David Boston was born in Humble, Texas. He played college football at Ohio State (my marketing guy's alma mater!) where he was a three-year starter for the Ohio State Buckeyes (1996-98). His 191 pass receptions as a Buckeye remains a team record, as does his career average of 5.2 receptions per game and 959 career punt return yards. His 2,835 receiving yards were a school record until surpssed by Michael Jenkins in 2003. With 36 career touchdown receptions (and one two-point conversion), Boston averaged 5.89 points per game. In the 1997 Rose Bowl, he caught the game winning touchdown from quarterback Joe Germaine with 19 seconds remaining in the game.
He was drafted by the Arizona Cardinals eighth overall in the 1999 NFL Draft. In 2001 he made the Pro Bowl as the lone selection from the Cardinals. In 2003 he signed a seven-year, $53 million contract with the San Diego Chargers.
That season he caught 70 passes for 880 yards and 7 touchdowns, however he fit in poorly with the rest of a struggling team. Coach Marty Schottenheimer suspended him for a game because of bad behavior. With their highly paid player a disappointment, new Chargers GM A.J. Smith traded Boston to the Miami Dolphins. After his stint with Miami, he ended up in Tampa with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as an unrestriced free agent.
I met David in 2006 when he was playing for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He briefly moved to North Tampa. I unfortunately had to handle the mess when the Buc's cut him. After "setting up house" here in Tampa, I also had to handle the task of "un-setting up house" the following year. Despite this, David was a really nice guy who took everything in stride. Despite some negitive publicity, he was always respectful with us, even when life dealt him a bad hand!
David is now a member of the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League.
