Max Runager Explained

Max Runager
Number:	4
Position:	Punter
Birth Date:	24 March 1956
Birth Place:	Greenwood, South Carolina, U.S.
Death Place:	Orangeburg, South Carolina, U.S.
Height Ft:	6
Height In:	1
Weight Lb:	189
High School:	Orangeburg-Wilkinson (Orangeburg, South Carolina)
College:	South Carolina
Draftyear:	1979
Draftround:	8
Draftpick:	211
Pastteams:	Philadelphia Eagles (–) San Francisco 49ers (–) Cleveland Browns Philadelphia Eagles
Highlights:	2× Super Bowl champion (XIX, XXIII)
Statlabel1:	Punts
Statvalue1:	661
Statlabel2:	Punt yards
Statvalue2:	26,581
Statlabel3:	Longest punt
Statvalue3:	64
Pfr:	RunaMa20

Max Culp Runager (March 24, 1956 – June 30, 2017) was a professional American football punter in the National Football League (NFL) for eleven seasons for the Philadelphia Eagles, the San Francisco 49ers, and the Cleveland Browns. A graduate of Orangeburg-Wilkinson High School,^[1] Runager played college football at the University of South Carolina. He punted for two Super Bowl teams, the Philadelphia Eagles in 1980 and the San Francisco 49ers in 1984.^[2]

Runager is one of at least 345 NFL players to be diagnosed after death with chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), which is caused by repeated hits to the head.^[3] ^[4]

NFL career statistics

Legend
	Won the Super Bowl
Bold	Career high

Regular season

Year	Team	Punting
Year	Team		Punts
	PHI	16	74	2,927	2,607	57	39.6	34.8	1	13	6
	PHI	16	75	2,947	2,563	58	39.3	33.7	1	16	8
	PHI	15	63	2,567	2,201	64	40.7	34.9	0	18	6
	PHI	9	44	1,784	1,448	53	40.5	32.9	0	8	1
	PHI	12	59	2,459	2,020	55	41.7	34.2	0	12	5
	SFO	14	56	2,341	1,925	59	41.8	33.8	1	18	12
	SFO	16	86	3,422	2,948	57	39.8	33.9	1	30	9
	SFO	16	83	3,450	2,917	62	41.6	34.3	2	23	8
	SFO	12	55	2,157	1,850	56	39.2	33.0	1	14	7
	SFO	1	1	24	24	24	24.0	24.0	0	0	0
	CLE	13	48	1,935	1,694	52	40.3	33.9	2	13	2
	PHI	4	17	568	518	52	33.4	30.5	0	5	1
Career		144	661	26,581	22,715	64	40.2	33.9	9	170	65

Playoffs

Year	Team	Punting
Year	Team		Punts
	PHI	2	9	383	330	52	42.6	36.7	0	2	1
	PHI	3	11	382	339	46	34.7	30.8	0	2	1
	PHI	1	7	297	256	47	42.4	36.6	0	0	0
	SFO	3	11	425	376	48	38.6	34.2	0	3	0
	SFO	1	6	228	179	46	38.0	29.8	0	1	1
	SFO	1	10	400	343	49	40.0	34.3	0	3	0
	SFO	1	6	245	216	49	40.8	36.0	0	1	0
	CLE	1	3	106	106	43	35.3	35.3	0	3	0
Career		13	63	2,466	2,145	52	39.1	34.0	0	15	3

Notes and References

News: Sielski . Mike . Hero's life, lonely death: Max Runager suffered because he no longer had football . 27 January 2021 . The Times and Democrat . November 18, 2017.
News: Sielski, Mike . Former Eagles punter Max Runager: Local hero's life, lonely death . . November 8, 2017 . November 18, 2017.
News: The driving force behind Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) . Concussion Legacy Foundation . July 2, 2023 . July 2, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230702123543/https://concussionfoundation.org/cte-resources/subconcussive-impacts . dead .
News: Belson . Ken . Mueller . Benjamin . June 20, 2023 . Collective Force of Head Hits, Not Just the Number of Them, Increases Odds of C.T.E. The largest study of chronic traumatic encephalopathy to date found that the cumulative force of head hits absorbed by players in their careers is the best predictor of future brain disease. . . July 2, 2023.