Former Broncos who scored just one NFL touchdown relish at least being ‘in the books’

Those watching closely might have noticed before several Broncos home games this season a tall guy on the field during the national anthem wearing a fire helmet.

During one preseason and four regular-season games, Denver firefighter Wesley Duke has been part of the honor guard at Empower Field at Mile High. Duke has joined members of the branches of the armed forces, a Denver police officer and a paramedic in presenting the flag before the anthem.

For those up on their Broncos history, they might know about Duke for something else.

“You have to really be a dialed-in Broncos fan to pick me out,’’ Duke said.

The 6-foot-5, 225-pound Duke made the Broncos as a free-agent tight end in 2005 even though he never played college football, instead having been a basketball player at Mercer University in Macon, Ga. In the second NFL regular-season game he played and the first time he ever touched the ball, Duke caught a 1-yard touchdown pass from Jake Plummer in the third quarter of a 28-17 win at Buffalo in a game televised nationally by ESPN on Dec. 17, 2005.

It turned out be one of just two catches Duke had in his only NFL season. Duke suffered a torn ACL in minicamp in 2006 that ended his career. But he remained in Denver and has been a firefighter since 2019.

“You can’t even put it into words how excited I was,’’ Duke said of having scored a touchdown in the NFL. “A lot of people played in the NFL a long time and didn’t have a stat. At least I have a stat.”

Excluding those who remain active, Duke, according to ProFootballReference.com, is one of 87 players to have scored one touchdown for the Broncos and it was the only one they had in the NFL. The Denver Gazette talked to a dozen such players.

Among the one-score guys are Hall of Fame safety Steve Atwater, Ring of Fame safety Dennis Smith and other former Broncos stars in linebacker Bob Swenson and defensive linemen Rubin Carter, Barney Chavous and Alfred Williams. A popular member of the group with local ties is former Colorado State star quarterback Bradlee Van Pelt. And there is a former Canadian Football League star in wide receiver Diontae Spencer.

Many others in the group are obscure. They include cornerback George Burrell, running back P.J. Pope, wide receiver Shane Swanson, who was a strike replacement player, and Duke.

“Every once in while people realize who I am,’’ Duke said.

Duke had gained a measure of national publicity when he was a basketball player. After completing his senior year as a Mercer power forward, he took part in the slam-dunk contest at the 2005 Final Four in St. Louis.

Duke finished third. But on his final dunk he became the hit of the night.

“I took my shirt off and I threw the ball up and I caught the ball and dunked it,’’ Duke said. “I had a pen, and I had planned to hang on the rim and sign the backboard. But I fell off. Then I saw a cheerleader and I grabbed her pompoms and pretended to sign them. That was one of the highlights they showed on ESPN every year before the dunk contest for 10 years.”

Tim Brewster, then Denver’s tight ends coach, saw the highlight. That played a role in the Broncos eventually signing Duke, who had played tight end at Meadowbrook High School in Norcross, Ga., before attending Mercer, which didn’t have a football team.

Duke made the team and was mostly inactive until the Broncos faced the Bills in Week 15. He got his big chance with the score tied 7-7 early in the third quarter. Plummer threw the ball to Duke in the left corner of the end zone for the score as ESPN announcer Mike Tirico exclaimed, “This one is for the basketball player Duke.”

“It was so much of a thrill I missed my dunk,’’ Duke said. “I was going to dunk the ball over the goalpost, but it was really cold and while I definitely got high enough, I was too far away. (Then Broncos coach) Mike Shanahan ended up showing that video to the team and everybody laughed.”

But laughs soon stalled on Duke’s career. After the season, the Broncos sent him to play with the Hamburg Sea Devils of NFL Europe. He returned to Denver for minicamp but tore his ACL and ended up being released and out of the league.

“To be honest, I was disappointed and bitter for about 10 years,’’ Duke said.

Duke remained in Denver and spent more than a decade driving trucks. But he passed tests to become a firefighter in 2019, giving him a new focus in life.

“The team camaraderie aspect of being a firefighter has made feel like I’m in a team sport again,’’ he said. “We do take risks but it’s very calculated and we try to make it as safe as possible. But when you run into a burning building, there’s only so many things you can control. But playing football can be dangerous, too.”

When Duke had a chance to join the honor guard at Broncos games, he jumped at it.

“It brings back a lot of good memories,’’ Duke said.

Duke wasn’t the only Broncos player in 2005 to score his only career touchdown on his first career touch. That distinction also went to Van Pelt, a seventh-round pick by the Broncos in 2004.

Van Pelt didn’t see any action in 2004 and in the first 11 games of 2005 as the backup to Plummer. Then on Dec. 4, 2005 at Kansas City, with the Broncos trailing 21-14 in the final half minute of the first half on second-and-goal at the Chiefs 7, Shanahan sent Van Pelt into the game and Plummer lined up wide to the left. The Chiefs didn’t know what to think.

“This was before the wildcat became something and we had been tooling around with different formations in practice,’’ Van Pelt said.

Van Pelt took the shotgun snap. When a running lane opened, he barrelled toward the goal line and got in while being hit hard by cornerback Pat Surtain, father of Broncos cornerback Pat Surtain II.

“So, the first time I ever touch the ball in the NFL, I score a touchdown,’’ Van Pelt said. “After the game, I remember (Broncos Hall of Fame cornerback) Champ Bailey, who was not a man full of words, looking over at me and saying, ‘Van Pelt. That’s a sign of greatness.”’

Unfortunately for Van Pelt, the Broncos lost 31-27 to the Chiefs and he not only never scored another NFL touchdown, but he also never threw one either. While spending time with the Broncos from 2004-06 and with Houston in 2006, his career passing stats were 2 of 8 for 8 yards in three games.

Van Pelt was the son of former star linebacker Brad Van Pelt. Interestingly, Brad Van Pelt, who played in the NFL from 1973-86 and made five Pro Bowls, never scored a touchdown.

“That was brought up in casual conversation,’’ Van Pelt said of talks with his father, who died in 2009. “At least I got one touchdown. At least I got to taste it and get a ball in the end zone. It’s better than nothing.”

Van Pelt admits it was “disappointing” to not have a longer NFL career. Due to his love for the game, he later tried to return to the NFL as a safety, which didn’t work out, and he played with the Bergamo Lions in Italy and with the Leicester Falcons in England. He now lives in Santa Ynez, Calif., and has been involved in broadcasting and in several business pursuits, including the wine industry.

While Van Pelt continued to play football in other leagues after the NFL, Burrell opted to move on more quickly to other pursuits in life. He had played in the Ivy League at Pennsylvania and made the Broncos in 1969 as an undrafted rookie.

Burrell got into 14 games as a rookie, starting seven. And in the third quarter of a 27-24 loss at Miami on Dec. 7, 1969, he picked off a pass from Dolphins quarterback Rick Norton and sprinted 38 yards for a touchdown.

“It was an exciting moment,’’ Burrell said. “When I took it to the end zone, I took off my helmet. When my mom asked me why I did that, I told her I didn’t want anybody back in Denver to be confused about who made that touchdown.”

As it turned out, Burrell was cut by the Broncos at the end of the 1970 preseason. He was contacted by the New York Giants and San Francisco but instead joined the Montreal Alouettes of the CFL due to a former Broncos scout being in their front office. He lasted for one practice.

“I had been accepted by Penn law school coming out as an undergraduate and they would only hold your admission for two years,’’ Burrell said. “So, I decided I would go back to Philadelphia and go to law school. I tell young people the one thing that changed my life was that interception for a touchdown because without that play I might have felt the need to keep being a professional football player.”

Burrell, still working at age 76 for Philadelphia’s Kleinbard law firm, went on to have a very successful career. He has been partner in three firms, a member of the Philadelphia City Council and has worked for the administrations of two mayors.

“I’ve been blessed,’’ he said. “I tell people I’ve had a phenomenal life. I’ve never had a to write a resume in my life to get a job.”

Also moving on to another career quickly after his one NFL touchdown was Swanson, who played at Nebraska before being a 12th-round pick by Cleveland in 1985. The 5-9, 200-pound Swanson failed to make the Browns, was cut by Philadelphia in 1986 and was let go by Broncos after the 1987 preseason.

But then the NFL went on strike two games into the season and Swanson joined Denver as a replacement player. Swanson didn’t see much action in the first two replacement games but in the third and final one, a 26-17 win at Kansas City on Oct. 18, 1987, he caught a 35-yard touchdown pass from Ken Karcher, which he called “super exciting.”

Swanson caught six passes for 87 yards in the game, returned six punts for 112 yards and three kickoffs for 91 yards, giving him a then Broncos rookie record of 290 all-purpose yards.

“I don’t think there was any indication it was not a real game,’’ Swanson said of whether his one touchdown is diminished due to it being a replacement game. “If it wasn’t a real game, they wouldn’t have kept score.”

The strike ended after Swanson’s big game, and he was cut. He said the Chiefs, whom he had just dominated, reached out to express interest, but he decided it was time to move on with his life.

Swanson had been a rodeo star at Hershey (Neb.) High School and returned to the sport. He became in 1989 a pro steer wrestler, which included returning to Denver to take part in the Western Stock Show.

“It was a good time,’’ said Swanson, who was on the pro circuit until 2005. “The biggest event I won was at the Cheyenne Frontier Days.”

Swanson later went into the pharmaceutical business and moved back to the Denver area in 2015. At his Loveland home, he has the football that he caught for his touchdown in a glass case. He said he still sometimes is recognized by clients for a Broncos stint that ended up paying dividends even after he was cut.

“They say the NFL stands for ‘Not for Long,”’ Swanson said. “But the Broncos did end up going to the Super Bowl that season and then I got bonus (playoff) money for it. It was like $30,000.”

Flash forward to 2008 and Pope also put up some impressive stats in a limited Broncos stint. Pope, who had been undrafted out of Bowling Green in 2006 and got into one game with Green Bay on special teams as a rookie, had been signed as a free agent. In five Denver games during an injury-riddled season, he carried 17 times for 130 yards for a sparkling average of 7.6 per carry.

In Pope’s top game, he carried seven times for 51 yards and caught three passes for 24 yards in a 30-10 loss at Carolina on Dec. 14, 2008. He gave the Broncos a 7-0 lead in the first quarter when he caught a 7-yard touchdown pass from Jay Cutler.

“My cousin Kenny Pope came to the game, but he missed my touchdown,’’ Pope said. “He got stuck in line trying to get in, but he did see it on TV at the gate.”

Pope figured he might later be able to score a touchdown his cousin actually saw but it never happened. He suffered a hamstring injury late that season and was cut in 2009 when Josh McDaniels replaced Shanahan as head coach. He never was able to hook on with another team.

Pope moved on to become a high school assistant football coach in his native Cincinnati and now is a school administrator. He still has the ball he caught for his only touchdown. It was painted to read, “1st career touchdown P.J. Pope” and he proudly displays it in is “mancave” at home.

“I feel like it was a huge accomplishment,’’ Pope said of at least scoring once. “You grow up dreaming of situations like that and it actually happened. I didn’t know it would be the only one, but, hey, I’m in the books.”

Some former Broncos defensive stars are also in the books for having scored one touchdown. In fact, Swenson remains in the Broncos record book for having the longest fumble return for a touchdown in team history.

Playing at San Francisco on Nov. 18, 1979, Swenson scooped up a fumble by 49ers running back Wilbur Jackson and rumbled 88 yards down the sideline late in the third quarter for a touchdown that gave the Broncos a 38-21 lead on their way to a 38-28 win.

“That’s kind of amazing it’s still a record,’’ said Swenson, a native of Tracy, Calif., who played for Denver from 1975-83. “The thing I remember is I did it in the Bay Area, where I’m from. I just remember the ball was lying there and I picked it up and I started running before anybody realized it. I was pretty slow, and they were gaining on me, but I had a 20-yard head start.”

The ball from Swenson’s touchdown run is on display at his brother Bill’s home in Tracy. It is painted in the Broncos colors of orange, white and blue and features a heavy breathing horse with Swenson’s name in big letters.

Swenson’s touchdown came one week after Carter had scored what turned out to be his only career touchdown. Carter, who played for the Broncos from 1975-86, opened the scoring of a 45-10 home rout of New England on Nov. 11, 1979, with a 2-yard fumble return for a score.

“The ball got knocked loose from quarterback (Steve Grogan) and it was quite a shock when I saw it,’’ Carter said. “I fell on it and was covering it up. Then all of a sudden, I felt some hands on my back and it was Barney Chavous. What Barney did was push me and roll me those yards into the end zone for the score. That was a wonderful feeling.”

Carter has the plain brown ball from his lone touchdown on display at his home in Tallahassee, Fla.

“I probably should get it engraved,’’ he said.

Three years later, Chavous, after assisting on Carter’s touchdown, got the only one of his career. In a 22-20 loss at the Los Angeles Raiders on Nov. 13, 1983, linebacker Tom Jackson hit quarterback Jim Plunkett hard, and the ball rolled into the end zone, where Chavous pounced on it.

“It’s a special event for a defensive lineman to score,’’ Chavous said. “That was one of the highlights of my career. We’re supposed to stop people from scoring, and I scored one.”

Chavous has the ball he recovered at his home in Aiken, S.C. However, it was a struggle to keep it.

“(Raiders running back) Marcus Allen came and jumped on top of me and tried to take the ball from me and I wouldn’t let him,’’ said Chavous, who played for the Broncos from 1973-85. “I wanted to keep the ball as souvenir for sure.”

Chavous and Carter remain good friends. Every now and then, Carter will jokingly remind him that “my touchdown was two yards longer.”

Chavous was inducted last April into the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame. He joined in the hall two other members of the one-touchdown club in Atwater and Smith, whose score won a game.

On Nov. 4, 1984, the Broncos hosted the Patriots, and the score was tied 19-19 with 1 minute, 45 seconds left. New England was driving for a possible game-winning score when running back Mosi Tatupu was hit hard by linebacker Steve Busick and lost the ball. Smith picked up the fumble and went 64 yards down the sideline for the decisive play in Denver’s 26-19 win.

“What I remember about the play is the SC connection,’’ said Smith, who starred at USC before playing for the Broncos from 1981-94. “Steve went to SC, I’m an SC guy and Mosi Tatupi was an SC guy. I also remember that I almost stumbled and fell when got the ball.”

Smith played another decade after his touchdown and made all six of his Pro Bowls. But he never made it back to the end zone.

“Who would have thunk it?’’ he said. “I had plenty of chances, but I dropped a lot of interceptions I should have caught. I wish there was more.”

While Williams scored just one career touchdown, that was fine with him. That’s because his score came against Cincinnati, the team he played for from 1991-94.

On Sept. 21, 1997, at Mile High Stadium, the Broncos were trying to hold onto a 31-20 fourth-quarter lead and the Bengals were driving. But defensive end Neil Smith hit quarterback Jeff Blake, forcing a fumble. Williams picked it up and cruised down the sideline before diving into the end zone for a 51-yard return to complete the scoring in a 38-20 win.

“My great friend Eric Bieniemy was chasing me,’’ Williams said of the running back who was his former teammate at Colorado and was then with the Bengals. “I had to chase that dude my entire life but that time he was chasing me. Then when I got close to the goal line, I reached out and dove. I knew it was a great moment and a rare accomplishment getting a touchdown against the team I once played for, so I wanted to make it look real cool.”

Williams, who played for the Broncos from 1996-99 and was a longtime time sports radio host at KOA, gets reminded of the play often. The Broncos went on to win their first Super Bowl and the highlight film from that season, which shows Williams’ TD, plays before every home game at the miniature Mile High Stadium in the Empower Field parking lot.

“It gives me a smile every team I see it,’’ he said.

Two months later, on Nov. 30, 1997, at San Diego, it was Atwater’s turn to finally reach the end zone. Atwater, who had 24 career interceptions while starring for the Broncos from 1989-98, returned his 22nd 22 yards for a touchdown off a Craig Whelihan pass in the second quarter of a 38-28 win.

“I thought at least this weight is off my back,’’ said Atwater, who would finish his career with the New York Jets in 1999 and be elected to the Hall of Fame in 2020. “It was kind of late in my career and at least I got one.”

Scoring touchdowns in the pros was old hat for Spencer when he joined the Broncos in 2019. But his 18 touchdowns came while starring in the CFL with Toronto and Ottawa from 2016-18.

Spencer, who had gone to Canada after being undrafted out of McNeese State, got into the end zone in the NFL when he returned a punt 83 yards in a 32-27 win at Carolina on Dec. 13, 2020. It remains the last time a Denver player has scored on a punt return.

“It had always been one of my dreams to not just play in the NFL but to score a touchdown,’’ said Spencer, who played for the Broncos from 2019-21. “I’m 5-8, 170 pounds and was a no-star recruit coming out of (Westgate High school in New Iberia, La.). If that’s the only one I ever score, I’m blessed to have had that opportunity.”

Spencer, who spent time on the Jets’ practice squad in 2022 and who had a recent workout with Pittsburgh, still hopes to return to the NFL. In the meantime, he spends time at his home in Lafayette, La., where his Broncos jersey No. 11 and his game gloves are in a frame on the wall and also on display is the ball from his score that was painted to read “1st NFL career touchdown.”

Stay tuned to see if he ever gets one that reads “2nd NFL career touchdown.”

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