Tim Clifford
American football player (1958–2024)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Timothy R. Clifford Sr. (November 28, 1958 – October 23, 2024) was an American college football player who was a quarterback for the Indiana Hoosiers from 1977 to 1980. He won the Big Ten Most Valuable Player in 1979.
| Indiana Hoosiers | |
|---|---|
| Position | Quarterback |
| Personal information | |
| Born | November 28, 1958 |
| Died | October 23, 2024 (aged 65) |
| Listed height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) |
| Listed weight | 200 lb (91 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Colerain (Cincinnati) |
| College |
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| Awards and highlights | |
| |
Early life
Clifford grew up in Cincinnati where he played football, basketball, baseball and track at Colerain High School.[1][2]
Indiana University
Clifford attended the Indiana University Bloomington where he played varsity football and baseball. He was a pitcher for the baseball team and played at the quarterback position for the school's football team from 1977 to 1980.[1][3] He became the school's all-time leader in passing yardage. In his four years at Indiana, Clifford completed 333 of 631 passes for 4,338 yards, 31 touchdowns, and 32 interceptions.[3]
As a junior, Clifford totaled 2,078 passing yards and led the 1979 Indiana Hoosiers football team to an 8–4 record and the program's first victory in a bowl game, a 38–37 victory over BYU in the 1979 Holiday Bowl.[4] In September 1978, he completed 11 passes for 345 yards and five touchdowns in a 49–7 victory over Colorado.[5] During the 1979 season, Clifford set Indiana single-season records in pass attempts (259), completions (149), passing yardage (1,907 in regular season games), and total offense (1,978 yards in regular season games).[1]
At the end of the 1979 season, he won the Chicago Tribune Silver Football trophy as the most valuable player in the Big Ten Conference.[1] He was the first Hoosier to win the Silver Football since Corbett Davis in 1937.[1] Despite being selected as the conference MVP, Clifford did not receive first- or second-team honors from the Associated Press, as Art Schlichter and Mark Herrmann won those honors.[6]
Clifford was a team co-captain in both 1979 and 1980 and was selected as Indiana's team MVP in both of those years.[7] He led the East team to a 21–3 victory in the 1981 East–West Shrine Game and shared offensive most valuable player honors with Amos Lawrence.[8] Clifford also played in the Japan Bowl. He was drafted by the Chicago Bears in the 10th round of the 1981 NFL draft.[9]