Chuck Foreman Walter E . " Chuck " Foreman ( born October 26 , 1950 ) is a retired American football football player . He was a running back during his National Football League career , and often caught passes out of the backfield . He played college football at the University of Miami . Early career . Foreman was a standout athlete in football , basketball and track at Frederick High School in Frederick , Maryland . His ability in football to catch passes out of the backfield was evident throughout his years on varsity at Frederick High School . He played center on Frederick High ' s outstanding basketball team , which narrowly missed the state title his senior year . Foreman attended the University of Miami , where he played defensive back , wide receiver and running back . Professional career . The Minnesota Vikings first round draft choice in 1973 , Chuck Foreman was selected with the 12th overall pick in the draft . He was a consensus choice as the National Football Conference ( NFC ) Rookie of the Year in 1973 , when he rushed for 801 yards on 182 attempts and caught 37 passes for 362 yards . Foreman was named NFC player of the year by " The Sporting News " in 1974 and by UPI in 1976 . He was named All - Pro in 1975 and played in five consecutive Pro Bowl s ( 1973 – 1977 ) . Foreman had 3 straight seasons rushing for 1 , 000 + yards ( 1975 – 1977 ) and scored a then NFC record 22 Touchdowns in 14 games during the 1975 campaign . Foreman just missed a rare NFC ' Triple Crown ' ( rushing yards , receptions & TDs ) in 1975 as well . During the last regular season game of 1975 the Vikings were playing the Buffalo Bills at Rich Stadium on Saturday , December 20 - - - a nationally televised game on CBS - - - during a classic Buffalo , NY snowstorm . Foreman was having a fantastic game despite the conditions . He would finish with 85 yards rushing , 10 receptions and four TDs in less than three quarters . After Foreman ' s third score ( which gave him 21 TDs for the year , one shy of the NFL mark ) , Fran Tarkenton joked in the huddle , " Anybody who gets to the one - yard line , go out of bounds . We want some touchdowns for Chuck . " The crowd was getting ornery . Not only were the Bills being clobbered , 28 - 6 , but it was looking like Foreman and not hometown hero O . J . Simpson might walk away with the TD record . Simpson had gotten his 22nd TD of the season in the first half , equaling Gale Sayer ' s 1965 total , but Foreman and the Vikes were really on a roll . Late in the 3rd quarter Foreman was chasing a pass thrown out of the end zone when he was hit in the eye by a snowball . He went out of the game for a couple of plays , then returned with blurred vision and caught a six - yard touchdown pass to tie Sayers and Simpson with 22 TDs . That was it , though . He spent the last quarter on the bench . Less than a minute later , Simpson scored on a 54 - yard reception to surpass Sayers & Foreman . The next day , St . Louis ' Jim Otis , playing only the first half , gained 69 yards in 14 carries to edge Foreman for conference rushing honors , 1 , 076 to 1 , 070 . During that same season , Foreman also led the NFL in receptions with 73 , a record for receptions by a running back . Foreman amassed 51 touchdowns over a 3 year span ( 1974 – 1976 ) . Foreman played in 3 Super Bowl s with the Vikings . Injuries plagued him throughout the 1978 and 1979 seasons and Foreman was subsequently traded to the New England Patriots , where he spent the 1980 season before retiring . His pass - catching ability out of the backfield , combined with the ability to make the first tackler miss , was a key in the Minnesota Viking offense , which was sort of a pre - cursor of the West Coast Offense which became popular in the following decades . Chuck is widely known as " The Spin Doctor " for his elusive way of avoiding would - be tacklers . Giving Back . Sound Advice For Life , a student development program established by Chuck Foreman to provide positive reinforcement and guidelines for a productive life . Awards and honors . Career statistics :