Kirby David Dar Dar (born March 27, 1972) is a retired

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

professional football wide receiver. He played college football at Syracuse as 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 handoffs from the quarterback to rush the ball, to line up as a receiver to catch the ball, and block. Ther ...

. He was signed by the

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of the

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(NFL) as an undrafted

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free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

in 1995. He also played for the

New York/New Jersey Hitmen The New York/New Jersey Hitmen were an American football team based in East Rutherford, New Jersey. The Hitmen were the members of the Eastern Division of the XFL (2001), XFL. The team played their home games in Giants Stadium of the Meadowlands ...

of the

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in 2001. Dar Dar currently resides in Syracuse, New York and was the

head coach A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manager", as in assoc ...

of the short-lived Syracuse Soldiers of the

American Indoor Football Association American Indoor Football (AIF) was a professional indoor football league, one of the several regional professional indoor football leagues in North America. The AIFL began as a regional league with six franchises on the East Coast of the United ...

(AIFL) in 2006.

Early years

Kirby David Dar Dar was born on March 27, 1972, the son of Kirby David Dar Dar, Sr.. He attended Thomas Jefferson High School in

Tampa, Florida Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and ...

where he played

high school football High school football (french: football au lycée) is gridiron football played by high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both countries, but its popularity is declining, part ...

and participated in track. On the football team, he was a three time

letterman Letterman may refer to: * Letterman (sports), a classification of high school or college athlete in the United States People * David Letterman (born 1947), American television talk show host ** ''Late Night with David Letterman'', talk show that ...

, as well as a

team captain In team sport, captain is a title given to a member of the team. The title is frequently honorary, but in some cases the captain may have significant responsibility for strategy and teamwork while the game is in progress on the field. In eithe ...

during his senior year. As a senior

, he was named Hillsborough County Player-of-the-Year after rushing for over 1,700 yards and 17

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone. In Amer ...

s. He was also a two-time All-Sun Coast and three time All-conference selection.

College career

Dar Dar then attended Syracuse University where he

majored An academic major is the academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits. A student who successfully completes all courses required for the major qualifies for an undergraduate degree. The word ''major'' (also called ''conce ...

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

and was a four-year letterman at running back. He

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as a true freshman. As a redshirt freshman, he appeared in every game, he returned a kickoff 95-yards for a touchdown against

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

. As a sophomore, he recorded a 100-yard touchdown on a reverse on a kickoff against

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in the

Fiesta Bowl The Fiesta Bowl is an American college football bowl game played annually in the Phoenix metropolitan area. From its beginning in 1971 until 2006, the game was hosted at the Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona. Since 2007, the game has been pla ...

. As a senior, he recorded 188 carries for 853 yards and 10 touchdowns. He recorded a career-high 159 yards again

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

. For his career, Dar Dar recorded 292 carries for 1,337 yards and 11 touchdowns, as well as 27 receptions for 266 yards and three touchdowns.

Professional career

After going unselected in the 1995 NFL draft, Dar Dar was signed as a

by the

. As a in

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The Great Hanshin earthquake str ...

, he spent the first 15 weeks of the season on the Dolphins' practice squad, appearing in the season finale, returning one kickoff for 22 yards. He appeared in 11 games in 1996 returning seven kickoffs for 132 yards. In

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; '' Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of ...

, he suffered a torn

anterior cruciate ligament The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is one of a pair of cruciate ligament Cruciate ligaments (also cruciform ligaments) are pairs of ligaments arranged like a letter X. They occur in several joints of the body, such as the knee joint and th ...

(ACL) in his right knee, during a scrimmage before the season, and spent the entire season on injured reserve. In

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...

, he returned and appeared in two games. After struggling during the off season and pre-season at wide receiver, he was

waived A waiver is the voluntary relinquishment or surrender of some known right or privilege. Regulatory agencies of state departments or the federal government may issue waivers to exempt companies from certain regulations. For example, a United St ...

on October 1, 1998 to make room for

Horace Copeland Horace Cornellius Copeland (born January 2, 1971) is a former professional American football player who played wide receiver for seven seasons for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Miami Dolphins and Oakland Raiders. Copeland was drafted in the 4th ro ...

. He was signed by 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 ...

in August, 1999. He was released less than a month later. He returned to Kansas City in 2000, spending the pre-season with the Chiefs. In 2001, he was signed as free agent by the

of the

. For the season, he recorded 22 receptions for 405 yards and two touchdowns. He also returned 22 kickoffs for 485 yards, as well as 26 punts for 287 yards.

Career statistics

Coaching career

In 2006, Dar Dar served as the

of the Syracuse Soldiers of the

(AIFL). The team finished with a 1-10 record, and ceased operations after only one season.

References

External links

Phins report on Kirby Dar Dar
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dar Dar, Kirby 1972 births Living people African-American players of American football Players of American football from Louisiana People from Morgan City, Louisiana Thomas Jefferson High School (Tampa, Florida) alumni Syracuse Orange football players Miami Dolphins players Kansas City Chiefs players New York/New Jersey Hitmen players 21st-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century African-American sportspeople