Cecil Turner (born April 2, 1944) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player who was a

wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...

for six seasons for the

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of 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). He went to the

Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (since 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's All-star, star players. The format has changed ...

after the 1970 season, when he tied a record (set in 1967 by Green Bay's Travis Williams) by returning four kickoffs for touchdowns, a record that still stands.

Early life

Turner graduated from Spingarn High School in Washington D.C.

College career

Turner started his college career as a

track & field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and ...

standout. Competing for Pratt College, he won the 1964

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100-yard dash title, with a time of 9.5 seconds at the meet hosted in Big Spring, Texas. He continued to excel in track after transferring to

Cal Poly San Luis Obispo California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo (Cal Poly San Luis Obispo or Cal Poly) is a public university in San Luis Obispo County, California, United States, - Cites the location of the university and shows that the university ...

, bettering his time to 9.3 seconds and ultimately leading the Mustangs to the 1968 NCAA College Division outdoor track and field team national title. Midway through his senior football season for Cal Poly, Turner was hailed as "the fastest college football player in the nation," as he accumulated four touchdowns through the first four games of the year, but he missed most of the rest of the fall of 1967 due to injury. Turner, whose top college football season as a junior included 16 catches for 366 yards (a 22.9-yard average) and two touchdown receptions (plus an 87-yard kickoff return for a TD) in 1966, was later elected to the Cal Poly Hall of Fame in 1989.

Professional career

Turner was selected in the fifth round of the 1968 NFL/AFL Draft by the

. Larry Mayer ranked Turner as the seventh-greatest return specialist in Bears history on the team's official website, noting his 32.7-yard average for the 1970 season. In 2010,

Bleacher Report ''Bleacher Report'' (often abbreviated as B/R) is a website that focuses on sports and sports culture. Its headquarters are in San Francisco, with offices in New York City and London. ''Bleacher Report'' was acquired by Time Warner's Turner B ...

selected Turner as an honorable mention in the kickoff return position to their all-time Bears team, with the spot going to Gale Sayers.

References

External links

Football Database
{{DEFAULTSORT:Turner, Cecil 1944 births Living people American football return specialists American football wide receivers Cal Poly Mustangs football players Cal Poly Mustangs men's track and field athletes Chicago Bears players Florida Blazers players National Conference Pro Bowl players Pratt Community College alumni Players of American football from Washington, D.C.