LaDainian Tomlinson (born June 23, 1979) is an American football player who currently plays running back for the San Diego Chargers of the National Football League. Tomlinson, frequently called "LT", set several records during the 2006 NFL season by scoring a league-leading 186 points, which ironically was more points scored by the Oakland Raiders as a team over the course of the season, through 31 touchdowns. He received additional honors by winning the NFL's Most Valuable Player Award and the Associated Press' Offensive Player of the Year Award.

LaDainian Tomlinson was born to Loreane Chappell and the late Oliver Tomlinson in Rosebud, Texas. His early life was full of adversity; his brother and grandfather died when he was a child, and his father became permanently disabled after suffering a severe back injury. Later, his parents divorced, and Loreane was forced to support the remaining members of the family by herself. However before leaving, Tomlinson's father instilled an affection for football in his son.

Tomlinson was recruited by many schools, but was not considered one of the nation's top high school backs coming out of high school. Many have felt this was because Tomlinson didn't play tailback (and put up big-time rushing stats) until his senior year in high school and many top colleges had already made their recruiting choices by then. Thus, Tomlinson signed with Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, Texas, a small school devoid of any modern football tradition. Prior to Tomlinson's arrival, TCU had appeared in only one bowl game in the previous 12 seasons (and 2 in the previous 34), and had recently been "downgraded" to a minor conference (the Western Athletic Conference) after the breakup of the long-standing Southwest Conference.

Tomlinson immediately became the starting running back with the Chargers and has started all but one game since. He has achieved immediate success in the NFL, rushing for over 1,200 yards and making over 50 receptions in each of his six seasons. He has also proven to be effective as a passer, having completed seven career passes, six of them for touchdowns and a career passer rating of 152.1. For more, see Wikipedia, LaDainian Tomlinson.