clarinews@clarinet.com (02/02/90)
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (UPI) -- Christian Okoye, who led the NFL by rushing for 1,480 yards last season and was named the AFC offensive player of the year, signed a series of one-year contracts with the Kansas City Chiefs, the team announced Thursday. Terms of the deal and the number of contracts were not released. Okoye, 28, set a club record with his 1,480 yards. The 6-1, 260-pound fullback from Enugu, Nigeria, also led the NFL with eight 100-yard performances, including a personal high of 170 yards against the Dallas Cowboys. His 370 rushing attempts set a team record and also led the NFL. He rushed for 12 touchdowns, which was the best mark in the AFC. ``Christian Okoye has been a very valuable member of the Kansas City Chiefs team,'' Kansas City President Carl Peterson said in a release. ``We are very proud of his numerous accomplishments this past season, and we are very pleased that he will continue to be an integral part of our offense in the future.'' Okoye arrived in the United States in 1982 to compete in track and field at Azusa Pacific. He was a 17-time NAIA all-American in track. He took up football in 1984, setting several NAIA rushing records during his three seasons as the school's fullback. He led the NAIA in rushing his senior season and was a second-round choice of the Chiefs in the 1987 draft. He rushed for 660 yards as a rookie and 473 in an injury-shortened 1988 season before piling up his team-record total in 1989.