Lydell Douglas Mitchell (born May 30, 1949) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL) with the

Baltimore Colts The Baltimore Colts were a professional American football team that played in Baltimore from its founding in 1953 to 1984. The team now plays in Indianapolis, as the Indianapolis Colts. The team was named for Baltimore's history of horse breed ...

San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team that played in San Diego from 1961 until the end of the 2016 season, before relocating to Los Angeles, where the franchise had played its inaugural 1960 season. The team is now ...

and

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

from 1972 to 1980.

Football

Mitchell played high school football at Salem High School in New Jersey. He was taken in the

second round The second (symbol: s) is the unit of time in the International System of Units (SI), historically defined as of a day – this factor derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes and finally to 60 seconds e ...

of the

1972 NFL Draft The 1972 NFL draft was held February 1–2, 1972, at the Essex House in New York City, New York. With the first overall pick of the draft, the Buffalo Bills selected defensive end Walt Patulski. Player selections Round one Round two ...

out of

Penn State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a public state-related land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsylvania. Founded in 1855 as the Farmers' High School of Pennsylvania, Penn State became ...

by the Colts (48th overall). Mitchell was a teammate of

Hall of Fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...

running back Franco Harris of the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...

while at Penn State, and many actually thought the Steelers were going to draft Mitchell instead of Harris before the draft. He was inducted into the

College Football Hall of Fame The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and interactive attraction devoted to college football. The National Football Foundation (NFF) founded the Hall in 1951 to immortalize the players and coaches of college football that were vote ...

in 2004. Mitchell established himself in the mid-1970s as one of the best all-around running backs in 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 ...

. Mitchell, along with teammate Bert Jones, propelled the

to three consecutive

AFC East The American Football Conference – Eastern Division or AFC East is one of the four Division (sport), divisions of the American Football Conference (AFC) in the National Football League (NFL). There are currently four teams that reside in the d ...

Division titles, unseating a powerhouse Miami Dolphins team that had topped the division for four straight years (1971–74). Mitchell topped the 1,000-yard rushing plateau in three consecutive seasons (1975–77) earning Pro Bowl honors each year. In addition to his rushing exploits, he twice led the NFL in pass receptions, in 1974 and 1977. Mitchell was named 2nd Team All-Pro in 1976 and 1977 as well as being named 2nd Team All-AFC following the 1975 campaign. Mitchell was traded from the Colts to the Chargers for

Joe Washington Joe Dan Washington Jr (born September 24, 1953) is a former American football running back in the National Football League (NFL) for the San Diego Chargers, Baltimore Colts, Washington Redskins, and Atlanta Falcons. Early career Washington gradua ...

and a

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...

fifth-round selection (131st overall–traded to

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 ...

for Greg Landry) on August 23, 1978. The transaction was the result of Mitchell's acrimonious contract dispute with Colts management in which he accused team owner Robert Irsay of bad faith bargaining and racial discrimination. Mitchell turned in a solid season in 1978 with the Dan Fouts-led Chargers and finished his career in 1980 appearing in two games with the

Personal life

Mitchell earned a Bachelor of Science in secondary education from

in 1972. He lives in

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 30th most populous city in the United States with a population of 585,708 in 2020. Baltimore was d ...

, where he and his Nittany Lion teammate Franco Harris owned Super Bakery, a company that produces nutrition-oriented foods for schoolchildren. He and Harris also partnered to rescue the Parks Sausage Company in Baltimore, the first African-American owned business in the U.S. to go public. Mitchell is also active in lecturing students on the dangers of drug and alcohol abuse. Mitchell is a member of the

Omega Psi Phi Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. () is a historically African-American fraternity. The fraternity was founded on November 17, 1911, by three Howard University juniors Edgar Amos Love, Oscar James Cooper and Frank Coleman, and their faculty advi ...

fraternity.

References

External links

Super Bakery, Inc.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mitchell, Lydell 1949 births Living people American businesspeople American football running backs Baltimore Colts players Los Angeles Rams players Penn State Nittany Lions football players San Diego Chargers players American Conference Pro Bowl players College Football Hall of Fame inductees People from Salem, New Jersey Players of American football from New Jersey African-American players of American football Salem High School (New Jersey) alumni 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American sportspeople

Football

Personal life

See also

References

External links