Alonzo Patterson was an exceptionally gifted Track & Field and Football star at Utica Free Academy.  In a total of eight seasons of Indoor and Outdoor Track, Patterson would placed in the New York State Championships in the High Hurdles, and according to Greater Utica Sports Hall of Fame inductee Ralph Lupia, who coached him, “His athleticism was obvious, but his leadership qualities as a high school student were among the best I have ever experienced.  Patterson was humble and always willing to help his teammates.  It was never about him; it was about the team, the school, and others.”

As a result of his athletic skills, Patterson was heavily recruited and settled on playing college football at Wagner College.

At Wagner, he was an explosive playmaker on the team’s offense.  For two straight seasons, he led the NCAA Division II in rushing.  When he left Wagner, he was the school’s single-season rushing record holder with 1,487 yards amassed (currently he is second all-time), and he also held the school’s career rushing record of 4,177 yards (currently he is third all-time).  While both of those records have since been surpassed, Patterson would capitalize on his solid collegiate career and transcend it into a noted professional one. 

Patterson is the only Wagner football player to have his number retired, and was the school’s first three time All-American.  The tailback played a huge part in the Seahawks making two NCAA Division III Tournament appearances in three years.  He is also a major reason why Wagner transformed to a Division I college, and as a result of his record-setting career, he was selected as a member of the Wagner College Athletic Hall of Fame in 1994.

The Canadian Football League’s Toronto Argonauts selected Patterson for its football team in 1983.  That team would go on to win the League’s Gray Cup.

In 1984, Patterson would play in the United States Football League for the New Jersey Generals.  It was there that Patterson would serve as back-up to one of football’s greatest running backs of all-time, Herschel Walker.