Rucker attended Anacostia High School before moving on to Boston University. He was a four sport athlete, making him the school's first four sport athlete in more than 20 years. In football, he contributed to an undefeated season by the freshman team. As a sophomore, his first play in a varsity game was a 71-yard punt return for a touchdown against the University of Massachusetts Amherst. He went on to break a New England major college record with three punts returned for touchdowns in a season. In his final year, his team included Bruce Taylor, Pat Hughes, Fred Barry and Barry Pryor, who would go on to play in the NFL. In 1978, he was inducted into the Boston University Athletic Hall of Fame.
Rucker was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Dallas Cowboys after the 1969 NFL Draft. As a rookie, he spent the season in the taxi squad until being activated for the Playoff Bowl against the Los Angeles Rams. The next year, he broke his left wrist during preseason, which forced the team to place him again in the taxi squad. He eventually was promoted to the active roster and became a starter in place of the troubled Lance Rentzel for the last two games of the regular season, including the Cowboys' playoff drive and its narrow Super Bowl V loss to the Baltimore Colts. In 1971, the Cowboys traded Rentzel and in a separate deal obtained future hall of famer Lance Alworth as part of the "Bambi trade" in May. The move would eventually force the team to waive Rucker on October 2, opting to keep wide receiver Gloster Richardson instead.
Rucker was claimed off waivers by the New York Giants On October 3, 1971. He was released on November 1.
New England Patriots
On November 3, 1971, he was claimed off waivers by the New England Patriots. The next year, he became a starter and finished with 44 receptions for 681 yards. In 1973, he had a breakout performance with 53 reception for 743 yards. After breaking his right wrist in the fourth game of the 1974 season against the Baltimore Colts, he played the next six games with a cast until being placed on the injured reserve list on November 18, 1974. It was reported that a disagreement between head coachChuck Fairbanks and Rucker about being placed on injured reserve, was the reason that led the Patriots to trade him to the Cleveland Browns on January 28, 1975, in exchange for a fourth-round draft choice.
Cleveland Browns
In 1975, he finished with 60 receptions, ranking second in the NFL, even though he played with cartilage damage in his knee, that required offseason surgery the following year. In the 1976 opening game against the New York Jets, he recorded three receiving touchdowns, becoming only the fourth player in franchise history to achieve this feat. In 1978, he was one of the people that recommended the hiring of new head coach Sam Rutigliano to team owner Art Modell. That season, he finished sixth in the NFL with 893 receiving yards and fourth with 20.8 yards per catch. Rucker became part of the "Kardiac Kids" teams, which won numerous games in dramatic fashion, during the 1979 and 1980 seasons. At the end of the 1981 season, knee injuries made him lose his starting job to Ricky Feacher. On September 2, 1982, he announced his retirement rather than accept a backup role. He registered 310 receptions in 103 games with the Browns, for 4,953 yards and 32 touchdowns.
Personal life
Rucker has been a part of the Cleveland media since his retirement. He was a color analyst for the Cleveland Indiansbaseball team from 1982-1984. He also served as an analyst for NBC's NFL coverage from 1983-1988. He hosted a nightly sports talk show on the then new WKNRAM 1220 in the early 1990s. After a hiatus, Rucker returned to the Cleveland airwaves as a football analyst for WEWS Channel 5 covering both the Browns and the Ohio State Buckeyes since 2004. In August 2016, Rucker was sentenced to 21 months in prison for embezzling money from the Cleveland Peacemakers Alliance and other nonprofits. He was released in May 2018, and filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in November 2018.
