Walter Augustus Abercrombie (born September 26, 1959) 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 ...

and

kick returner A return specialist or kick returner is a player on the special teams unit of a gridiron football team who specializes in returning punts and kickoffs. There are few players who are exclusively return specialists; most also play another position ...

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 ...

. He was selected in first round (12th overall) of the

1982 NFL Draft The 1982 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 27–28, 1982, at the New York She ...

by 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 ...

after playing

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 ...

for Baylor. Abercrombie was born and raised in Waco, Texas and was a standout running back at Waco University High School before moving down the street to Baylor University. As a standout running back for Baylor during the

Grant Teaff Grant Garland Teaff (; born November 12, 1933) is a former American football player and coach. He served as the head coach at McMurry University (1960–1965), Angelo State University (1969–1971), and Baylor University (1972–1992), compiling ...

era, Walter Abercrombie would leave a legacy unmatched by future Bears. As a two-time consensus All-Southwest Conference selection and the school's all-time leading rusher, Abercrombie would lead Baylor to a 26-15 record on the field during his standout career that stretched from 1978-81. During his first collegiate game in 1978 against No. 12 Texas A&M, Abercrombie set the standard for what was to be expected by rushing for 207 yards, establishing an NCAA record for rushing yards in a first contest. He went on to earn 1978

Southwest Conference The Southwest Conference (SWC) was an NCAA Division I college athletic conference in the United States that existed from 1914 to 1996. Composed primarily of schools from Texas, at various times the conference included schools from Oklahoma an ...

freshman of the year honors, despite playing in just six games. During his career, he would lead Baylor to the 1979

Peach Bowl The Peach Bowl is an annual college football bowl game played in Atlanta, Georgia since December 1968. Since 1997, it has been sponsored by Chick-fil-A and is officially known as the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl. From 2006 to 2013, it was officially re ...

, the 1980

title and an appearance in the 1981 Cotton Bowl. Abercrombie finished atop the Baylor record books in many offensive categories including yards rushed (3,665), rushing attempts (732), career 100-yard games (19) and yards per game (94). Following a remarkable career at Baylor, Abercrombie was a first-round draft pick (12th selection overall) by the

in 1982. He played for the Steelers from 1982-87 before spending his final two seasons with 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 ...

from 1988-89. Abercrombie currently serves as the executive director of the Baylor "B" Association, the school's 700-member organization of former letterwinners Abercrombie and his family still reside in

Waco, Texas Waco ( ) is the county seat of McLennan County, Texas, United States. It is situated along the Brazos River and I-35, halfway between Dallas and Austin. The city had a 2020 population of 138,486, making it the 22nd-most populous city in the ...

NFL career statistics

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Abercrombie, Walter American football running backs Baylor Bears football players Sportspeople from Waco, Texas Philadelphia Eagles players Pittsburgh Steelers players 1959 births Living people Players of American football from Texas