View source for Rick Upchurch

{{Infobox NFL player
|image= Rick Upchurch.JPG
|caption= Upchurch in 2014
|name=Rick Upchurch
|position=[[Wide receiver]]<br>[[Return specialist]] 
|number=80
|birth_date={{Birth date and age|1952|5|20}}
|birth_place=[[Toledo, Ohio]]
|height_ft=5
|height_in=10
|weight_lbs=175
|high_school=[[Springfield High School (Holland, Ohio)|Holland (OH) Springfield]]
|college=[[Minnesota Golden Gophers football|Minnesota]]
|draftyear=1975
|draftround=4
|draftpick=95
|teams=
* [[Denver Broncos]] ([[1975 NFL season|1975]]–[[1983 NFL season|1983]])
|highlights=
* 4× [[Pro Bowl]] ([[1977 Pro Bowl|1976]], [[1979 Pro Bowl|1978]], [[1980 Pro Bowl|1979]], [[1983 Pro Bowl|1982]])
* 5× [[All-Pro]] ([[1976 All-Pro Team|1976]]–[[1979 All-Pro Team|1979]], [[1982 All-Pro Team|1982]])
* [[Denver Broncos|Denver Broncos 50th Anniversary Team]]
* [[NFL 1970s All-Decade Team]]
* [[NFL 1980s All-Decade Team]]
* [[Denver Broncos#Ring of Honor|Denver Broncos Ring of Fame]]
|statlabel1=Return [[Touchdowns]]
|statvalue1=8
|statlabel2=[[Punt returner|Punt return]] yards
|statvalue2=3,008
|statlabel3=[[Kick returner|Kick return]] yards
|statvalue3=2,355
|nfl=UPC415291
|pfr=UpchRi00
|HOF=
|CollegeHOF=
 }}

'''Ricky "Rick" Upchurch''' (born May 20, 1952) is a former professional [[American football]] player who played [[wide receiver]] for the [[Denver Broncos]] (1975–1983) of the [[National Football League]] (NFL).  Before his NFL career, he played for [[Indian Hills Community College|Centerville Community College]] in [[Centerville, Iowa]] and the [[University of Minnesota]] and went to high school at [[Springfield High School (Holland, Ohio)|Springfield High School]] in [[Holland, Ohio]].  In 2000, Upchurch was named one of the 300 best NFL players of all time.<ref name=russakoff>{{cite journal  | last = Russakoff| first = Dale| title = How football helped shape Condoleezza the strategist | journal = thestandard.com | date = February 7, 2005}}</ref>

In his nine NFL seasons, Upchurch excelled as a receiver and a kick returner on special teams. In his rookie season, he rushed for 97 yards, caught 18 passes for 436 yards, returned 27 punts for 312 yards, and added another 1,014 yards returning kickoffs.  In his second season, he set an NFL record by returning four punts for touchdowns and made the [[Pro Bowl]]. In the 1977 season, he led the NFL with 653 punt return yards and assisted his team to their first ever [[Super Bowl]] appearance. The Broncos lost [[Super Bowl XII]] to the [[Dallas Cowboys]] 27-10, but he had a good performance in the game. Upchurch amassed 125 total offensive yards (94 kickoff return, 22 punt return, 9 receiving), including a Super Bowl record 67-yard kickoff return in the 3rd quarter that set up Denver's only touchdown of the game.

Upchurch stayed with the Broncos until the 1983 season. He led the NFL in punt return average twice (1978 and 1982), and was selected to the Pro Bowl three more times (1978, 1979, 1982). He finished his nine-season career with 49 carries for 349 rushing yards, 267 receptions for 4,369 yards, 248 punt returns for 3,008 yards, and 95 kickoff returns for 2,355 yards.  Overall, Upchurch gained 10,081 total yards and scored 35 touchdowns: eight returning punts, 24 receiving, and three rushing. He was also selected All-Pro five times. At the time of his retirement, he was the NFL's career leader in punt return yards, and his eight punt returns for touchdowns tied the NFL record shared by [[Jack Christiansen]]. He is one of five players to record a career average of over 12 yards per punt return.

After his retirement from the NFL, Upchurch coached football at [[Tabor College (Kansas)|Tabor College]] in [[Hillsboro, Kansas]] during the early to mid-1990s. In 2005, Upchurch became the head football coach at [[East High School (Pueblo, Colorado)|East High School]] in [[Pueblo, Colorado]] in 2005, where the team posted a 1-19 record in his two seasons as head coach. Upchurch currently resides in [[Mesquite, Nevada]], and frequently visits nearby communities such as [[St. George, Utah]], and [[Logandale, Nevada]], to sign [[autographs]] for Broncos fans. Upchurch is ranked the sixth-greatest return specialist in NFL history on [[NFL Network]]'s [[NFL Top 10]] Return Aces.

{{As of|2017}}'s NFL off-season, Rick Upchurch held at least 11 Broncos franchise records, including:
* Punt Returns: career (248), season (51 in 1977), game (8 on 1978-10-22 @BAL; with [[Trindon Holliday]])
* Punt Return Yds: career (3,008), season (653 in 1977)
* Punt Return TDs: career (8), season (4 in 1976), game (2 on 1976-09-26 CLE; with [[Darrien Gordon]])
* Total Return Yds: career (5,363), playoffs (351), playoff season (222 in 1977)

==Personal life==
Upchurch dated and was briefly engaged to the former [[Secretary of State]] [[Condoleezza Rice]] in the 1970s. She left him because, according to her biographer Marcus Mabry, "She knew the relationship wasn't going to work."<ref>{{cite book| last = Mabry| first = Marcus| title =Twice As Good: Condoleezza Rice and Her Path to Power | publisher = Modern Times| date = May 1, 2007| isbn =1-59486-362-8 }}</ref> He is currently married and has four children.<ref name=russakoff/>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://www.nfl.com/player/rickupchurch/2527798/profile Profile at nfl.com]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070205093446/http://www.databasefootball.com/players/playerpage.htm?ilkid=UPCHURIC01 Upchurch at databasefootball.com]
* [http://pro-football-reference.com/players/UpchRi00.htm Upchurch at pro-football-reference.com]

{{NFL1970s}}
{{NFL1980s}}
{{Broncos50th}}
{{Denver Broncos Ring of Honor}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Upchurch, Rick}}
[[Category:1952 births]]
[[Category:African-American players of American football]]
[[Category:American Conference Pro Bowl players]]
[[Category:American football return specialists]]
[[Category:American football wide receivers]]
[[Category:Denver Broncos players]]
[[Category:High school football coaches in the United States]]
[[Category:Indian Hills Community College alumni]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Centerville Golden Falcons football players]]
[[Category:Minnesota Golden Gophers football players]]
[[Category:Players of American football from Ohio]]
[[Category:Sportspeople from Toledo, Ohio]]
[[Category:University of Minnesota alumni]]
[[Category:People from Mesquite, Nevada]]