Tony Nathan facts for kids
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| Position: | Running back | ||||||
| Personal information | |||||||
| Born: | December 14, 1956 Birmingham, Alabama, U.S. |
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| Height: | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | ||||||
| Weight: | 206 lb (93 kg) | ||||||
| Career information | |||||||
| High school: | Woodlawn (Birmingham) | ||||||
| College: | Alabama | ||||||
| NFL Draft: | 1979 / Round: 3 / Pick: 61 | ||||||
| Career history | |||||||
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| Career highlights and awards | |||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||
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| Player stats at PFR | |||||||
Tony Curtis Nathan (born December 14, 1956) is a former American football player. He was a running back for the Miami Dolphins in the National Football League (NFL). Tony played college football for the Alabama Crimson Tide. The Dolphins chose him in the 1979 NFL draft. He played for Miami from 1979 to 1987.
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Tony Nathan's Early Life
Tony Nathan grew up in Birmingham, Alabama. He became one of the first Black football players at Woodlawn High School. His high school football journey was so inspiring. It was even made into a movie called Woodlawn. The film came out on October 16, 2015.
College Football Career
Tony Nathan played for the Alabama Crimson Tide from 1975 to 1978. During his four seasons, he ran for 1,997 yards. He also scored 29 touchdowns. On average, he gained 6.4 yards every time he ran with the ball.
Tony was also great at returning kicks. He finished his college career with 30 touchdowns. He gained a total of 3,362 yards from running and returning kicks.
Professional Football Career
Tony Nathan became a starting running back for the Dolphins. He played in two big games, Super Bowl XVII and Super Bowl XIX. In Super Bowl XIX, he had a fantastic game. He ran for 18 yards and caught 10 passes for 83 yards. His 10 catches were almost a record for a Super Bowl at that time.
Tony also helped the Dolphins win a big game in 1985. They beat the Pittsburgh Steelers 45–28. In that game, he ran for 64 yards and scored a touchdown. He also caught eight passes for 114 yards. He was also part of a famous play called "hook and lateral". This happened in a close game against the San Diego Chargers in 1981.
Tony played nine seasons in the NFL. He ran for 3,543 yards in total. He also caught 383 passes for 3,592 yards. He scored 32 touchdowns, half by running and half by catching passes. He even threw four passes, completing one for a touchdown.
He stopped playing football in 1988. After that, he became a coach. He worked as an assistant to Don Shula, who was the Dolphins' head coach. In 1993, he became the Dolphins' running backs coach. He later coached for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 1996 to 2001.
Tony also coached college football. From 2003 to 2005, he coached running backs at Florida International University. His former teammate, Don Strock, was the head coach there.
In 2006, Tony Nathan was honored. He was put into the Senior Bowl Hall of Fame. He also coached for the Baltimore Ravens and the San Francisco 49ers. He stopped coaching for the 49ers in 2008.
Tony Nathan's NFL Statistics
| Legend | |
|---|---|
| Led the league | |
| Bold | Career high |
Regular Season Stats
| Year | Team | Games | Rushing | Receiving | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Att | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Rec | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | ||
| 1979 | MIA | 16 | 0 | 16 | 68 | 4.3 | 18 | 0 | 17 | 213 | 12.5 | 35 | 2 |
| 1980 | MIA | 16 | 6 | 60 | 327 | 5.5 | 18 | 1 | 57 | 588 | 10.3 | 61 | 5 |
| 1981 | MIA | 13 | 11 | 147 | 782 | 5.3 | 46 | 5 | 50 | 452 | 9.0 | 31 | 3 |
| 1982 | MIA | 8 | 7 | 66 | 233 | 3.5 | 15 | 1 | 16 | 114 | 7.1 | 16 | 0 |
| 1983 | MIA | 16 | 12 | 151 | 685 | 4.5 | 40 | 3 | 52 | 461 | 8.9 | 25 | 1 |
| 1984 | MIA | 16 | 12 | 118 | 558 | 4.7 | 22 | 1 | 61 | 579 | 9.5 | 26 | 2 |
| 1985 | MIA | 16 | 15 | 143 | 667 | 4.7 | 22 | 5 | 72 | 651 | 9.0 | 73 | 1 |
| 1986 | MIA | 16 | 0 | 27 | 203 | 7.5 | 20 | 0 | 48 | 457 | 9.5 | 23 | 2 |
| 1987 | MIA | 6 | 0 | 4 | 20 | 5.0 | 8 | 0 | 10 | 77 | 7.7 | 14 | 0 |
| 123 | 63 | 732 | 3,543 | 4.8 | 46 | 16 | 383 | 3,592 | 9.4 | 73 | 16 | ||
Playoff Stats
| Year | Team | Games | Rushing | Receiving | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Att | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Rec | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | ||
| 1979 | MIA | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 27 | 9.0 | 14 | 0 |
| 1981 | MIA | 1 | 0 | 14 | 48 | 3.4 | 12 | 1 | 9 | 114 | 12.7 | 27 | 1 |
| 1982 | MIA | 4 | 2 | 45 | 204 | 4.5 | 16 | 0 | 15 | 127 | 8.5 | 26 | 0 |
| 1983 | MIA | 1 | 0 | 8 | 19 | 2.4 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 6.0 | 6 | 0 |
| 1984 | MIA | 3 | 3 | 42 | 158 | 3.8 | 16 | 2 | 22 | 217 | 9.9 | 30 | 0 |
| 1985 | MIA | 2 | 2 | 9 | 25 | 2.8 | 12 | 0 | 15 | 158 | 10.5 | 39 | 1 |
| 12 | 7 | 118 | 454 | 3.8 | 16 | 3 | 65 | 649 | 10.0 | 39 | 2 | ||
Tony Nathan's Life Today
Tony Nathan now works as a Bailiff. He works for Judge Marcus Bach Armas in Miami-Dade County. This judge replaced Tony's former teammate, Judge Edward Newman.
In 2015, Tony went back to college. He finished his degree at the University of Alabama. He had promised his old coach, Bear Bryant, that he would do this. Also in 2015, Tony wrote a book. It is called Touchdown Tony: Running with a Purpose. The book came out around the same time as the Woodlawn movie.
