Randy McMillan, a former NFL running back who grew up in Jarrettsville and was one of the last Baltimore Colts, died Wednesday, the team announced. He was 67.
An attendee of John Carroll and a 1977 graduate of North Harford High School, McMillan dominated at Harford Community College for two years before playing at the University of Pittsburgh for coach Jackie Sherrill.
The 6-foot, 215-pound back was the Colts’ No. 1 pick and the 12th player selected in the 1981 draft. He rushed for 146 yards and two touchdowns in his NFL debut, a 29-28 win over the New England Patriots, on Sept. 6, 1981. Those 146 rushing yards are the second-most for a Colts player in his NFL debut, trailing only Hall of Fame fullback Alan Ameche (194 in 1955).
McMillan played three seasons in Baltimore, rushing for 1,700 yards while catching 89 passes for 750 yards. The club moved to Indianapolis in 1984, and McMillan led the team in rushing for three seasons there before a road accident in April 1987 cut short his career.
Walking across York Road, he was hit by a car, shattering his left leg in two places. When two comebacks failed, McMillan took a job managing a health club in White Marsh.
“That was my demise,” he told The Baltimore Sun in 1992. “My tibia and fibula were broken, and there was nerve damage. Even when I healed, the legs didn’t react as they had before. I gained some strength and was able to go to training camp, but couldn’t do much and finally went back into rehab the middle of October. I tried to come back the next season, but the Colts let me go. I had some other offers, but I retired. I was not capable of doing the job the way I wanted to, and if I couldn’t do that, it was time to quit.”
In December 2002, he fell asleep at the wheel and crashed his car into a guardrail, bruising his spinal cord.
The injury “has been an eye-opener for me,” he told The Sun in 2009. “But I take on the challenge, and I’ve got friends.”
Early in his career, McMillan loved reading books, liked to travel, enjoyed fine art and made it a point to hang out with people who had no connection to football, according to a 2005 profile in The Sun.
In 88 career games, McMillan rushed for 3,876 yards and 24 touchdowns and added 164 receptions for 1,356 yards with two scores.
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