David Green (born September 7, 1953) is an American former professional

gridiron football Gridiron football,"Gridiron football"
''Encyclopædia Britannica''. Ret ...

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 ...

who played for both the

Montreal Alouettes The Montreal Alouettes (Canadian French, French: Les Alouettes de Montréal) are a professional Canadian football team based in Montreal, Quebec. Founded in 1946, the team has folded and been revived twice. The Alouettes compete in the Canadian F ...

and the

Hamilton Tiger-Cats The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are a professional Canadian football team based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. They are currently members of the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The Tiger-Cats play their home games at Tim Hortons Fiel ...

of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...

and the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference ( ...

of 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 ...

Early years

Born September 7, 1953 in

Jacksonville, North Carolina Jacksonville is a city in Onslow County, North Carolina, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 72,723, which makes Jacksonville the 14th-largest city in North Carolina. Jacksonville is the county seat and most populous commun ...

, he attended Richlands High School and Chowan Junior College (in

Murfreesboro, North Carolina Murfreesboro is a town in Hertford County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 2,835 at the 2010 census. The town is home to Chowan University. Geography Murfreesboro is located in northwestern Hertford County at (36.440983, -77.0 ...

). He played his university football at

Edinboro University PennWest Edinboro is a campus of Pennsylvania Western University, a multi-campus public university in Pennsylvania. Located in the town of Edinboro, the campus has more than 4,600 enrolled students. History Edinboro University was founded ...

Edinboro, Pennsylvania Edinboro is a borough (Pennsylvania), borough in Erie County, Pennsylvania, Erie County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is part of the Erie, Pennsylvania, Erie Metropolitan Statistical Area. As home to Edinboro University of Pennsylvania, it is a ...

. Playing in the

Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference The Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level. The conference was originally formed in 1951 as the State Teachers C ...

in 1975 and 1976, Green was named Honorable Mention All-American by the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...

and to the Conference all star team. In 19 games he had a career average 104 rushing yards per game at Edinboro. He was inducted into the Edinboro Hall of Fame on April 30, 1988.

Professional career

Green played with the

of the CFL for three seasons. He played 5 games in 1978, 16 games in 1979 and 14 games in 1980. He also played in two

Grey Cup The Grey Cup (french: Coupe Grey) is both the championship game of the Canadian Football League (CFL) and the trophy awarded to the victorious team playing in the namesake championship of professional Canadian football. The game is contested be ...

games: the

66th Grey Cup The 66th Grey Cup was played on November 26, 1978, before 54,695 fans at Exhibition Stadium at Toronto. The Edmonton Eskimos defeated the Montreal Alouettes in a close game, 20–13. Box Score First Quarter Edmonton - FG – Dave Cutler 37 ya ...

and

67th Grey Cup The 67th Grey Cup was played on November 25, 1979 before 65,113 fans at Olympic Stadium in Montreal. The Edmonton Eskimos defeated the Montreal Alouettes 17–9. Box Score First Quarter Edmonton - TD – Waddell Smith 43 yard pass from Tom Wilk ...

. His best year was 1979, when he rushed 287 times for 1,678 yards and he had nine 100 yard plus rushing games. His best day came on October 27, 1979, against the

Ottawa Rough Riders The Ottawa Rough Riders were a Canadian Football League team based in Ottawa, Ontario, founded in 1876. Formerly one of the oldest and longest-lived professional sports teams in North America, the Rough Riders won the Grey Cup championship nine ...

, when he rushed 29 times for 212 yards. He also scored 3 touchdowns against the

Toronto Argonauts The Toronto Argonauts (officially the Toronto Argonaut Football Club and colloquially known as the Argos) are a professional Canadian football team competing in the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), based in Toronto, Ontario ...

on October 22, 1979. He was the

CFL's Most Outstanding Player Award The Most Outstanding Player Award is annually awarded to the best player in the Canadian Football League. The two nominees for the award are the Terry Evanshen Trophy winner from the East Division, and the Jeff Nicklin Memorial Trophy winner from ...

and an All Canadian all star that season. He was an All East division all star in 1980. His best

game was the

against the

Edmonton Eskimos The Edmonton Elks are a professional Canadian football team based in Edmonton, Alberta. The club competes in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member of the league's West Division and plays their home games at the Brick Field at Commo ...

, when he led all players with 142 rushing yards (the third highest single game total) in a close loss. He won the

Grey Cup Most Valuable Player The Grey Cup's Most Valuable Player (MVP) award is awarded annually since 1959 to the player of the winning team who deemed to have had the best performance in the Grey Cup Game, the Canadian Football League's championship game. This award is prese ...

award for this performance. Following his all-star performance, he publicly announced his intention to bargain for a better Alouettes contract for the

1980 CFL season __NOTOC__ Year 198 (CXCVIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Sergius and Gallus (or, less frequently, year 951 ''Ab u ...

as his contract stated if he won the 1979 Most Outstanding Player Award, he could re-negotiate. In his dealings, he made public comments about seeking a million dollars, sought a trade with the

, and, in June 1980, even filed retirement papers to force the Alouettes hand, who stated Green would have to honour the original contract if a mutual agreement could not be reached. Finally, a deal was signed prior to the first regular season game. Prior to the

1981 CFL season The 1981 CFL season is considered to be the 28th season in modern-day Canadian football, although it is officially the 24th Canadian Football League season. CFL News in 1981 The Eastern and Western Football Conferences, which had carried on as ...

, new Alouettes owner

Nelson Skalbania Nelson Mathew Skalbania (born February 12, 1938) is an engineer and businessman from Vancouver, British Columbia who is best known for signing a then 17-year-old Wayne Gretzky to the Indianapolis Racers of the World Hockey Association, and for his ...

traded Green and Keith Baker to the

in exchange for the negotiating rights to

Vince Ferragamo Vince Anthony Ferragamo (born April 24, 1954) is an American former gridiron football player. He played professionally as a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) and the Canadian Football League (CFL). Early years Born in Torrance, ...

, which they held. Green was benched for the fourth quarter of a July game against the

Calgary Stampeders The Calgary Stampeders are a professional Canadian football team based in Calgary, Alberta. The Stampeders compete in the West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The club plays its home games at McMahon Stadium and are the third-old ...

after he insisted on taping up an injured ankle despite new head coach

Frank Kush Frank Joseph Kush (January 20, 1929 – June 22, 2017) was an American football player and coach. He served as the head coach at Arizona State University from 1958 to 1979, compiling a record of 176–54–1. Kush was also the head coach of the ...

's outlawing of the practice of taping ankles and shoes. In 1982, Green played for the

of 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 ...

, during the strike shortened season, returning a single kickoff for 13 yards.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Green, David 1953 births Living people People from Jacksonville, North Carolina Players of American football from North Carolina African-American players of American football African-American players of Canadian football American football running backs Canadian football running backs Chowan Hawks football players Edinboro Fighting Scots football players Montreal Alouettes players Hamilton Tiger-Cats players Cleveland Browns players Canadian Football League Most Outstanding Player Award winners 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American sportspeople