Wray Carlton
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| Position: | Halfback | ||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
| Born: | June 18, 1937 Wallace, North Carolina, U.S. | ||||||||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | ||||||||||||||
| Weight: | 225 lb (102 kg) | ||||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||||
| High school: | Wallace-Rose Hill (NC) | ||||||||||||||
| College: | Duke | ||||||||||||||
| NFL draft: | 1959 / round: 3 / pick: 26 | ||||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||||
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Linwood Wray Carlton (born June 18, 1937) is an American former professional football player who was a running back in both Canada and the United States. He played college football for the Duke Blue Devils.
Unable to come to terms with the Philadelphia Eagles, who had selected him in the 1959 NFL draft, Carlton traveled to Toronto and the Canadian Football League (CFL) to play for the Argonauts. His Canadian career lasted only four games before he declined a trade to Vancouver, British Columbia, and went home. But another league and another opportunity was in his future.
In his early years with the Buffalo Bills of the American Football League (AFL), Carlton formed a virtually unstoppable backfield tandem, first with Elbert "Golden Wheels" Dubenion, then with Carlton Chester "Cookie" Gilchrist.[1]
On September 18, 1960, in Buffalo's home opener, a 27–21 loss to the Denver Broncos, Carlton made history in the second quarter when he scored the team's first touchdown on a one-yard run. Carlton gained 1,010 yards from scrimmage (533 rushing and 477 receiving) and 11 touchdowns in the Bills first season.
Carlton briefly retired following the 1963 season, but re-signed with the Bills in July 1964.[2]
Later he helped the Bills win back-to-back league championships in 1964 and 1965. Perennially among the AFL's top rushers, he led the league in rushing touchdowns in 1965 and was voted to the American Football League Eastern Division All-Star team in 1965 and 1966. Carlton was the Bills' all-time leading rusher during their AFL years, with a 4.1 yards per carry average. He was cut from the team in the 1968 preseason; he, along with Dubenion (who finished the 1968 season then retired), were the last players from the Bills' inaugural season still on the roster.
Awards
[edit]- Carlton was inducted into The Greater Wilmington Sports Hall of Fame in 2008[3]
- The North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame in 2012.[4]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ Harris, Jon (November 27, 2024). "After recent heart procedure, Bills great Wray Carlton reflects on making Buffalo his home". The Buffalo News. Archived from the original on November 29, 2024. Retrieved December 27, 2024.
- ^ "Carlton to Play for Bills". New York Times. July 3, 1964. p. 14. Retrieved November 7, 2020.
- ^ The Greater Wilmingon Sports Hall of Fame
- ^ "North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame". Archived from the original on November 12, 2017. Retrieved November 12, 2017.
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- 1937 births
- Living people
- American football running backs
- Players of Canadian football from North Carolina
- Canadian football running backs
- Buffalo Bills players
- Duke Blue Devils football players
- Toronto Argonauts players
- American Football League All-Star players
- People from Wallace, North Carolina
- Players of American football from North Carolina
- 20th-century American sportsmen
- Canadian football running back stubs
- American football running back, 1930s birth stubs