Joseph Wilson (born August 11, 1950) is a former professional

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 ...

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 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) for two seasons. He played college football at Holy Cross.

College career

Wilson was a three year starter at running back for the

Holy Cross Crusaders The Holy Cross Crusaders are the athletic teams representing the College of the Holy Cross. They primarily compete in NCAA Division I as members of the Patriot League. In ice hockey, a sport not sponsored by the Patriot League for either sex, th ...

. He left the school as the school's record holder for most rushing yards in a game (274), a single season (973) and for a career (2,350). Wilson became the youngest male athlete and the first African-American athlete to be inducted into the Holy Cross Athletic Hall of Fame in 1978.

Professional career

Wilson was selected in the eighth round of the 1973 NFL Draft by the

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The c ...

. He played in 13 games with the team as a rookie, rushing for 39 yards on ten carries and returning eight kickoffs for 173 yards. He was cut by the Bengals before the 1974 season and signed by the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...

. He played in 12 games for the team, rushing 15 times for 57 yards and catching three passes for 38 yards.

References

1950 births American football running backs Holy Cross Crusaders football players Cincinnati Bengals players Players of American football from Massachusetts People from Jamaica Plain New England Patriots players Living people {{Runningback-1950s-stub