Cris Collinsworth

Anthony Cris Collinsworth was born on January 27, 1959, in Dayton, Ohio. His father, Abraham Lincoln "Abe" Collinsworth, was a star basketball player for Kentucky’s 1958 national championship team, and both parents were educators—his mother Donetta taught, while his father worked as a teacher, coach, principal, and eventually superintendent of Brevard County schools. When Cris was four, the family moved to Melbourne, Florida, and later to Titusville in 1972, where he and his younger brother Greg attended Astronaut High School while their father served as principal. A standout multi-sport athlete, Collinsworth won the Florida Class 3A 100-yard dash state championship as a junior in 1976 and was named a high school All-American quarterback.

He accepted a scholarship to the University of Florida, where he initially played quarterback in the option offense. On his very first collegiate pass, he threw a 99-yard touchdown—still tied for the longest in NCAA history. After the offense struggled in 1977, coach Doug Dickey shifted to a pro-style attack, moving Collinsworth to wide receiver under new position coach Steve Spurrier. He thrived, earning first-team All-SEC honors in 1978, 1979, and 1980, and was named a first-team All-American and Academic All-American in 1980.

As a senior captain, he helped Florida post the biggest one-year turnaround in Division I football at the time, going from 0–10–1 to 8–4. He capped his college career as MVP of the 1980 Tangerine Bowl. Over his time at Florida, he caught 120 passes for 1,937 yards, rushed for 210, scored 14 receiving touchdowns, two rushing, one on a kickoff return, and threw two touchdown passes. He also returned 30 kickoffs for 726 yards.

He graduated with a bachelor’s in accounting in 1981, was inducted into the University of Florida Student Hall of Fame that year, and was later named a “Gator Great” in 1991. In 2006, The Gainesville Sun ranked him the No. 12 all-time Gator player.

The Cincinnati Bengals selected Collinsworth in the second round of the 1981 NFL Draft, and he spent his entire eight-year career there. As a rookie, he led the team in receiving and set a franchise record with 67 catches—the most by any NFL rookie wideout in 21 years. He topped 1,000 receiving yards four times (1981, 1983, 1985, 1986) and made the Pro Bowl in 1981, 1982, and 1983. His height and speed made him a mismatch against smaller cornerbacks.

In Super Bowl XVI, he led all receivers with five catches for 107 yards, but a second-quarter fumble after a hit by Eric Wright led to a 92-yard 49ers touchdown drive; San Francisco won 26–21. In 1985, he signed with the Tampa Bay Bandits of the USFL, but the contract was voided after he failed a physical due to a bad ankle. He returned to the Bengals and played through 1988, catching three passes for 40 yards in Super Bowl XXIII, his final game. He finished his NFL career with 417 receptions for 6,698 yards and 36 touchdowns in 107 games.

After retiring, Collinsworth began a broadcasting career as a sports radio host on Cincinnati’s WLW, initially substituting for Bob Trumpy before taking over the show full-time. In 1989, he became a reporter for HBO’s Inside the NFL (now on Showtime). He joined NBC’s NFL broadcasts in 1990, also working college games, and moved to the network’s pregame show in 1996. In 1995, he appeared on HBO covering Wimbledon alongside Billie Jean King, Martina Navratilova, and Barry MacKay. After NBC lost NFL rights, he joined Fox’s NFL coverage in 1998. He has won 17 Sports Emmy Awards and is the majority owner of Pro Football Focus.