Daniel Buggs
Wide Receiver, (Years played-1972-1974), Scottdale, Ga.
"Danger Dan" or "The Rabbit" was a former all state receiver in Georgia where he excelled in football, basketball and track at Avondale High.
Daniel's primary varsity sport at West Virginia , however, was football. He was selected to the 1973 Kodak first team All-America wide receiver and may be best remembered for his blazing speed, which baffled Mountaineer football opponents from 1972-74. His 96-yard touchdown reception from Ben Williams versus Penn State in 1973 is still the longest pass play from scrimmage in WVU history.
Buggs' expertise was his ability to make the big play on the gridiron. In fact, at one point during his sophomore season, Buggs averaged a touchdown for every five times he touched the ball. He still holds the WVU record for most career yards per reception with a 20.9 average. He also ranks fourth in career receiving yards with 1,796 and touchdowns receptions with 15.
In 1972, Buggs put up some astounding numbers. He caught 35 passes for 791 yards and eight touchdowns. That's an average of 22.6 yards per catch. Buggs also averaged 14.2 yards per punt return and ran six punts back for touchdowns. Overall, he scored 84 points in 1972. He had 1362 total All-Purpose yards and averaged 19.6 yards any time he touched the ball. In 1973, he caught 20 pass for 488 yards and a 24.4 average. Also, he ran the ball 9 times for 93 yards and a 10.3 average. Overall, he had five touchdowns, 702 total All-Purpose yards, and averaged 24.8 yards any time he touched the ball. Awards include the 1972 UPI All-American Honorable Mention, 1972 Associated Press All-East Second Team, 1972 Detroit Sports Extra All-American, 1973 The Football News Pre-Season All-American Second Team, 1973 Kickoff Magazine First team Pre-Season, 1973 Universal Sports Pre-Season First Team, 1973 American Football Coaches Association All-American, 1973 Family Weekly All-American, 1973 and 1974 Kodak All-American, and 1974 Playboy All-American. West Virginia was 8-4 that season and lost to North Carolina State, 49-13, in the Peach Bowl. Following his sophomore campaign, Buggs was named the 1973 West Virginia amateur athlete of the year by the West Virginia Sportswriters Association.
Under Coach Bobby Bowden, Buggs and the Mountaineers compiled an 18-16 three-year record. "Lightning" was selected to play in the 1974 Hula and Senior bowls and caught a 47-yard touchdown pass to help the East top the West 34-25 in the Hula Bowl in Honolulu, Hawaii.
He was drafted in the third round of the NFL draft by the New York Giants, and played 10 seasons of professional ball with the Giants and Washington Redskins of the NFL, the Edmonton Eskimos and Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League, and the Tampa Bay Bandits and San Antonio Gunslingers of the USFL. In 1980, Buggs helped Edmonton win the Grey Cup, the CFL's equivalent of the Super Bowl. In 1997, he received the Scroll of Courage from Reggie White’s National Alliance of African American Athletes for his direction of the Winners Circle youth program in Atlanta, GA and its holistic approach to life skills that is instilled in young people.
Courtesy WVU Sports Hall of Fame and Department of Athletics
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Football Facilities at WVU (1960s)
