Thomas Gatewood Jr.
Thomas Gatewood Jr. (born March 7, 1950 in Baltimore, Maryland is a former American football

American football

American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...

 wide receiver

Wide receiver

A wide receiver is an offensive position in American and Canadian football, and is the key player in most of the passing plays. Only players in the backfield or the ends on the line are eligible to catch a forward pass. The two players who begin play at the ends of the offensive line are eligible...

 in the National Football League

National Football League

The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...

. He was drafted by the New York Giants

New York Giants

The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in East Rutherford, New Jersey, representing the New York City metropolitan area. The Giants are currently members of the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...

 in the fifth round of the 1972 NFL Draft

1972 NFL Draft

The 1972 National Football League Draft was held on February 1–2, 1972.-Player selections:-Round one:-Round two:-Round three:-Round four:-Round five:-Round six:-Round seven:-Round eight:-Round nine:-Round ten:...

. He played college football

College football

College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...

 at Notre Dame

Notre Dame Fighting Irish football

Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team is the football team of the University of Notre Dame. The team is currently coached by Brian Kelly.Notre Dame competes as an Independent at the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision level, and is a founding member of the Bowl Championship Series coalition. It is an...

.

College career

While at Notre Dame, Gatewood set many receiving records, many of which were not broken until at least 30 years later. During his career he had 157 receptions for 2,283 yards and 19 touchdowns. In 1970 he was an consensus All-American after recording a then school record 77 receptions for 1,123 yards. The record was broken in 2006 by Jeff Samardzija

Jeff Samardzija

Jeffrey Alan Samardzija is an American baseball pitcher for the Chicago Cubs...

 who had 78. His 157 career receptions were also a record until 2006 when both Samardzija and Rhema McKnight

Rhema McKnight

Rhema Lee McKnight is a former wide receiver for the University of Notre Dame's American Football team and signed with the New Orleans Saints as an undrafted free agent on April 29, 2007...

 broke it. He still holds the record for the most catches per game in a season with 7.7.

Professional career

Gatewood was drafted by the New York Giants

New York Giants

The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in East Rutherford, New Jersey, representing the New York City metropolitan area. The Giants are currently members of the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...

 in the fifth round of the 1972 NFL Draft

1972 NFL Draft

The 1972 National Football League Draft was held on February 1–2, 1972.-Player selections:-Round one:-Round two:-Round three:-Round four:-Round five:-Round six:-Round seven:-Round eight:-Round nine:-Round ten:...

. He was unable to match the success he had in college and played in only 17 games over two seasons, recording no receptions.

External links

• Notre Dame Fighting Irish bio