Paul Maguire was born August 22, 1938 in Youngstown, Ohio.  He played football at The Citadel from 1956-1959.  He played all sides of the ball including linebacker, tight end, and punter.  Maguire was named Southern Conference Freshman of the Year in 1956 and Player of the Year in 1959. He scored 10 touchdown receptions as a tight end in 1959, which led the NCAA.  In 1960, Maguire was selected in the first round of the inaugural AFL draft by the Los Angeles Chargers. 

He spent 11 seasons in the AFL with the Chargers (four seasons) and Buffalo Bills (seven seasons) as a punter and a linebacker. Maguire was known for his coffin corner punts and was the AFL’s all-time leader in punts and yardage during his career.  He was part of six AFL Championship games, winning three.  One with the Chargers (1963) and two (1964, 1965) with the Bills.  He was only one of 20 players who played in the AFL during its entire ten-year history.  After retiring from playing football, he worked as a color commentator for NFL telecasts, first with NBC and then ESPN.  During his time at ESPN he called games for college football and the Canadian Football League. 

Later in his career he would have the opportunity to call NFL Sunday Night Football games, ABC’s NFL Wild Card Saturday games, and ABC’s college football games with Brad Nessler and Brian Greise.  While with NBC, he worked with Marv Albert for seven years, and then with Phil Simms and Dick Enberg, including Super Bowl XXXII.  In all, Maguire spent 46 years as a sports broadcaster.  He is a member of the Inaugural Citadel Hall of Fame Class of 1977, the Youngstown Sports Hall of Fame, and the Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame. Hall of Fame, and the Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame.

Video created by Prominence Media. Source: The Citadel.