Rickey Young
Quick Facts
Biography
Rickey Young (born December 7, 1953 in Mobile, Alabama) is a former American football running back who played nine seasons in the NFL. Young played college football at Jackson State and was a teammate of Walter Payton. Rickey was drafted in 1975 (7th round, 164th overall pick) by the San Diego Chargers. After playing three years for the Chargers (1975–1977) he was traded to the Minnesota Vikings for All-Pro guard Ed White. In his first season with the Vikings (1978) he led the NFL with 88 receptions, breaking Chuck Foreman's record for receptions by a running back in a season. He played in six seasons with the Vikings, but retired after seeing limited action in 1982 and 1983. He retired with 1,011 rushes for 3,666 yards and 23 touchdowns, along with 408 catches (then an NFL record for running backs) for 3,285 and 16 touchdowns.
In his 9 seasons in the NFL (1975-1983), Young did not miss a single game, playing in all 131 contests that his teams played in that span.