Eugene Washington (born January 25, 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 ...
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). He played for the
Minnesota Vikings
The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. The Vikings compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. Founded in 1960 as ...
(1967–1972) and the
Denver Broncos
The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West, West division. The team is headquartered in E ...
(1973). He was one of two wide receivers in the NFL with the same name during the last five year of his career as an active player; they were never teammates.
Early years
Washington was born in 1944 at
La Porte, Texas
La Porte ( ) is a city in Harris County, Texas, United States, within the Bay Area of the Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 35,124. La Porte is the fourth-largest incorporated ...
. Because of segregation and La Porte having no black high school he attended
George Washington Carver High School in
Baytown, Texas
Baytown is a city in the U.S. state of Texas, within Harris County, Texas, Harris and Chambers County, Texas, Chambers counties. Located in the Greater Houston, Houston–The Woodlands–Sugar Land metropolitan statistical area, it lies on the nor ...
.
Michigan State
Washington enrolled at
Michigan State University
Michigan State University (Michigan State or MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan, United States. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State o ...
in 1963. He played
college football
College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...
for the
Michigan State Spartans football
The Michigan State Spartans football program represents Michigan State University (MSU) in college football at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) level. The Spartans are members of the Big Ten Conference. Michigan State claims a ...
program from 1963 to 1966. He also ran
track as well as playing
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 ...
for the Spartans and was the 1965
NCAA indoor champion for 60-yard hurdles.
As a sophomore in 1964, he had 35 catches for 542 yards and five touchdowns.
As a junior, he starred for the
1965 Michigan State Spartans football team
The 1965 Michigan State Spartans football team represented the Michigan State University in the 1965 Big Ten Conference football season. The Spartans won the Big Ten Championship and competed in the 1966 Rose Bowl, losing to UCLA. Despite the l ...
that was recognized as the national champion in the UPI coaches poll. Washington was the leading receiver for the 1965 team, totaling 40 catches for 638 yards and four touchdowns.
As a senior, Washington helped lead the
1966 Michigan State team to an undefeated 9–0–1 record and the No 2 ranking in both the AP and UPI polls. He had 27 catches for 677 yards and seven touchdowns for the 1966 team.
[
]
Professional career
Washington was selected by the Minnesota Vikings
The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. The Vikings compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. Founded in 1960 as ...
in the first round, with the eighth overall pick, in the 1967 NFL draft
The 1967 NFL/AFL draft was conducted March 14–15, 1967, at the Gotham Hotel in New York City. It was the first common draft between the National Football League (NFL) and the American Football League (AFL), part of the AFL–NFL merger agreeme ...
.[ He was also drafted by the ]Indiana Pacers
The Indiana Pacers are an American professional basketball team based in Indianapolis. The Pacers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), Ea ...
in the last round of the inaugural 1967 American Basketball Association
The American Basketball Association (ABA) was a major professional basketball league that operated for nine seasons from 1967 to 1976. The upstart ABA operated in direct competition with the more established National Basketball Association thr ...
draft
Draft, the draft, or draught may refer to:
Watercraft dimensions
* Draft (hull), the distance from waterline to keel of a vessel
* Draft (sail), degree of curvature in a sail
* Air draft, distance from waterline to the highest point on a v ...
, though he never played professional basketball for the Pacers or anyone else. As a rookie
A rookie is a person new to an occupation, profession, or hobby. In sports, a ''rookie'' is a professional athlete in their first season (or year).
In contrast with a veteran who has experience, a rookie is typically considered needing more tra ...
, Washington averaged 29.5 yards per reception
Reception is a noun form of ''receiving'', or ''to receive'' something, such as art, experience, information, people, products, or vehicles. It may refer to:
Astrology
* Reception (astrology), when a planet is located in a sign ruled by another p ...
. In 1968
Events January–February
* January 1968, January – The I'm Backing Britain, I'm Backing Britain campaign starts spontaneously.
* January 5 – Prague Spring: Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Cze ...
, he caught 46 passes. In 1969
1969 ( MCMLXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1969th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 969th year of the 2nd millennium, the 69th year of the 20th century, and the ...
, Washington had 821 receiving yards and nine touchdown
A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Scoring a touchdown grants the team that scored it 6 points. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchd ...
s. Washington made 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 ...
in 1969
1969 ( MCMLXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1969th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 969th year of the 2nd millennium, the 69th year of the 20th century, and the ...
and 1970
Events
January
* January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC.
* January 5 – The 7.1 1970 Tonghai earthquake, Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli ...
. He played in Super Bowl IV
Super Bowl IV was an American football game played on January 11, 1970, at Tulane Stadium in New Orleans, Louisiana. It was the fourth and final AFL–NFL World Championship Game in professional football prior to the AFL–NFL merger taking ...
(one catch for nine yards) after the 1969 NFL season. The Vikings were upset by the Kansas City Chiefs
The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division.
Established in 1959 ...
, 23–7, on January 11, 1970, at Tulane Stadium
Tulane Stadium was an outdoor American football, football stadium in the Southern United States on the campus of Tulane University in New Orleans, Louisiana. It stood from 1926 to 1980 and was officially the Third Tulane Stadium, followin ...
in New Orleans
New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...
. Washington was one of the fifteen plaintiff
A plaintiff ( Π in legal shorthand) is the party who initiates a lawsuit (also known as an ''action'') before a court. By doing so, the plaintiff seeks a legal remedy. If this search is successful, the court will issue judgment in favor of the ...
s in '' Mackey v. National Football League'' in which Judge Earl R. Larson declared that the Rozelle rule was a violation of antitrust law
Competition law is the field of law that promotes or seeks to maintain market competition by regulating anti-competitive conduct by companies. Competition law is implemented through public and private enforcement. It is also known as antitrust ...
s on December 30, 1975.''Mackey v. National Football League, 407 F. Supp. 1000 (D. Minn. 1975)'' – Justia.com.
Retrieved December 12, 2023. He is the subject of the documentary
''Through the Banks of the Red Cedar''
written and directed by his daughter Maya Washington.
NFL career statistics
Regular season
References
External links
NFL.com player page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Washington, Gene
1944 births
Living people
Players of American football from Houston
American football wide receivers
Indiana Pacers draft picks
Michigan State Spartans football players
Minnesota Vikings players
Denver Broncos players
Western Conference Pro Bowl players
National Conference Pro Bowl players
College Football Hall of Fame inductees
People from La Porte, Texas
NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships winners
American male hurdlers
Michigan State Spartans men's track and field athletes
Track and field athletes from Texas
20th-century American sportsmen