Sam ‘Bam’ Cunningham dies at 71

an All-American fullback at Southern California whose performance against Alabama was credited with helping to integrate football in the South and who went on to a record-setting career with the Patriots, died Tuesday. He was 71.

He died at his home in Inglewood, according to USC, which spoke to his wife, Cine. She said the cause had yet to be determined.

Cunningham’s younger brother, Randall, starred as a quarterback in the NFL for 16 years.

As a sophomore in 1970 under coach John McKay, Cunningham was part of USC’s all-Black backfield, along with quarterback Jimmy Jones and running back Clarence Davis, which was the first of its kind in Division I.

Cunningham ran for 135 yards on 12 carries and scored two touchdowns in the Trojans’ 42-21 rout of predominantly white Alabama at Legion Field in Birmingham to open that season. His performance was credited with having influenced the university and coach Bear Bryant to widely recruit more Black players and accelerate the integration of the sport in the South.

“What they saw was the future,” Cunningham told ESPN in 2016. “Their team was eventually going to be integrated.”

In 1971, Alabama had Black players on scholarship for the first time and played for the national title. The decade became a standout era for Bryant and the Crimson Tide.

GONZAGA’S FEW CITED FOR DUI

Gonzaga basketball coach Mark Few has been cited for driving under the influence.

Few was stopped by Coeur d’Alene police around 8 p.m. Monday after he was “called in as driving erratic and speeding,” according to a police report.

The report stated that Few exhibited “several signs of intoxication” and that he refused to complete field sobriety tests. Few provided breath samples of .119 and .120, which is above the legal limit of .08, the report stated.