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Ottis Anderson

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Ottis Anderson

Ottis Jerome Anderson (born January 19, 1957) is an American former professional football running back who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 14 seasons with the St. Louis Cardinals and New York Giants. He played college football for the Miami Hurricanes, setting the school record for rushing yards, and was selected eighth overall in the 1979 NFL draft by the Cardinals.

In his first season, Anderson was named Offensive Rookie of the Year and received Pro Bowl and first-team All-Pro honors when he set the Cardinals all-time record for rushing yards. He also received a second Pro Bowl selection the following year. Traded to the Giants in 1986 amid a production decline, Anderson won two Super Bowl titles in Super Bowl XXI and Super Bowl XXV. Anderson was named MVP of the latter, in which he played a central part in helping the Giants set the Super Bowl record for time of possession.

Ottis Jerome Anderson was born and raised in West Palm Beach, Florida. He was a football and track star at Forest Hill High School in West Palm Beach, graduating in 1975.

Anderson attended the University of Miami on a full athletic scholarship and earned a degree in Physical Education. During his college career, Anderson broke Chuck Foreman's career rushing records at the University of Miami, becoming the first player to rush for more than 1,000 yards in the school's history his senior year with 1,266 yards. He received honorable mention as an All-American by the Associated Press, and graduated in 1979 as the team's all-time leading rusher with 3,331 yards.[citation needed]

Anderson was inducted into the University of Miami Sports Hall of Fame in 1990.

Anderson was selected in the first round of the 1979 NFL draft, the 8th overall pick, by the St. Louis Cardinals. He had one of the greatest debut games in NFL history, rushing for 193 yards, which was just 1 yard shy of Alan Ameche's all-time record for an NFL debut (Ameche rushed for 194 yards for the Baltimore Colts in 1955). His single season 1,605 rushing yard performance was one of the few bright spots in the Cardinals' 1979 season, when they finished 5–11. He earned the first of back-to-back Pro Bowl selections that year.

In his first six seasons, Anderson rushed for over 1,000 yards in five seasons. The lone exception was in the 1982 strike-shortened season, when he rushed for 587 yards in eight games; a pace for well over 1,000 yards in a full 16-game season.

The Cardinals made the playoffs in 1982, thanks to an expanded field due to the brevity of the season. It was the franchise's first postseason appearance since 1975 and last until 1998. Anderson rushed for 58 yards on eight carries against the Green Bay Packers in the team's lone playoff game.

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