COLUMN
Queens football star made his impact in the NFL
In conjunction with the
Greater Astoria Historical
Society, the TimesLedger
newspaper presents
noteworthy events in the
borough’s history.
Born on May 7, 1964 and
raised in Queens, Ronnie
Keith Harmon is a former
NFL running back who
played 12 seasons for four
pro teams after a standout
career at the University
of Iowa. Selected 16th
overall in the 1986 NFL
draft by the Buf falo Bills,
he developed a reputation
as an exceptional
third down back
and receiver.
Iowa Hawkeye fans,
however, perhaps best
recall the Bayside High
graduate for his four-
fumble performance in a
1986 Rose Bowl loss that
marred an otherwise stellar
college career in the Big
Ten. One of five Harmon
boys, brothers Kevin
and Derrick also played
in the NFL, and another
brother, Greg, played
semipro ball.
After earning consensus
all-city honors as a Bayside
High Commodore, Harmon
was courted by a number of
Division 1 college football
programs, eventually
committing to legendary
coach Hayden Fry at the
University of Iowa.
In four years of college
ball, the Queens native
became the featured
running back in Iowa’s
of fensive attack as well
as a usually sure-handed
receiver out of the
backfield. In addition to
2,219 rushing yards, the
gridiron star also racked
up 1,809 receiving yards
in his Hawkeye career.
One of the best running
backs in the smashmouth
Big Ten Conference,
Ronnie Harmon went 16th
overall to the Buf falo Bills
in the 1986 NFL draft.
Harmon was one of three
Hawkeyes selected in the
first round that year, and
younger brother Kevin
eventually took over at
running back for Iowa
before playing for the
Seattle Seahawks.
The Iowa product played
four seasons in Buf falo, but
in his final game with the
team in 1989 he dropped
a potential game winning
pass from Jim Kelly in a
playof f showdown against
Cleveland. The dropped
pass, as well as the rise
of future Hall of Famer
Thurman Thomas, spelled
the end of Harmon’s stint
with the Bills.
The former Bayside
High star went on to play
six seasons for the San
Diego Chargers, where
he played for head coach
and fellow Queens native
Dan Henning in 1990 and
1991. During his time
out west, Harmon led the
Chargers with 68 yards
receiving in a losing effort
against the 49ers in Super
Bowl XXIX, and was one
of our Iowa Hawkeyes
selected to play in the
1993 Pro Bowl.
The versatile ball
carrier brief ly played
for the Oilers, playing
their inaugural season
in Tennessee, before
wrapping up his career
with the Chicago Bears in
1997.
In his 12 NFL seasons,
Ronnie Harmon rushed for
2,774 yards on 615 carries,
an impressive 4.5 yards
per carry average. In his
181 games in the pros,
he also hauled in 6,076
receiving yards on 582
receptions, which is the
third highest career yards
total in NFL history for a
running back.
In 1992, Chargers
teammate Duane
Young summed up
the Queens native’s
running style.
“If there’s two guys
out there trying to tackle
Ronnie, he’s going to make
the first guy miss,” Young
said. “Then, after that,
he’ll make three guys
miss. I’ve seen him make a
whole team miss. He’ll just
make people look silly.”
Following his
retirement, Harmon
served as the running
backs coach at Western
Illinois University, and he
also coached at the high
school level.
Compiled by Dan
McDonald for the Greater
Astoria Historical Society.
For further information,
contact the Society at
718-278-0700 or visit
their website at
www.astorialic.org.
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