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Throwback Thursday: Randall Cunningham
Randall Cunningham turned 51 on Thursday. Man, has the time flown (pun intended back to his days with the Philadelphia Eagles). So what better to do on a Throwback Thursday, but take some time to look back at the man who will always live in our hearts as QB Eagles?
Cunningham was a standout prep player at Santa Barbara High School where he took his team to the CIF finals. From there, it was on to the University of Nevada Las Vegas.
Cunningham led the Rebels to a 10-2 mark in 1984 and captured the Big West title and beat Toledo in the California Bowl. I think it's a toss-up between Cunningham and Larry Johnson as the best athlete to come out of the school. No offense to Greg Anthony, Sidney Green, Reggie Theus, Keenan McCardell or Icky Woods. Oh, and Frank Summers won the coveted "That Helps No One" Man of the Year!
Cunningham was a second-round selection of the Eagles in the 1985 NFL Draft. Here he is arriving in the Philadelphia airport with his agent. But notice the shirt he's rocking. That's a Leonard vs. Hearns commemorative T-shirt. Do yourself a favor and Google Emmitt Smith's outfit from his introductory press conference and see who looks like a boss.
Cunningham became the starter for the Eagles in 1986 and he had a pretty good run with coach Buddy Ryan, who he is sharing a laugh with here in front of international game in London. But really, we just had to show a photo of those shorts.
I'm not sure what the significance of this Bernie Kosar photo is, but I have to imagine they were pitching some buddy-cop picture that were all the rage in the 1980s.
Cunningham was an All-American at UNLV, but not as a quarterback. Rather as a punter. A skill that he sometimes used in the NFL, too.
The Eagles and Chicago Bears played in a literal fog in a 1988 NFC Divisional Round playoff game. The Bears won, just to throw it out there.
After Buddy Ryan was fired, the Eagles in their infinite wisdom hired Rich Kotite. I have no idea why this ended poorly. Oh wait, I do. It's Rich Kotite.
Cunningham enjoyed the best season of his pro career in 1998 with the Minnesota Vikings when he was selected as the player of the year. The Vikings would go 15-1 that season and set an NFL record for points scored season.
In almost an unthinkable situation for Eagles fans, Cunningham spent a year with the hated Dallas Cowboys. Wait, why wasn't this in the signing with the enemy feature we did?
