LOS ANGELES — Sam “Bam” Cunningham, an All-American fullback at Southern California whose performance against Alabama was credited with helping to integrate football in the South and who went on to a record-setting career with the New England Patriots, died Tuesday. He was 71.

Cunningham’s younger brother, Randall, starred as a quarterback in the NFL for 16 years.

As a sophomore in 1970 under coach John McKay, Cunningham was part of USC’s all-Black backfield, along with quarterback Jimmy Jones and running back Clarence Davis, which was the first of its kind in Division I.