Harry Carson

No. 53
Linebacker
Personal information
Date of birth: (1953-11-26) November 26, 1953 (age 58)
Place of birth: Florence, South Carolina
Career information
College: South Carolina State
NFL Draft: 1976 / Round: 4 / Pick: 105
Debuted in 1976 for the New York Giants
Last played in 1988 for the New York Giants
Career history
New York Giants (1976-1988)
Career highlights and awards
9× Pro Bowl selection (1978, 1979, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987) 2× First-team All-Pro selection (1981, 1984) 4× Second-team All-Pro selection (1978, 1982, 1985, 1986) Super Bowl Champion (XXI) Hall of Fame Inductee Member of the New York Giants Ring of Honor
Career NFL statistics
Sacks 19 Interceptions 11 Games 173 Stats at NFL.com
Pro Football Hall of Fame
College Football Hall of Fame

Harold Donald Carson (born November 26, 1953) is a former American football inside linebacker who played his entire professional career for the NFL's New York Giants (1976-1988). Carson was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2002 and the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2006.

Early life[link]

Born in Florence, South Carolina, Carson played at Wilson High School and later at McClenaghan High School, from which he graduated.

College career[link]

Before his NFL career, Carson played college football for Willie Jeffries at South Carolina State University from 1972–1975, not missing a single game in four years. He became the first Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference player to win consecutive defensive player of the year honors, and assisted the Bulldogs to consecutive conference championships. In 1975, he was a first team selection on the AFCA College-Division All-America team and set school records with 117 tackles and 17 sacks. With Carson as their captain, the Bulldogs defense recorded six shutouts in 1975, and held their opponents to just 29 points, an NCAA record for a ten game season. Carson's Bulldog teammates included former Pittsburgh Steelers safety Donnie Shell and former Kansas City Royals first baseman Willie Mays Aikens. In 2002, Carson was enshrined in the College Football Hall of Fame.

Professional career[link]

After his college career, Carson was drafted in the fourth round of the 1976 NFL Draft by the Giants. He spent all of his 13 seasons with them, leading the team in tackles for five seasons, and more impressively, served as their captain for ten. Carson was a member of the Crunch Bunch, a team of fierce linebackers composed of Carson, Brad Van Pelt, Brian Kelley, and Lawrence Taylor. The group is widely considered one of the best defensive combos in NFL history.^[1][2] He was a member of the Big Blue Wrecking Crew defense and also made nine Pro Bowl appearances (1978–1979, 1981–1987) in his career. In the 1980s he was joined by Lawrence Taylor, another Pro Football Hall of Fame linebacker. In his 13 seasons, Carson intercepted 11 passes and returned them for a total of 212 yards. He also recovered 14 fumbles, returning them for 36 yards and one touchdown. Officially, he recorded eight quarterback sacks (sacks did not become an official NFL statistic until 1982) but his total is 19 sacks when the 1976-81 seasons are included.^{[citation needed]} He retired at the end of the 1988 season, two years after helping the team win Super Bowl XXI, the Giants' first, and Carson had seven tackles for the victors.

Carson was one of the first practitioners of the "Gatorade Shower" which is when the coach of the winning team is doused with a cooler of Gatorade by some of the players following a win. The practice was started by his teammate Jim Burt in 1985^[3] as Carson recounted in his 1987 book Point of Attack:The Defense Strikes Back. When Bill Parcells had Carson as a player with the Giants, he would have him at his side during the singing of the national anthem for good luck.^[4]

Bill Belichick, an assistant coach for the Giants for 12 years, who as head coach, led the New England Patriots to three 21st century Super Bowl victories, considered Carson the best all-around linebacker he ever coached.^[5]

Hall of Fame[link]

Carson was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2006. His selection came after years of outspoken criticism of the Hall of Fame selection process, where his principal criticism was that the vote is done by the media, not players and coaches.^{[citation needed]} In 2004, Carson asked to have his name taken off the ballot.^[5]

Despite previously stating that due to his frustration at not being elected he wanted his name removed from the ballot,^[6] when elected to the Hall of Fame in 2006 Carson appeared and gave an induction speech. Carson later commented on the selection, saying he was humbled by the selection but noting:^[5]

"The Hall of Fame will never validate me. I know my name will be in there, but I take greater pride in the fact that my teammates looked at me as someone they could count on. I still remember, and I will remember this for the rest of my life, the Super Bowl against Denver. We had three captains — me, Phil Simms and George Martin. But when it came time for the coin toss before the game, I started to go out and looked around for those guys. Bill Parcells said to me: 'No. You go. Just you.' And that was about the coolest feeling I've ever had in the world — going out to midfield for the Super Bowl, as the lone captain. There were nine Denver Broncos out there, and me. Just me. An awesome responsibility. The greatest respect."

After football[link]

Carson remains in close involvement with the Giants. He has also had a successful career in sports broadcasting and has his own company, Harry Carson Inc., which deals mainly in sports consulting and promotions. Carson was also part-owner of the Arena Football League's New Jersey Red Dogs, alongside ex-Giants Carl Banks and Joe Morris. He currently co-hosts Giants Access Blue on My 9 with Bob Papa.

Since his retirement, Carson has suffered from various physical maladies brought on by injuries incurred during his playing days. He suffers from post-concussion syndrome, and estimates that he had 15 concussions during his career. In 1992 he stated: "I don't think as clearly as I used to. Nor is my speech, diction, selection of vocabulary as good as it used to be, and I don't know why."^[7] In 2001 while he was a broadcaster with the MSG Network he said, "I would mispronounce words and lose my train of thought. Things would happen, and I'd think I was going crazy. I'd go to the store to get something and forget what."^[7]

Carson is a long-time resident of Franklin Lakes, New Jersey.^[8]

Politics[link]

Carson is said to be strongly considering a run for Congress against Republican Scott Garrett in the newly redrawn 5th congressional district.^[9]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• Pro Football Hall of Fame: Member profile
• College Football Hall of Fame: Member profile
• Harry Carson at the Open Directory Project
• Macmillan Speakers Bureau Profile

Duane Charles "Bill" Parcells (born August 22, 1941)^[1] is a former American football head coach, most recently with the Dallas Cowboys from 2003 to 2006. He is known as "The Big Tuna", a nickname about the shape of his physique derived from a team joke during his tenure as linebackers coach of the New England Patriots.^[2]

Parcells won two Super Bowl rings with the New York Giants, defeating the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XXI and the Buffalo Bills in Super Bowl XXV. He led the New England Patriots to Super Bowl XXXI, but lost to the Green Bay Packers 35-21. He also led the New York Jets to the 1998 AFC Championship Game. He announced his third retirement from football on January 22, 2007 before returning to the sport later that year as the Vice President of Football Operations with the Miami Dolphins. He resigned from his role as the "football czar" with the Dolphins in September 2010, working as a "consultant" with the team until he took a leave of absence in October 2010, and left the team after the season. He is currently an NFL analyst for ESPN.

Early life[link]

Parcells was born in Englewood, New Jersey, on August 22, 1941. He grew up in the nearby town of Hasbrouck Heights,^[3][4][5] His mother, Ida Parcells (née Naclerio), was a housewife while his father, Charles Parcells, was a graduate of Georgetown Law School who had worked for the FBI before becoming a lawyer for Uniroyal Tires. Bill Parcells is of Irish and Italian descent.

Prior to his sophomore year in high school, the Parcells family moved a few miles north to the town of Oradell, where he attended River Dell Regional High School. While he was at River Dell, he was routinely mistaken for another boy named Bill. As he had always disliked his given name of Duane, he decided to adopt Bill as his nickname.^[6][7]

Parcells was a gifted athlete as a youth. He possessed good size (6'2" upon entering River Dell) and natural leadership skills, which enabled him to become a star quarterback, pitcher, and center on his high school's football, baseball, and basketball teams, respectively.^[8] His football coach at River Dell was Tom Cahill, who would later become the head coach at Army. His basketball coach at River Dell was Mickey Corcoran who Parcells considers to be "next to my father ... the most important influence in my life."^[9] Corcoran would serve Parcells as an advisor and confidant throughout his coaching career.^[10]

College years[link]

Upon graduating from high school, Parcells arrived at Colgate University. As a freshman, he was offered a contract by the Philadelphia Phillies. His father disapproved of a career in sports and wanted him to study law, so the younger Parcells declined the offer. He soon transferred to the University of Wichita (now known as Wichita State University), where he played linebacker and earned a physical education degree.^[11] He was good enough to be drafted in the seventh round by the Detroit Lions, but was released by the team before playing a single NFL game.^[12]

Collegiate coaching career[link]

At the conclusion of his playing days, Parcells decided to pursue a career in coaching. He began as an assistant coach at Hastings (1964) before moving on to Wichita State (1965), Army (1966–69), Florida State (1970–72), Vanderbilt (1973–74), and Texas Tech (1975–77). In 1978, he became the head coach at the Air Force Academy for one season.^[13]