TJB Hall of Fame: Freeman McNeil
One of the great things about having a fan-based Jets Hall of Fame is being able to recognize players that may not have been all-time NFL greats but were players who, as Jets fans, we came to appreciate because of their consistent stellar play year in and year out. They might not have captured the notice of football fans across the country, but they certainly captured the hearts of Jets Nation thanks to their efforts on Sunday afternoons.
One such player who consistently dazzled Jets fans was running back Freeman McNeil.
For a lot of current Jets fans, when they see #24 in green-and-white running down the field, they see all-world cornerback Darrelle Revis. For us older fans, however, #24 conjours up memories of McNeil, another seemingly all-world player — when he was healthy enough to stay on the field.
A first-round draft pick in 1981 — and third overall — out of UCLA (where he was an All-American), the dynamic McNeil was one of those rare players who spent his entire 12-year NFL career (a lifetime for an NFL running back) on a single team, suiting up for the Jets from ’81 to ’92. During that span, he played in 144 games, accumulating 8,074 rushing yards, only second to Curtis Martin in team history. He also had 38 rushing TDs during that span, making him 4th in team history — although many scoring opportunities were vultured by backfield mate Johnny Hector.
In an era when the celebrated Sack Exchange grabbed headlines, McNeil was a versatile and exciting offensive player, and excelled coming out of the backfield as a receiver. Over the course of his career, he had 295 receptions for 2,961 yards and 12 TDs, making for an average of 10 yards a reception, which is impressive for a running back.
More impressive, however, was his average per rushing attempt — a key measuring stick when evaluating a running back. For his career, Freeman McNeil averaged 4.5 yards a carry, a better mark than such contemporaries as Hall-of-Famers Tony Dorsett, Earl Campbell and Walter Payton. McNeil is also rare that he averaged better than 4 yards a carry for every season of his stellar career.
As someone who loved watching McNeil run week in and week out, I can tell you why that average was so high — it’s the same thing that makes McNeil such a beloved figure in Jets history. In addition to being an exciting and great cutback runner, at the end of every carry, McNeil had a wonderful habit of lunging, diving or simply wriggling forward to gain just another few more feet. Maybe it didn’t make a difference on each individual play, but those additional inches and that extra effort added up over time, and certainly helped fuel the appreciation that Jets fans have for McNeil.
Unfortunately, McNeil’s dramatic style of running also caused McNeil to miss a number of games (as well as fumble a little more than average — but hey, no one’s perfect!). During the dozen years of his career, McNeil only played in every game three times, and two of those were later on when he wasn’t nearly as effective. One of those seasons where he did play in every game, however, was particularly sweet.
In that infamous strike-shortened 1982 NFL season, McNeil became the first Jets running back to lead the NFL in rushing, going for 786 yards in 9 games and averaging 5.2 yards a carry while leading the Jets to the playoffs. In the first round, McNeil singlehandedly destroyed the Bengals, rushing for 202 yards and a TD as well as passing for a TD in a 44-17 victory. In the next game, he laid 101 yards on the Raiders to lead the team to the AFC Championship Game in Miami. Despite how that game turned out, it capped a sensational campaign for McNeil, who was voted to his first Pro Bowl and was named All Pro.
McNeil would go on to earn two more Pro Bowl berths: one in 1984, where he ran for 1,070 yards with 5 TDs in just 12 games, and the next the following season, where he amassed 1,331 yards in only 14 games, as well as 427 yards receiving. While he had many memorable games in other seasons — including an 140-yard game versus Seattle in 1983, and 184-yard and 154-yard efforts against the Chiefs in 1987 & ’88 — McNeil wasn’t consistently on the field enough to amass statistics that would rank him among the game’s elite.
He is, however, among the greatest running backs to ever don the green-and-white. From his fine game-day performances and inspired off-the-field charitable contributions, Freeman McNeil has made an indelible mark on New York, and has earned himself a spot in the pantheon of New York sports greats.
Freeman, welcome to the TJB Hall of Fame and thanks for all the great memories.
50 Responses to TJB Hall of Fame: Freeman McNeil
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Dave TN says:
The Jets certainly missed him when he missed games with injuries. Game 16 in ’91 was sweet victory over Miami.
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Also, I once saw his wife Rosa completely pwn some drunks who were getting out of line near the players section.
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Bent says: A great Jet. Fun to watch. Congratulations, Freeman.
I saved the following comment from a poster named “Freeman 24″ from last year’s HOF posts especially for this occasion:
Ok I’m more than a little biased as i grew up with him as my favorite Jet (and his name is my handle) but I believe Freeman McNeil should without question be the next Jet inducted.
Its a no brainer actually !!!!!!!!!!
A 12 Year career all happily as a Jet ! Freeman made the Pro Bowl 3 times. He amassed 8,074 yds rushing with a whopping 4.5 avg. Add another 300 receptions for 3,000 yds and your talking about some impressive career stats (38th on the all time rushing list – considering there are 30 teams in the league thats pretty darn good). Especially considering injuries limited him to a part time player over the last 3 years. He is one of a few running backs in NFL history to average 4.0 yards per carry in every season he played (look it up) with 50 career TDs.
For those of you that didn’t see him play he was Curtis Martin minus the ability to avoid/play through injury. Incredible vision, he ran low with sudden shiftiness, made people miss and that ability to rack up 100 yds before you realized he was doing it to you. Like Martin, he was the consummate professional, a solid citizen and a team leader.
He averaged 4.2 yds a carry in the playoffs including the 82/83 playoffs in which he was a dominant force (first team All Pro that year). In those playoffs he ran for over 100 yds in two consecutive road playoffs games including 202 in Cincinnati to carry us to the AFC title game ! If not for Don Shula cheating and muddying up the field in that game he would have had a Super Bowl appearance on his resume as well.
All told the Jets made the playoffs 5 times in his 9 years as the primary ball carrier with him being one of the key reasons for the success (enough said vote him in on that alone)
In 1985 Freeman was named NFL Man of the Year and during his career he was as giving an athlete as ever to play a professional sport in New York.
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David I says:
My favorite all time Jets RB! I’ll never forget the way he ran all over the Bengals D in the playoffs. One of the all time greatest Jets individual performances of all time.
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ken schroy says:
I would take him on my team over Curtis Martin any day. He, unlike Martin, was an exciting back who was a threat to break long runs and defenses had to try to take him away as part of their game plan.
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Jets4evrr says:
I th,ought Freeman was already inducted. He definately belongs. A classy guy, great player, and tremendous talent. I met him when our boys played roller hockey.
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Led says:
McNeil would be such a stud in today’s game with his ability to catch the ball out of the backfield. Still durability is an element of greatness and McNeil lacked that element. Although not an all-time great, he’s an all-time great Jet.
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JetObsessed28 says:
he’s part of the reason why the Jets made an impression on me as a kid, fueling my fan-dom….
Vote him in!
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TOON2388 says:
Still squeeze into my 1984 #24 jersey once a season.
No need to belittle Curtis to give Freeman props. We were blessed to be able to watch both play for us.
The playoff game @ Cincy in ’82 (Jan ’83 technically) is still my favorite individual performance of any JET.
Freeman also gave a lot back to the Community, was heavily involved in the United Way.
I met him once – he was picking up wings to go @ J. Sprats in Westbury – saw him come in, and he talked to me for 3 or 4 minutes. Great guy.
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BamBam says:
Off topic but S. J. Green put on another great show last night in the CFL. I was at the BC Lions vs Montreal Alouettes game last night and he made a clutch 48 yd catch to seal the game. Maybe we shouldn’t have released him!
http://www.bclions.com/article/lions-drop-close-game-to-alouettes-on-friday-night -
NamVetJet says:
Total no brainer.
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while we are on the topic of Freeman, how about the OL of Powell Alexander Fields Waldemore Ward goes into TJBHOF as a Unit?
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James in TN says:
Always a favorite of mine, you can’t have a hall of fame without him. Congrats!
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Drack says:
Excellent article, R. McNeil had this way of sliding thru small spaces to get those extra yards, just as you described.
I remember a writer for Sports Illustrated making a case for McNeil’s induction into Canton (at Joe Namath’s expense, actually) and went looking for it on the SI Vault site. While I could not find that gem of an article, I did come across this one that sheds an interesting light on McNeil’s personality. Worth the read!
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1068934/index.htm
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Hopefully, Lance Mehl, Mickey Shuler or Kyle Clifton are inducted next.
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it look like david clowney and santonio holmes are going to bond some more in ghana
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Charlie D says:
Fellow Fans & BENT
I know that the Jets start at Cortland on Aug 1st. This may seem like an obvious question but when can we go to watch them? What day and time can fans go to camp? Please let me know I live 2 hrs from Cortland NY and 2 hrs from East Rutherford but work in NYC. Go Jets
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Ben Nevis says:
Freeman is clearly a solid pick for the TJB HOF. No controversy here, and no question about it.
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Paul says:
If he had stayed healthy, he would’ve been an all-time great. I’d say he was more dynamic than Curtis Martin, but Martin is a sure fire NFL Hall of Famer. Freeman McNeil won’t be, but could have been, if he had only stayed healthy. He was fun to watch.
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originaljetfan says:
Great selection
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Really well written piece on a very good player. I think if McNeil came around in the early part of this past decade he would have been a big star in the league. With the way the offenses changed to feature more passing to runners he could have been viewed in a similar light as a Brian Westbrook type player. But those were pass happy days in the AFC, (plus no fantasy football to bring extra love to the runners) which saw guys like McNeil get overlooked.
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jscott2000 says:
ok he was OK at best….never won us the big one, and the few times he saw the playoffs he showed up one time then choked….I think there are way better guys that would be a “no brainer” added to the list…this was a lazy pick
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JSCOTT – when did Freeman choke in playoffs?
and if you go by “winning the big one” then only members of the ’68 team would be eligible
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Curtin was a great player, but his Hall of Fame credentials are like Cal Ripken’s in baseball. A great, but overrated player who wasn’t exciting to watch and did not dominate at his position. Someone who got great credit for being likeable, a tremendous asset to his community, and for his longevity as a player.
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Bent says:
Toon – I couldn’t recall McNeil actively choking in the playoffs either, but interestingly he was 3-5 over the course of his career.
3 wins – 75-438 rushing (5.8 ypc)
5 losses – 75-194 rushing (2.6 ypc)Not sure that constitutes a choke by him though, as the Jets were pretty overmatched in each of those games.
As for Curtis, there’s something to be said for having an almost umatched level of dependability over such a long period. Never flashy, but that was part of his appeal. What a two-headed monster these two would have made together!
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KimoS69 says:
What took so long??
Truely one of the best JETS ever, especially since he spent his entire career with the team. I recall the respect that Don Shula had for this athlete.Still have my childhood McNeil jersey. I cannot wait for my son to grow into it and wear it at camp!
Congrats Freeman!!
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JohnR says:
My favorite player of that era. And, on a bad note, who could forget his TD run after a Cleveland turnover which meant the “NY Jets are going to the AFC Chamionship game!” Thanks a lot, Charlie Steiner.
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DJ says:
Here’s the SI piece from Aug 27 2001 that declared McNeil to be the “most underrated running back” in history:
“When people remember Freeman McNeil, it’s either for his gutsy lead role in a lawsuit that brought down the NFL’s restrictions on player movement or for his endless string of injuries. McNeil, however, was much more than a gimpy crusader. In 12 years (1981-92) with the New York Jets, he accumulated 8,074 rushing yards behind some of the worst NFL offensive linemen this side of Tony Mandarich. He was a thrill ride—Barry Sanders and Warrick Dunn and James Brooks rolled into one—but he was never afraid to wedge his helmet into a linebacker’s chest. His numbers won’ blow folks away, but McNeil was an artist.” -
Freeman24 says:
Bent,
Thanks so much for digging up my post from last year and providing this forum for the new generation of Jet fans to learn a little bit about Freeman. He was electrifying on the field and a role model off it.
I still wear his number 24 (the real throwback Jet jersey) to games.
P.S. – he never “choked” in the playoff, his only other extensive action (other than the year he got us to the Championship game) was in 1986, where he ran for 3 TDs in 2 games. Pretty sure Freeman wasn’t playing defense when we gave up a 10 pt lead late in the 4th Qtr against the Browns.
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SackDance99 says:
Freeman really was the missing link on the Jets offense. After the Jets let Riggins leave (the team was geared for his power running style), the Jets had to use the 3 (and sometimes 4) headed monster of Long-Dierking-Gaines (with liberal doses of Harper) to fuel a running game. Freeman changed that and the Jets started to make the playoffs, rather than just reach .500. The SI article was way off. The Jets OL with Powell, Fields, Rasmussen, Sweeney, et al. was as solid as you get. Freeman and Hector (also very underrated) ran wild behind those lines in the 80s. Freeman had durability and fumbling issues that keep him from serious HOF consideration, but he was a Jets great and well-deserving of induction. But, as I always say, the TJB keeps on naming members of that great 80s team and not inducting the superstar of that team: Gastineau. It’s really getting absurd.
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Hey Ken, Cal Ripken was the MAN! He played everyday redefined the shortstop position, won a world series ring, and most importantly didn’t do steroids or HGH like all the jokes in baseball now.
Curtis and Cal are both class acts AND they dominated at their positions.
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I’m sorry, but i love Curtis Martin.. i don’t understand how any jets fan can have negative associations with #28..
I really really wish there were more star athletes that had his humility..
Also, James, i agree with you 100% on Cal
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Play Like a JET says:
For many a season during the 80s, Freeman was a model of consistency, excellence and professionalism. He was my first (and remains) Jets hero. I’m glad that we fans get to recognize him this way.
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McNeil did play behind some good offensive linemen in his early years — namely Powell and Fields. However, for 9 out of his 12 years — including great seasons in 1986 and 1988 — no Jet offensive linemen went to the Pro Bowl. More often, he was lining up behind the likes of Jeff Criswell, Ted Banker, Guy Bingham, and Reggie McElroy. Basically, the guy was great at finding yards where there weren’t any.
I loved the way he would always seem to get up slowly after a tackle and saunter back to the huddle, but then still show the same quickness the very next time he touched the ball.
My favorite Jet of all time. -
Freeman gained over 300 yards in 2 plsyoff games before the Miami game. He gained 116 yards and 89 yards in the 2 regular season games against Miami..
Shula ignored league rules and did not tarp the field. Hence 17-46
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rusty sanchez says:
why is he one of the names that is used on that espn jets draft blunders video that is shown every year on draft day??
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Bent says:
I don’t know. McNeil was picked third and although six hall of famers were taken in that draft (including LT at 2 and Lott at 8), it’s not like they made an outrageous pick and he did prove to be a great Jet for over ten years.
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oscarfactor says:
Good choice. But let me add something off subject – let’s bring back those Uni’s, especially the helmets, for at least a few games! Many more of us were around for those uniforms than for the Titans (although I think those were cool, too).
80′s Throwbacks! C’mon Rex – honor us oldtimers!
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Those uniforms should be worn as throwbacks!
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GulfBreezeJet says:
I’ve been saying for a while that they need to bring back the jerseys from ’78-’97 as throwbacks, they look a lot better than the Titans ones…
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TruJetFan says:
I’ve been waiting for this one, and it’s about TIME!
Steamin’ Freeman was THE man in the early 80′s for the Jets. The team went as he went. I remember being a pre-teenager and hoping the national media would recognize just how good he was. Made tacklers miss all the time.
The sack exchange stole his spotlight and Johnnie Hector stole his TDs. But McNeil made the 81 and 82 offense one of the league’s best. And that Bengals game in the 82 playoffs was all his.
People used to talk about what a nice guy he was. Apparently that’s what did him in. I cant remember who we were playing that day, but Freeman lined up to help in pass protection in ’92. He blocked a guy low and the linebacker blew out a knee on that play. Freeman was devastated and kneeled on the field for several minutes. He never played again.
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TOON2388 says:
I believe it was against the Colts in 1991 – O’brian Alston was his name.
And yes, out throwbacls should be the 1978-1989 jerseys – it chaned a little with some black outlining from 1990-1997.
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I still think that Freeman had good offensive linemen for the bulk of his Jets career. He had Fields, Sweeney and Alexander for almost his entire productive career (from ’81-’88) and early on had Powell. Plus, Ted Banker and Guy Bingham weren’t slouches and Reggie McElroy was pretty good, too. Plus, he had Mickey Shuler at TE and a succession of tough fullbacks, like Tony Paige. And, Hector got lots of the “tough” yards. IMO, it’s somewhat revisionist history to say he didn’t have good OL and blocking support. Also, that Sweeney never made the Pro Bowl was probably because he was the ultimate team player and played at every OL position that had a void. Alexander was like Brandon Moore, steady but there were always more stars at the OG position during his long career. They were both, IMO, great offensive linemen. Someone had to block for him because Freeman’s game was setting up his blocks with his great vision and east-west cutting ability. He wasn’t a battering ram.
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TOON2388,
Yeah my bad, I always forget they added more black to the jersey. It something you don’t really notice unless it’s pointed out…
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zenlaw says:
Here’s a question: What player on the Jets’ current roster (if any) is a TJB future hall-of-famer?
We can speculate with some players regarding their potential to eventually become HOF candidates, but is there any player on the roster, who is a TJB HOF lock?
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80s throwbacks yes!
My 5yr old is still confused as to why we were rooting for the blue team. Undid 2 years of anti Giant propaganda.
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MyFavoriteMartin says:
While he was before my time (born in ’86), Freeman holds a special place in my upbringing as a jets fan. When I was a kid I used to throw around a football with my dad. It was a full sized ball and all I remember about it was that it was way too big for my hands, it stung like hell in the cold, and it had one of those fake gold autographs printed on it: Freeman McNeil #24.
Oh, and yes, those are the best uniforms we ever wore.
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Joe S. says:
McNeil singlehandedly destroyed the Bengals, rushing for 202 yards and a TD as well as passing for a TD in a 44-17 victory. In the next game, he laid 101 yards on the Raiders to lead the team to the AFC Championship Game in Miami.
If it didn’t RAIN and/or that Miami field was dry in that Championship Game the Jets would have won that game and the Super Bowl that Year! McNeil would have rushed for over 100 yards in each of those games and would have been recognized for the Great Runner he was!
It’s funny how one game can change history.
#24 will always bring back my memories of Freeman McNeil! He was a True Great Jet and I am suprised that he is just getting into the TJB Hall of Fame.
Thanks You Freeman McNeil… I enjoyed every one of your carries!
He is my favorite player ever on the Jets. He is the only Jet player I have ever met in person. He was the man. played hard and out up solid numbers.
He actually lives next door to my cousin. I should tell him to check the site out,or at least tell his son.