Former USC Athletics, College Football and New England Patriots Hall of Fame fullback Samuel Lewis Cunningham Jr. — better known as Sam “Bam” Cunningham — passed away Tuesday at the age of 71.
Cunningham is best known for his role in USC’s famed 1970 matchup with Alabama, in which the integrated Trojans under head coach John McKay traveled to Birmingham to face Paul “Bear” Bryant’s all-white Crimson Tide. In that game, Cunningham’s debut, the Santa Barbara native rushed for 135 yards and two touchdowns in an upset 42-21 thumping of Alabama largely credited with facilitating the integration of college football in the South.
“It was a great game for us as Trojans. As bad as it was for Alabama, it was a great game for them because they benefited down the line and have been benefiting ever since. Auburn, all the teams in the SEC, Georgia and all them. To get an opportunity to be a part of something so special is definitely a blessing,” Cunningham said on a Daily Trojan podcast released on the 50-year anniversary of the historic game. “We [Cunningham and 1970 teammate John Papadakis] are just trying to maintain and explain it as best we can so that people who weren’t there understand.”
One of Bryant’s former assistants, Jerry Claiborne, said that “Sam Cunningham did more to integrate Alabama in 60 minutes than Martin Luther King did in 20 years.”
“We had issues on our team ourselves,” Cunningham said. “But that game was not one of them. That team that we had, we only went 6-4-1, and that’s mediocre in USC standards. But it will always be remembered for how it changed the landscape of college football and opened the door for inclusion. And that’s the most important thing.”
Cunningham later went on to lead the Trojans to the national championship as team captain in 1972, his final of three years as a USC letterman. He also won All-American first team honors that season. He was inducted into the USC Athletics Hall of Fame in 2001 and the College Football Hall of Fame nine years later.
After a successful career at USC, Cunningham was the 11th pick in the first round of the NFL draft by the New England Patriots. He went on to have a successful NFL career with the Patriots as well, becoming their all-time leading rusher with 5,453 yards. The Patriots honored Cunningham in 2010 by electing him to the Patriots Hall of Fame.
Cunningham is survived by his wife Cine, daughter Samahndi, brothers Randall (former NFL quarterback), Bruce and Anthony.
Extremely saddened by the loss of a college football legend. As good a man as he was a player. Thank you Sam for being the example of what a Trojan should be. You will be missed but never forgotten. https://t.co/1Fj1FMSkpn
— Clay Helton (@USCCoachHelton) September 7, 2021