton (born June 18, 1937) is a former American gridiron football running back who played professionally in both Canada and the United States. Unable to come to terms with the Philadelphia Eagles, who had selected him in the 19 ...

ran for the team's first touchdown. Playing against the

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

on October 2, 1960, Harper kicked the second field goal in team history.

Later years and death

After finishing his career as a football player, Harper worked as a teacher and high school football coach for many years in

Highland Township, Michigan Highland Township is the name of some places in the U.S. state of Michigan: * Highland Township, Oakland County, Michigan * Highland Township, Osceola County, Michigan Highland Township is a civil township of Osceola County in the U.S. state of ...

. He also coached at

Walled Lake Central High School Walled Lake Central High School is a public high school of the Walled Lake Consolidated Schools, located in Commerce Township, Michigan in Metro Detroit. It serves portions of the township, Wolverine Lake, a small portion of the City of Walle ...

. Harper died in January 2008 at age 69. He died of complications of multiple

myeloma Multiple myeloma (MM), also known as plasma cell myeloma and simply myeloma, is a cancer of plasma cells, a type of white blood cell that normally produces antibodies. Often, no symptoms are noticed initially. As it progresses, bone pain, anemi ...

Huron Valley-Sinai Hospital DMC Huron Valley-Sinai Hospital, in Commerce Township, Michigan, is one of the eight hospitals/institutes composing the Detroit Medical Center. Huron-Valley-Sinai contains the Harris Birthing Center, a regional specialty center, the Charach Cancer ...

Commerce Township, Michigan Commerce Township, officially the Charter Township of Commerce, is a charter township of Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 40,186 at the 2010 census. As a western suburb of Metro Detroit, Commerce Township is about ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Harper, Darrell 1938 births 2008 deaths 20th-century American educators American football halfbacks American football placekickers Buffalo Bills players Michigan Wolverines football players High school football coaches in Michigan Sportspeople from Royal Oak, Michigan Players of American football from Michigan Deaths from multiple myeloma Deaths from cancer in Michigan People from Highland, Oakland County, Michigan Schoolteachers from Michigan