Harry Carson Information & Harry Carson Links at HealthHaven.com

Harry Carson
Position(s); Linebacker	Jersey #(s); 53
Born	November 26, 1953 (age 56); Florence, South Carolina
Career information
Year(s)	1976–1988
NFL Draft	1976 / Round: 4 / Pick: 105
College	South Carolina State
Professional teams
	New York Giants (1976-1988);
Career stats
Sacks	19
Interceptions	11
Games	173
	Stats at NFL.com
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);
	Pro Football Hall of Fame
	College Football Hall of Fame

Harold Donald Carson (born November 26, 1953 in Florence, South Carolina) is a former American football inside linebacker who played his entire career for the New York Giants in the National Football League (1976-1988). Carson was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2006.

[edit] Early life

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

[edit] College career

Before his NFL career, Carson played college football at South Carolina State University from 1972-1975, not missing a single game in all 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.

[edit] Professional career

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 was 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 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. He retired at the end of the 1988 season, two years after helping the team to win Super Bowl XXI, the Giants' first, with seven tackles.

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.^{[citation needed]} Carson's principal criticism of the process was that the vote is done by the media, not players and coaches. Carson went so far as to ask to have his name taken off the ballot in protest. Despite this, the reaction to his induction into the Hall was "well-deserved".^{[citation needed]}

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. [3] 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]}

[edit] After football

Carson remains in close involvement with the Giants. He has also had a successful career in sports broadcasting and even 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.

Despite previously stating that due to his frustration at not being elected he wanted his name removed from the ballot,^[4] when elected to the Hall of Fame in 2006 Carson appeared and gave an induction speech. At this time he said that he was more upset that late Giants owner Wellington Mara got upset over his being passed over each year. Once elected, he said he knew he had to accept and give an acceptance speech because disrespecting the wishes of Mara who so badly wanted to see him enshrined, "was not an option."

[edit] Videogame reference

In Blitz: The League II, Max Carson a linebacker for the New York Nightmare is a direct reference to Carson.
Carson appears in Madden NFL on the NFL Greats list.

[edit] See also

History of the New York Giants (1979-1993)

[edit] References

^ Eisen, Michael: [1] New York Giants.com, February 18, 2009, Van Pelt Passes
^ Associated Press: [2] NFL.com, February 18, 2009, Van Pelt, member of Giants' famed 'Crunch Bunch,' dies at age 57
^ Highlights from the History of Gatorade, amanet.org, accessed January 13, 2007.
^ Eisen, Michael. Carson Reacts to News, giants.com, February 5, 2006, accessed April 20, 2007.

[edit] External links

Official website
Pro Football Hall of Fame: Member profile
College Football Hall of Fame: Member profile
Harry Carson at the Open Directory Project
[4]

[NOW-0] Eisen, Michael: [1] New York Giants.com, February 18, 2009, Van Pelt Passes

[NFL-1] Associated Press: [2] NFL.com, February 18, 2009, Van Pelt, member of Giants' famed 'Crunch Bunch,' dies at age 57

[2] Highlights from the History of Gatorade, amanet.org, accessed January 13, 2007.

[3] Eisen, Michael. Carson Reacts to News, giants.com, February 5, 2006, accessed April 20, 2007.

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