Butch Woolfolk Harold E . " Butch " Woolfolk ( born March 1 , 1960 ) is a former American football running back and kick returner who played in college for the University of Michigan ( 1978 – 1981 ) and in the National Football League ( NFL ) for the New York Giants ( 1982 – 1984 ) , Houston Oilers ( 1985 – 1986 ) and Detroit Lions ( 1987 – 1988 ) . Woolfolk attended Westfield Senior High School in . Woolfolk led Michigan in rushing three straight years and set the school record with 3 , 850 rushing yards while playing for the Wolverines from 1978 to 1981 . As a sophomore in 1979 , he was the Big Ten Conference scoring champion , and he went on to become a three - time first - team All - Big Ten selection . He had his best season as a senior at Michigan , winning the 1981 Big Ten rushing title and falling just 10 yards short of Rob Lytle ' s single - season rushing yards record . He was also selected in 1981 as the Most Valuable Player of both the Rose Bowl played January 1 , 1981 , and the Bluebonnet Bowl played December 31 , 1981 , as well as the Wolverines ' team MVP for the season . Woolfolk also excelled in track . He was named an All - American in 1980 and won nine Big Ten track and field championships both as an individual and relay race team member . He continues to hold the Michigan outdoor 200 - meter record . He was also a member of relay teams that hold numerous U - M and Ferry Field all - time records . Woolfolk played seven seasons in the NFL . As a rookie in 1982 , he finished third in the NFL in all - purpose yards . And in 1983 , he set an NFL record with 43 rushing attempts in a single game . He was also fifth in the NFL in receptions in 1985 . Woolfolk was plagued with injuries during his NFL career and was able to play in 16 games only twice — in 1983 and 1985 . In both of those years , he accumulated at least 1200 yards from scrimmage . He also had seven 100 - yard games — five receiving and two rushing . High school . Born in Milwaukee , Wisconsin , Woolfolk attended Eastridge High School in Kankakee , Illinois in the 1976 – 1977 school year . He moved with his family to Westfield , New Jersey , where he was a multi - sport star at Westfield High School . In 1977 , Woolfolk was first - team All - State in American football and set Westfield High School season records with 1 , 637 yards rushing , 34 touchdown s and 206 points . He also excelled in track and field , winning the State All - Group and International Prep Invitational 100 meter and 200 meter races . He also ran the fastest boy ' s high school times in the nation in 1978 . University of Michigan . All - time Michigan rushing record . He played college football at the University of Michigan ( 1978 – 1981 ) where he led the Wolverines in rushing three straight years , 1979 , 1980 , and 1981 . He finished his career as the school ' s all - time leading rusher with 3 , 861 yards , a record that was eclipsed six years later by Jamie Morris . Woolfolk still holds the U - M record for the longest and third longest runs from scrimmage , a 92 - yard run against Wisconsin in 1979 , and an 89 – yard gain against Wisconsin in 1981 . Woolfolk now ranks fifth in career rushing at U - M , as shown in the following chart : 253 yards rushing against Michigan State . He began the 1981 season with five consecutive 100 - yard games including a 253 - yard effort . Woolfolk ' s best game as a Wolverine was the October 10 , 1981 contest against Michigan State . The Wolverines beat the Spartans , 38 - 20 , and Woolfolk rushed for 253 yards in 39 carries . After the game , Coach Bo Schembechler said : " I wondered what a kid like that would do if he ran as much as the guy on the West Coast ( Marcus Allen ) . I didn ' t plan on this , but he proved he can do it . Butch is going to be our all - time leading ground gainer . There isn ' t any way they ' re going to stop him now . And so be it . " His 1981 rushing performance against the Spartans still stands as the fifth best single - game performance by a Wolverine running back . MVP of the 1981 Rose and Bluebonnet Bowls . Woolfolk was named the Most Valuable Player in both of Michigan ' s two bowl game appearances in 1981 . During the January 1981 Rose Bowl , he gained 182 yards against Washington , and during the December 1981 Bluebonnet Bowl , in which he gained 186 yards against UCLA . The hotel where the Wolverines team was staying was evacuated the night before the 1981 Rose Bowl game when a fire alarm was triggered at 2 : 30 a . m . , and Woolfolk only had three hours of sleep that night . He won the MVP award despite the lack of sleep , and after the game Woolfolk called the game his " greatest thrill in football . " Commenting on the MVP trophy , Woolfolk said : " If I could , I ' d break this trophy into 95 pieces and hand it out to all the guys on the squad . " After winning his second MVP trophy in 1981 ' s Bluebonnet Bowl , Woolfolk said : " I might look back in later years and notice that , but right now all I can think about is that I ' ve worn a Michigan uniform for the last time . " Woolfolk ' s top ten games at Michigan . Woolfolk ' s top ten games in a Michigan uniform are as follows : Relationship with Bo Schembechler . During his four years at Michigan , Woolfolk had what one reporter described as " a strange love - hate relationship " with Coach Bo Schembechler . Woolfolk noted at the time Schembechler is a " tough coach , " and it was " not easy at all " playing for him . Schembechler was often angered by Woolfolk ' s tendency to try to run around defenders rather than banging through them , resulting in Woolfolk being benched more than once . But Schembechler said Woolfolk " came of age " in the November 1980 Ohio State game . After Woolfolk ' s MVP performance in the 1981 Rose Bowl helped Schembechler to his first bowl game victory , Bo complimented Woolfolk ' s powerful performance , noting : " Butch can be a real load . " By the 1981 season , Schembechler was a true believer in Woolfolk , saying : " Today , I can say without reservation , that I ' d rather go into a big game with Woolfolk at tailback than any other back in the country . " Woolfolk , too , concluded in the end that Schembechler was " key " to his success : " He kept after me . He kept saying I was getting too fancy . He kept saying , ' You ' re a big back , a fast back , and you ought to be running over people - - not trying to dance around them . ' " Track and field . While at Michigan , Woolfolk was also the 1980 Big Ten Conference track champion in the outdoor 200 meter and indoor 300 meter events . He also competed in the 200 meter event in the 1980 Olympic Trials . Through the 2007 season his 1980 outdoor 200 meter time of 20 . 59 seconds remains the all - time University of Michigan record . His 1980 outdoor 100 meter time of 10 . 36 , which is now the fourth fastest in Michigan history was once the school record , and his indoor 300 meter ( event retired ) time of 30 . 38 , which is now the second fastest in Michigan history was also once a school record . The 100m record and 300m record were broken by 4 x 100 meter relay race teammate Andrew Bruce in 1981 and 1982 respectively . The men ' s track and field team won the Big Ten indoor title in 1982 , and they won the outdoor titles in 1980 , 1981 , 1982 . The 4 x 100 meter relay team won the Big Ten Conference championships in 1981 and 1982 , and their 1980 and 1982 times of 3 : 06 . 95 and 3 : 07 . 34 with Woolfolk running second and Bruce running anchor are the 2nd and 3rd fastest times in Michigan team history . The 1980 relay time continues to be a Ferry Field stadium record . Bruce and Woolfolk also are members of the Michigan team sprint medley record holding team ( 1982 , 3 : 17 . 84 ) . NFL career . Woolfolk played three years in the NFL for the New York Giants ( 1982 – 1984 ) , two years with the Houston Oilers ( 1985 – 1987 ) , and two years with the Detroit Lions ( 1987 – 1988 ) . He was a versatile player who accumulated nearly 5 , 000 all - purpose yards and had seven 100 - yard games , five as a receiver out of the backfield and two as a rusher . Three of his 100 - yard games came as a Giant and four as an Oiler . Offers from agents . Woolfolk told the AP in 1982 of receiving offers of representation from some 50 agents while he was still in college . Woolfolk noted that he was offered under - the - table payments by agents while he was still in school , as well as cars , and even a job for his stepfather , William Johnson , a Newark dockworker . Woolfolk turned down those offers and signed with Jerry Argovitz . New York Giants . Woolfolk was drafted by the Giants in the first round of the 1982 NFL Draft . Woolfolk , who had graduated from high school in New Jersey and was a Giants fan , recalled watching the draft at his apartment in Ann Arbor : " When there were only four or five choices left before the Giants picked , I was hoping I ' d last . " In 1982 , Woolfolk was named the NFC ' s Offensive Rookie of the Year , after appearing in nine games in which he rushed for 439 yards , caught 23 passes for 224 yards receiving and scored four touchdowns . In a December 1982 game against the Oilers , Woolfolk scored his first two NFL touchdowns , one rushing and one receiving , to help the Giants win , 17 – 14 . With the Giants trailing and less than two minutes remaining in the game , Woolfolk scored on a 40 – yard gain after making a leaping , one - handed catch . The next day , " The New York Times " published an article headlined , " The Catch By Woolfolk . " The article concluded that with Woolfolk and Rob Carpenter , the Giants " have their best backfield combination since the glory years of Frank Gifford and Alex Webster a quarter of a century ago . " Over the course of the season his 1 , 091 all - purpose yards was third to only James Brooks ( 1 , 383 ) and Marcus Allen ( 1 , 098 ) . In 1983 , Bill Parcells ' first year as head coach , Woolfolk gained 1 , 225 yards from scrimmage for the Giants ( 857 yards rushing and 368 yards receiving ) - - more yards than any Giants running back in the previous ten years . He also set the NFL record for most rushing attempts in a game with 43 carries ( for 159 yards ) on November 20 , 1983 . Woolfolk gained 115 yards on 26 carries in the first half alone and said after the game : " I ' m not as tired as I thought I would be when somebody told me how many carries I had . " Ironically , Woolfolk ' s 43 - carry record was broken in 1988 by Jamie Morris , the same player who also broke Woolfolk ' s career rushing record at the University of Michigan . In 1984 , Woolfolk was relegated to back - up status as Joe Morris ( brother of Jamie Morris ) took over the starting job at tailback midway through the season . The 1984 Giants made the playoffs , but Woolfolk did not touch the ball . In March 1985 , the Giants traded Woolfolk to the Oilers . In reporting on the trade , " The New York Times " said : " The mystery of Butch Woolfolk , who in his three seasons with the Giants went from star running back to benchwarmer may be solved next fall , but not with Giants . " Woolfolk said at the time he was " not bitter " about the trade , and Coach Bill Parcells said : " Maybe a new place will be good for Butch . I don ' t think he was satisfied with what transpired last year . " Houston Oilers . Playing for the Oilers during the 1985 NFL season , Woolfolk was fifth in the conference with 80 receptions for 814 yards . He also rushed for 392 yards and had 1 , 206 yards from scrimmage . Woolfolk played three more seasons in the NFL with the Oilers and Lions from 1986 - 1988 but rushed for fewer than 100 yards in each of those years . With the Oilers , Mike Rozier was the leading rusher and Drew Hill was the leading receiver , but Woolfolk led the team ' s running backs in receiving yards in both 1985 and 1986 . In 1986 , he switched from tailback to fullback , but he only played in 10 games due to a fractured and dislocated shoulder in the second half of the season . The Oilers drafted Alonzo Highsmith with the third selection overall in the 1987 NFL Draft after trading up in the draft because their top three running backs Rozier , Ray Wallace and Woolfolk had finished the season on injured reserve . At Houston , Woolfolk was reunited with former Michigan teammate Stan Edwards . The sons of both Woolfolk and Edwards ( Braylon Edwards ) would later follow in their fathers ' footsteps by playing at Michigan . Detroit Lions . Woolfolk was released by the Oilers at the beginning of training camp in 1987 and signed with the Lions . Woolfolk appeared in 12 games for the 1987 Lions and contributed 549 yards of total offense — 248 yards receiving , 219 yards on kick returns , and 82 yards rushing . Woolfolk appeared in only three games for the Lions in 1988 and was limited to four yards rushing , four yards receiving and 99 yards on four kick returns . He injured his knee in the season ' s third game , was out for the season , and did not make it back into an NFL lineup after the injury . Career after football . Woolfolk worked for over 20 years in various real estate ventures . His real estate experience began in 1985 as an independent owner and operator of rental properties in Houston , while he was still playing for the Oilers . In 1992 , as co - owner of New Choice Builders , Woolfolk began building affordable single - family housing in Houston ' s revitalized communities . In 1994 , Woolfolk worked with Home Ownership Partners , Inc . , to build affordable housing for residents of Fort Bend County , Texas , a suburban county outside of Houston . Woolfolk procured the largest HUD grant given at that time by Fort Bend County for affordable housing assistance . Starting in approximately 1995 , Woolfolk worked for Intrepid Holdings , Inc . in Houston . At Intrepid , he developed residential lots for several large builders including US Home , Gateway Homes , Texas Colonial , and KB Home . In June 2007 , Forward Edge , Inc . announced that Woolfolk had joined the company as its new business developer . The company stated at the time that Woolfolk would help the company ' s development and implementation of steroid testing for Texas high school athletes . At the time , Woolfolk said : " There ' s a lot more to this than just passing a law . Kids are using steroids and they are doing so at dangerous levels . . . . I ' ve been there . I ' ve watched it . Once you ' ve watched it , you have more of a commitment to get the kids off of the steroids . It ' s not just a business for me . It ' s a passion of mine . " Woolfolk remains active in the Houston football community as a Houston Texans ambassador . Various ambassadors sign autographs at locations throughout Reliant Stadium during games . Family . Woolfolk and his wife , Regina , have two sons , Jarrel and Troy Woolfolk . Their son Troy Woolfolk is a defensive back who committed to Michigan in 2006 . Troy played at Dulles High School in Sugar Land , Texas . When his son was issued a Michigan jersey with the Woolfolk name on the back , Butch Woolfolk said : " It ' s a big day , no doubt . I ' m proud of him and excited for him . But the biggest thing for me is , I know he ' s at a place where I don ' t have to worry about him . " Troy appeared in two games for Michigan in 2007 , making three tackles in games against Eastern Michigan and Purdue . Statistics . Career N . B . : Home team is in bold .