Lance Alworth

High school

Brookhaven High School

College

University of Arkansas

Pro team(s)

San Diego Chargers, Dallas Cowboys

Hall of Fame

⭐ Pro Football Hall of Fame

Lance Dwight Alworth was born on August 3, 1940, in Houston, Texas, but grew up in Brookhaven, Mississippi, attending Brookhaven High School where he was a multi-sport star in football, baseball, and basketball. He went to the University of Arkansas on a football scholarship and was drafted by both the Oakland Raiders of the AFL and the San Francisco 49ers of the NFL. He chose the Raiders, who traded him to the San Diego Chargers, where he played from 1962 to 1970 and became the most spectacular wide receiver of the American Football League era. Nicknamed "Bambi" for his graceful, leaping catches and deer-like acceleration, Alworth had a career that was simply incandescent: seven consecutive 1,000-yard receiving seasons from 1963 to 1969, an accomplishment so consistent that it set the template for what elite wide receiver performance looked like. He led the AFL in receiving yards five times, in touchdowns twice, and caught a pass in 96 consecutive games — a record at the time. His combination of speed, leaping ability, and sure hands made him the prototype for the modern wide receiver position. He was the first player who had spent his entire career in the AFL to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, in 1978 — a recognition of the AFL's legitimacy as a major professional football league. Grew up in Brookhaven, Mississippi.