Sam Cunningham, CFB and Patriots Hall of Famer, Dies at Age 71

College Football Hall of Famer and former USC All-American running back Sam Cunningham died Tuesday, his alma mater announced. He was 71. 

USC said Cunningham's cause of death was pending. 

Cunningham was a three-year player for the Trojans (1970-72), rushing for 1,579 yards and 23 touchdowns in his college career. He was an All-American selection in 1972. 

He also played a role furthering civil rights in college sports. As USC noted, "As a sophomore in 1970, his 135-yard, two-touchdown debut performance in the Trojans' season-opening 42-21 victory over Alabama in Birmingham provided a catalyst for the integration of college football in the South."

“What they saw was the future," Cunningham told ESPN's Ted Miller in 2016 about Alabama's Legion Field crowd. "Their team was eventually going to be integrated.”

"Sam Cunningham did more to integrate Alabama in 60 minutes than Martin Luther King did in 20 years," Alabama assistant coach Jerry Claiborne said at the time.

And Los Angeles Times columnist Jim Murray wrote a piece entitled, "Hatred shut out as Alabama finally joins the Union" following the contest. 

While that game has been mythologized throughout the years—Cunningham downplayed those myths, telling Miller the contest wasn't even televised and its impact "marinated over the course of 30 or 40 years"—there's no doubt it was an incredibly important moment for college football. 

Along with being a College Football Hall of Famer, he is also in USC's Hall of Fame and a legendary figure in the football program:

Following his college career, Cunningham played nine seasons for the New England Patriots, rushing for 5,453 yards and 43 touchdowns. He was enshrined in the team's Hall of Fame in 2010.