Kamal Ali Salaam-El (born Reginald Harrison; January 9, 1951) is a former professional

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

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)#Offense ...

for four seasons in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL) for 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 of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. Founded in 1933 P ...

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 (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Centra ...

. In 2000, he changed his name to Kamal Ali Salaam-El in an effort to embrace his

Moorish The term Moor is an exonym used in European languages to designate the Muslim populations of North Africa (the Maghreb) and the Iberian Peninsula (particularly al-Andalus) during the Middle Ages. Moors are not a single, distinct or self-defi ...

heritage.

Career highlights

Harrison is best remembered for blocking Mitch Hoopes' punt in the fourth quarter against the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. T ...

Super Bowl X Super Bowl X was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Dallas Cowboys and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Pittsburgh Steelers to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for t ...

. The ball went through the back of the end zone for a safety, cutting the Cowboys' lead to 10–9. The Steelers went on to win 21–17. He is also well known for being the road roommate of Frenchy Fuqua during his career with the Steelers. The two remain close friends to this day. Harrison was one of the Steelers' two healthy running backs (along with Fuqua) when the team met the Oakland Raiders in the 1976 AFC Championship game. He ran for 44 yards and a touchdown as the Steelers lost to the Raiders 24–7. Harrison grew up in Arlington, Virginia, where he starred as a running back for Washington-Lee High School. In the final traditional "Old Oaken Bucket" game against Alexandria, Virginia rival George Washington High School, he scored six touchdowns. Graduating in 1969, he played at the University of Cincinnati before being drafted by the NFL in 1974.

References

Pittsburgh Post Gazette, October 29, 2013, "'Their Life's Work': The game's impact on the 1970s Steelers' bodies and brains" Falls Church News-Press, Aug. 29, 2012, "Our Man in Arlington", column by Charlie Clark. 1951 births Living people Players of American football from Virginia Sportspeople from Somerville, New Jersey Players of American football from Somerset County, New Jersey American football running backs Cincinnati Bearcats football players Pittsburgh Steelers players St. Louis Cardinals (football) players 20th-century American sportsmen {{runningback-1950s-stub