Anthony Harrison (born September 26, 1965) is an American former professional football player who was a safety for the Green Bay Packers in the National Football League (NFL). He played in three games with the Packers during the 1987 NFL season as a replacement player after the National Football League Players Association (NFLPA) went on strike for 24 days. Harrison played college football for the Georgia Institute of Technology before his professional career.
| No. 46 | |||||||
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| Position: | Safety | ||||||
| Personal information | |||||||
| Born: | September 26, 1965 Toccoa, Georgia, U.S. | ||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | ||||||
| Weight: | 195 lb (88 kg) | ||||||
| Career information | |||||||
| High school: | Stephens County (Georgia) | ||||||
| College: | Georgia Tech | ||||||
| Undrafted: | 1987 | ||||||
| Career history | |||||||
| Career NFL statistics | |||||||
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Early life and college
editAnthony Harrison was born on September 26, 1965, in Toccoa, Georgia.[1] He graduated from Stephens County High School where he played football all four years and was named "North Georgia's back of the year" during his senior season; he also played baseball, hitting for a .512 batting average during his senior season.[2] He attended the Georgia Institute of Technology, where he played safety for the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football team.[3][4] After an injury to a teammate, he became a starter during his freshman year.[2] He started every game as a sophomore.[5][6]
Professional career
editHarrison went undrafted in the 1987 NFL draft. He took part in the Green Bay Packers training camp during the 1987 preseason.[7] Near the end of the preseason, the Packers waived Harrison.[8] After the second week of the 1987 NFL season, the NFLPA went on strike. The third week of the season was cancelled, but weeks 4, 5 and 6 were played with replacement players.[9] Harrison was then signed by the Green Bay Packers before a week 4 game against the Minnesota Vikings as a replacement player.[10] He played three games for the Packers, recording one interception and one fumble recovery.[1] During a week 5 matchup against the Detroit Lions, Harrison tackled an opposing player, forcing a fumble but also injuring his neck. He was taken off the field by a stretcher and transported to the hospital, where he was cleared of any serious injuries.[11] At the end of the strike, Harrison was not among the 16 replacement players who were signed by the Packers.[12]
After his football career, Harrison returned to George Tech and graduated in 1989.[13]
References
edit- ^ a b "Anthony Harrison Stats". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved August 10, 2023.
- ^ a b Glerer, Larry (October 26, 1983). "Harrison Works On Reading". The Columbus Ledger (clipping). p. D-3. Archived from the original on August 10, 2023. Retrieved August 10, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Thompson, Chuck (October 28, 1983). "Harrison: I'm getting better: Part 1". The Macon Telegraph (clipping). p. 1C. Archived from the original on August 10, 2023. Retrieved August 10, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Thompson, Chuck (October 28, 1983). "Harrison: I'm getting better: Part 2". The Macon Telegraph (clipping). p. 3C. Archived from the original on August 10, 2023. Retrieved August 10, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Glerer, Larry (October 3, 1985). "Tech's Harrison Expects Tar Heel to Go Upstairs: Part 1". The Columbus Ledger (clipping). p. A-10. Archived from the original on August 10, 2023. Retrieved August 10, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Glerer, Larry (October 3, 1985). "Tech's Harrison Expects Tar Heel to Go Upstairs: Part 2". The Columbus Ledger (clipping). p. A-15. Archived from the original on August 10, 2023. Retrieved August 10, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Egle, Jim (September 25, 1987). "Breaking strike not fun and games for non-union players". The Post-Crescent (clipping). p. C-3. Archived from the original on August 10, 2023. Retrieved August 10, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Football". The Index-Journal (clipping). August 18, 1987. p. 16. Retrieved April 10, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "NFL labor history since 1968". ESPN.com. Associated Press. March 3, 2011. Archived from the original on January 11, 2012. Retrieved August 9, 2023.
- ^ "Uecker first Packer player to cross picket line". The Sheboygan Press (clipping). Associated Press. October 14, 1987. p. 34. Archived from the original on August 10, 2023. Retrieved August 10, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Oates, Tom; Cieslewicz, Greg (October 12, 1987). "Packers suffered when Drost left". Wisconsin State Journal (clipping). p. 4-2. Archived from the original on August 10, 2023. Retrieved August 10, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "16 strike-replacement players earn employment with Packers". Stevens Point Journal (clipping). Associated Press. October 20, 1987. p. 11. Retrieved April 10, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Tech Student-Athletes Earn High GPA". The Times-Herald (clipping). January 26, 1989. p. 5D. Retrieved April 10, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.