Curtis Lamont Conway Sr (born January 13, 1971) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the USC Trojans and was selected by the Chicago Bears in the first round of the 1993 NFL draft.[1] Conway also played in the NFL for the San Diego Chargers, New York Jets and San Francisco 49ers.
 Conway in 2017 | |||||||||
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| Position: | Wide receiver | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born: | January 13, 1971 Los Angeles, California, U.S. | ||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | ||||||||
| Weight: | 200 lb (91 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school: | Hawthorne (Hawthorne, California) | ||||||||
| College: | USC | ||||||||
| NFL draft: | 1993 / round: 1 / pick: 7 | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||
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Early life
editConway attended Hawthorne High School in Hawthorne, California and was a football and a track star. He won All-America honors as a senior quarterback. His high school quarterback coach was Dave Keller. His high school track coach was legendary coach Kye Courtney. Even though he was an All-American quarterback, he was more known for his exploits on the track. During that era, Hawthorne was a regular contender at the CIF California State Meet. In 1987 as a sophomore he was the anchor of the California State Record 4X100m relay team (40.24) set in the preliminaries, Hawthorne High School was DQ'd at the finals after initially finishing second. In 1988 as a junior he placed second in the 100m (10.85) and placed third 3rd in the 200m (21.30). In 1989 as a senior he won the 100m state title with the time of 10.23 and placed 2nd in the 200m (20.89).[2]
College career
editPrior to USC, Conway attended El Camino Junior College in Torrance, California, but did not play. He went to USC as a quarterback but converted to wide receiver in 1991.
During his 1990 USC season, Conway made 26 kick returns for 555 yards, 12 punt returns for 161 yards and one touchdown.[3] The next year during the 1991 season, Conway made 21 catches for 240 yards and one touchdown, 18 carries for 29 yards and one touchdown, 20 kick returns for 493 yards and 24 punt returns for 172 yards. In 1992, Conway's season included making 49 catches for 764 yards and 5 touchdowns, 6 carries for 37 yards and one touchdown, 27 kick returns for 675 yards and one touchdown, 31 punt returns for 346 yards and one touchdown.
Professional career
editHe had over 1,000 yards three times in his twelve-year NFL career, in which he played for the Chicago Bears, the San Diego Chargers, the New York Jets and the San Francisco 49ers.
During his twelve years in the NFL, Conway threw for two touchdown passes, a rarity for the wide receiver position. The most notable of the two came during a game against the Miami Dolphins on November 13, 1994. Conway lined up split off of and parallel to the holder, on a bizarre field goal formation. Rather than the snap being taken by Erik Kramer, Conway received it, and threw a pass which was tipped up into the air by a Dolphins' defender and caught by fellow Bears' teammate and tight end Keith Jennings, who ran into the endzone for a touchdown. His 329 catches during his tenure with the Bears (1993–1999) place him 4th in franchise history on their all-time receptions list, and his 4,498 receiving yards rank him 6th on the Bears’ all-time yardage list. He also was the 1st Chicago Bears receiver to record back to back 1000 yard seasons.
NFL career statistics
edit| Year | Team | GP | Rec | Yards | Avg | Lng | TD | FD | Fum | Lost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | CHI | 16 | 19 | 231 | 12.2 | 38 | 2 | 11 | 0 | 0 |
| 1994 | CHI | 13 | 39 | 546 | 14.0 | 85 | 2 | 28 | 0 | 0 |
| 1995 | CHI | 16 | 62 | 1,037 | 16.7 | 76 | 12 | 47 | 0 | 0 |
| 1996 | CHI | 16 | 81 | 1,049 | 13.0 | 58 | 7 | 51 | 1 | 0 |
| 1997 | CHI | 7 | 30 | 476 | 15.9 | 55 | 1 | 18 | 0 | 0 |
| 1998 | CHI | 15 | 54 | 733 | 13.6 | 47 | 3 | 36 | 1 | 1 |
| 1999 | CHI | 9 | 44 | 426 | 9.7 | 30 | 4 | 23 | 2 | 1 |
| 2000 | SD | 14 | 53 | 712 | 13.4 | 68 | 5 | 31 | 0 | 0 |
| 2001 | SD | 16 | 71 | 1,125 | 15.8 | 72 | 6 | 52 | 1 | 1 |
| 2002 | SD | 13 | 57 | 852 | 14.9 | 52 | 5 | 42 | 2 | 2 |
| 2003 | NYJ | 16 | 46 | 640 | 13.9 | 45 | 2 | 33 | 0 | 0 |
| 2004 | SF | 16 | 38 | 403 | 10.6 | 37 | 3 | 23 | 0 | 0 |
| Career | 167 | 594 | 8,230 | 13.9 | 85 | 52 | 395 | 7 | 5 | |
Broadcasting
editBeginning in 2009, Conway began working as a color analyst on national NFL radio broadcasts by Compass Media Networks. He teamed with Lee "Hacksaw" Hamilton and Gregg "Free Beer" Daniels on play-by-play. He is currently a studio analyst for the Pac-12 Network and a cohost of Total Access on the NFL Network. He joined the San Diego Chargers network for the 2015 season as a studio analyst.
Personal life
editOn July 23, 2007, Conway married female boxing champ Laila Ali, the daughter of Muhammad Ali.[5]
References
edit- ^ "1993 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved March 31, 2023.
- ^ "California State Meet Results - 1915 to present". Hank Lawson. Archived from the original on October 6, 2014. Retrieved December 25, 2012.
- ^ "Curtis Conway Stats | College Football at". Sports-reference.com. Retrieved July 27, 2016.
- ^ "Curtis Conway Stats". ESPN Internet Ventures. Retrieved May 23, 2014.
- ^ "Laila Ali marries former NFL receiver Curtis Conway". ESPN Internet Ventures. Associated Press. July 23, 2007.