Sam Cunningham, a USC Trojans legend and New England Patriots great, has died at the age of 71.

The USC Football Twitter account put out this statement to confirm the death on Tuesday:

As noted, Sam Cunningham became known for his big performance against Alabama in 1970. That Alabama squad was an all-white team, and Bam's effort in a 42-21 Trojans victory helped convince many football coaches and fans in the South that integration needed to happen. He had 135 yards and two touchdowns on 12 carries in what was his first collegiate game.

Cunningham was also named MVP of the 1973 Rose Bowl. He had four touchdowns as USC beat Ohio State to win the national championship.

Sam Cunningham, the older brother of Randall Cunningham, then moved on to the NFL after his illustrious college career, going 11th overall to the Patriots in the 1973 NFL Draft. He spent his entire career with New England before retiring in 1982.

Cunningham made one Pro Bowl in his career in 1978. His most prolific rushing season came in 1977 in his lone 1,000-yard rushing campaign. In addition to the 1,015 yards on the ground that year, he also had a career-high 370 yards receiving.

In his NFL career, Sam Cunningham rushed for 5,453 yards and 43 touchdowns. He added 210 catches for 1,905 yards and six receiving scores.

RIP to a legend. The Patriots have now lost two great players from their history in the last week with David Patten passing away as well.