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A former Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback finally hits 'Paydirt'

TAMPA — They call him "Paydirt."

Parnell Dickinson, the first African-American quarterback drafted by the Bucs (not Doug Williams), got his nickname from his teammates at Mississippi Valley State University for his touchdown making.

Saturday night, Paydirt hits paydirt.

Dickinson, 63, a Tampa resident since his one and only NFL season — the first Bucs season, in 1976 — will among those inducted in the Black College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta on Saturday.

"It's as good as it gets for me," Dickinson said.

"Everybody loves Parnell," said former Bucs quarterback Doug Williams, who co-founded the Hall in 2009 with another pioneering black quarterback, James Harris.