Gilbert Renfroe (born February 18, 1963) is an American former
quarterback
The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...
.
Early career
Renfroe 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
Tennessee State University
Tennessee State University (Tennessee State, Tenn State, or TSU) is a public historically black land-grant university in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1912, it is the only state-funded historically black university in Tenness ...
from 1982 to 1985. With the
Tennessee State Tigers
The Tennessee State Tigers and Lady Tigers are the intercollegiate athletic teams of Tennessee State University (TSU), located in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. The Tigers athletic program is a member of the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) and ...
, he finished fourth all-time in total offensive yards and passing yards. After going undrafted and unsigned by 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 ...
, he signed in 1986 with 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 ...
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 ...
. he was traded to the Toronto Argonauts for the 1987 season, where he split the Argos starting job with fellow rookie
John Congemi
John Congemi is a former Canadian Football League quarterback and current college football analyst for ESPN.
Congemi played quarterback for the University of Pittsburgh Panthers football team during 1982–1986. He finished second all time in ...
. The Argonauts finished 11–6–1 and played in the
75th Grey Cup
The 75th Grey Cup was the 1987 Canadian Football League championship game that was played at BC Place Stadium in Vancouver, between the Edmonton Eskimos and the Toronto Argonauts. The Eskimos defeated the Argonauts 38–36, on Jerry Kauric's last ...
. Renfroe started the game and threw two touchdowns, including a 61-yard pass to
Gil Fenerty
Lawrence Gill Fenerty, aka "Gill the Thrill", (born August 24, 1963) is a former running back in the Canadian Football League, National Football League, and the Italian Football League.
Fenerty graduated from Jesuit High School (New Orleans) an ...
. He was injured in the third quarter and left the game with the Argonauts trailing 35–29. Backup
Danny Barrett rushed for the go ahead touchdown with 2:36 left in the game, but the Argos missed the two-point conversion. 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 ...
would go on win the game 38–36 on a
Jerry Kauric
Jerry Kauric (born June 28, 1963 in Windsor, Ontario) is a former placekicker who played in the National Football League and Canadian Football League in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Kauric played his early days in the Canadian Junior Football ...
field goal. He spent most of the season on the bench during the
1988
File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Australian ...
as the Argonauts started John Congemi. Congemi won the starting job in the
1989
File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress Street Viaduct, Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxo ...
season, but was injured in mid-September and Renfroe was once again the Argos' starter.
NFL career
Renfroe moved to the
NFL for the
1990 season. He was signed by the
Atlanta Falcons
The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The Falcons joined th ...
on February 28, 1990. He did not make the final roster and was cut on the final day of the preseason. He was re-signed eight days later when
Hugh Millen
Hugh Breedlove Millen (born November 22, 1963) is a former professional football quarterback in the National Football League for the Los Angeles Rams, Atlanta Falcons, New England Patriots, Dallas Cowboys and Denver Broncos. He played college foo ...
was granted his request for a release after falling all the way to the third spot on the depth chart. Renfroe practiced three times with the Falcons and saw some action on special teams in a 21–14 loss to 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 ...
before being waived on September 18 for the second time in a week and the third time in 17 days. On September 26 he was signed by the
Minnesota Vikings
The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansion ...
after starting quarterback
Wade Wilson was sidelined after thumb surgery. Renfroe was the Vikings first ever black quarterback. He was cut by the Vikings on November 21 when Wilson returned from injury. He returned to the Falcons the following season
DEALS – New York Times
/ref> but was cut after Billy Joe Tolliver
Billy Joe Tolliver (born February 7, 1966) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) and Canadian Football League (CFL) for twelve seasons with the San Diego Chargers, Atlanta ...
was traded to the Falcons to take the final spot behind Chris Miller and Brett Favre
Brett Lorenzo Favre ( ; born October 10, 1969) is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 20 seasons, primarily with the Green Bay Packers. Favre had 321 consecutive starts from 1992 to 20 ...
. After being cut by the Falcons, he played nine games for 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 ...
.
He was charged with DUI in May 1992. He had previously been charged less than a year earlier.
Post NFL career
After a failed tryout with the Kansas City Chiefs
The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division.
The tea ...
, Renfroe signed with the Detroit Drive
The Massachusetts Marauders were a professional arena football team that was based in Worcester, Massachusetts. They were a member of the Arena Football League (AFL) from 1988 to 1994. The team was established in Detroit in 1988, as the Detroit D ...
of the Arena Football League
The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 season, making it the third longest-running professional football league in ...
. In his first AFL season, he completed 103 of 194 passes for 1,417 yards, 24 touchdowns, an 8 interceptions. He led the Drive to a 56–38 romp over the Orlando Predators in ArenaBowl VI
ArenaBowl '92 (or ArenaBowl VI) was the Arena Football League's sixth Arena Bowl. The game featured the #2 Detroit Drive (8–2) against the #1 Orlando Predators (9–1). Earlier in the regular season, these two teams met with the Predators winning ...
. He completed 17 of 26 passes for 229 yards with four touchdowns and no interceptions. His 65.8% completion rate was an ArenaBowl record.
He had similar success the following year, completing 184 of 344 passes for 2,635 yards, 34 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. The Drive finished 11-1 and once again made the ArenaBowl VII
ArenaBowl '93 (or ArenaBowl VII) was the Arena Football League's seventh Arena Bowl. The game featured the number 3 Tampa Bay Storm (9–3) of the National Conference against the number 1 Detroit Drive (11–1) of the American Conference. The Storm ...
, however they were defeated by the Tampa Bay Storm
The Tampa Bay Storm were a professional arena football team based in Tampa, Florida, US. It played in the Arena Football League (AFL). Originally the team was located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and operated as the Pittsburgh Gladiators. The f ...
, 51–31.
He returned to the CFL in 1994
File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which Sinking of the MS Estonia, sank in ...
, signing with the expansion
Expansion may refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media
* ''L'Expansion'', a French monthly business magazine
* ''Expansion'' (album), by American jazz pianist Dave Burrell, released in 2004
* ''Expansions'' (McCoy Tyner album), 1970
* ''Expansio ...
Shreveport Pirates
The Shreveport Pirates were a Canadian Football League team, playing at Independence Stadium in Shreveport, Louisiana, United States, in 1994 and 1995. Despite a relatively strong fan base, they were one of the least successful of the CFL's A ...
. He was cut before the start of the season.
References
External links
Just Sports Stats
{{DEFAULTSORT:Renfroe, Gilbert
1963 births
Living people
American football quarterbacks
Canadian football quarterbacks
Atlanta Falcons players
BC Lions players
Calgary Stampeders players
Detroit Drive players
Minnesota Vikings players
Shreveport Pirates players
Tennessee State Tigers football players
Toronto Argonauts players
Sportspeople from Tuskegee, Alabama
African-American players of American football
African-American players of Canadian football
20th-century African-American sportspeople
21st-century African-American sportspeople