Mack Herron, American football player, Died at 67

  Sports

Mack W. Herron was born on July 24, 1948, and died on December 6, 2015.

He was a former professional American football running back who played in the National Football League from 1973 to 1976, most notably for the New England Patriots.

Mack played college football at Kansas State, where he finished second in the nation in scoring during his senior season in 1969.

Standing 5 feet, 5½ inches and weighing in at 170 lbs, Mack was selected by the Atlanta Falcons in the sixth round (143rd overall) of the 1970 NFL Draft, but joined the Canadian Football League out of college.

In 1972, while playing for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, Mack won the Eddie James Memorial Trophy for being the leading rusher in the CFL’s West Division.

Mack led the league in all-purpose yards in both of his CFL seasons.

He stepped into the NFL spotlight in 1973, after a short but memorable career in the CFL, when he joined the Patriots.

In three seasons, (3 with New England and 1 with the Atlanta Falcons) he gained 1,298 rushing yards and 9 rushing touchdowns.

Mack also caught 61 passes in his career for 789 yards and 6 touchdowns.

After leading the NFL in kickoff returns and kickoff return yardage in 1973, Mack’s best season was 1974 with the Patriots, when he set the then-NFL record for all-purpose yards with 2,444.

Mack remains 16th all time in career punt return average and 86th in kickoff return average.

Herron, a devout Muslim who did not drink or smoke, was arrested some 20 times and served jail time, mainly for drug convictions, according to Chicago Police.

Mack Herron passed away at age 67 in December 2015.