Perry Donell Harrington (born March 13, 1958 in

Bentonia, Mississippi Bentonia is a town in Yazoo County, Mississippi, United States. The population as of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census was 319. The Bentonia School of blues singing and guitar-playing is named for Bentonia. History Bentonia began as a ...

) is a former

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 ...

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 ...

for the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team plays ...

and

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals hav ...

from

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning System time epoch begins at 00:00 UTC. * January 9 – ...

–

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...

. He was drafted by the Eagles in the second round of the

1980 NFL Draft The 1980 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 29–30, 1980, at the New York She ...

. He 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 ...

Jackson State Jackson State University (Jackson State or JSU) is a public historically black research university in Jackson, Mississippi. It is one of the largest HBCUs in the United States and the fourth largest university in Mississippi in terms of studen ...

College career

Harrington played

, where he rushed for 2,132 yards and 26 touchdowns.

Professional career

Philadelphia Eagles

Harrington was drafted by the

in the second round of the

. In his rookie season, he suffered hamstring and thigh injuries and was limited in games. He started in only one game, playing in all but two. In 1981, head coach

Dick Vermeil Richard Albert Vermeil (; born October 30, 1936) is a former American football coach who served as a head coach in the National Football League (NFL) for 15 seasons. He was the head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles for seven seasons, the St. Lou ...

expected Harrington to compete for the starting fullback position and occasionally play halfback. However, Harrington broke his leg in the fourth game of the season after starting in every game of the season. In 1982, Harrington again was expected to compete for the starting fullback job with

Hubie Oliver Hubie Oliver (born November 12, 1957, in Elyria, Ohio) is a former American football running back in the National Football League. He was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in the 10th round of the 1981 NFL Draft. He played college football at Ari ...

and Leroy Harris. He started in eight games in 1982, playing in nine. He asked for a trade during the 1983 season after starting in only one game the entire season.

Cleveland Browns

Harrington was traded to 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 ( ...

on July 23, 1984 for a conditional draft pick in 1985, but was quickly released in the preseason, nullifying the trade. On September 21, 1984, Harrington was given a tryout for the

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team pla ...

, who needed to replace injured running back

Andra Franklin Andra Bernard Franklin (August 22, 1959 – December 6, 2006) was an American football player, a running back in the National Football League (NFL) from 1981 NFL season, 1981 to 1984 NFL season, 1984 for the Miami Dolphins. Franklin played Co ...

St. Louis Cardinals

Harrington was signed by the

in November 1984. He suffered a knee injury during the 1985 season and was placed on

injured reserve The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in th ...

on November 20, 1985.

References

External links

"Harrington Is Unharried"
from ''

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence twic ...

'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Harrington, Perry 1958 births Living people American football running backs Jackson State Tigers football players Jackson State University alumni Philadelphia Eagles players Cleveland Browns players St. Louis Cardinals (football) players People from Bentonia, Mississippi