Richard Christy (November 24, 1935 – July 8, 1966) was an

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

halfback who played one season for the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. Founded in 1933 P ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL) and for the

Boston Patriots Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and financial center of New England, a region of the Northeastern United States. It has an area of and a ...

and the New York Titans / Jets of the

American Football League The American Football League (AFL) was a major professional American football league that operated for ten seasons from 1960 until 1970, AFL–NFL merger, when it merged with the older National Football League (NFL), and became the American Foot ...

(AFL).

Early years

Christy played

high school football High school football, also known as prep football, is gridiron football played by High school (North America), high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular high school sports, interscholastic sports in both c ...

at St. James High School for Boys, where he was named twice first-team all-scholastic by the Philadelphia Bulletin in 1952 and 1953. He also led St. James to the Philadelphia City Football Championship in 1953.

College career

Christy was a star halfback for the

NC State Wolfpack football The NC State Wolfpack football team represents North Carolina State University in the sport of American football. The Wolfpack competes in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) ...

team from 1955 to 1957, leading them to the 1957

Atlantic Coast Conference The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, the ACC's eighteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athlet ...

championship in his senior year. With the league title on the line in the season's final game, Christy scored all 29 points in a 29–26 win over the

South Carolina Gamecocks The South Carolina Gamecocks represent the University of South Carolina in the NCAA Division I. The University of South Carolina uses "Gamecocks" as its official nickname and mascot. While the men's teams were traditionally known as the Fight ...

to clinch the championship for his team. Christy scored the dramatic winning points on a field goal on the last play of the game. At the conclusion of the 1957 season, he was named first-team all-ACC and first-team

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

. He was also honored as the 1957 ACC Player of the Year in football and as the 1957–58 ACC Athlete of the Year for all sports. His number 40 was retired in 1997 by NC State.

Professional career

Christy was selected in the third round of the 1958 NFL draft (27th overall) by the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They ar ...

. Hobbled in the College All-Star game in mid-August, he was traded to the

before the start of the season. He later played in the new

(AFL). Christy was an

AFL All-Star The American Football League All-Star game was the annual game which featured each year's best performers in the American Football League (AFL). The game was first played in 1961 and the final AFL All-Star game occurred in 1969, prior to the lea ...

for the New York Titans in 1962. He was cut before the 1964 season. In March 1966, Christy became the first signing of the Wilmington Clippers of the

Atlantic Coast Football League The Atlantic Coast Football League (ACFL) was a professional American football Minor league football (gridiron), minor league that operated from 1962 to 1973. Until 1969, many of its franchises had working agreements with National Football Leagu ...

Death

Christy died in a one-vehicle automobile accident in 1966 at age 30 in

Chester, Pennsylvania Chester is a city in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located in the Philadelphia metropolitan area (also known as the Delaware Valley) on the western bank of the Delaware River between Philadelphia and Wilmington, Delaware. ...

Honors

He was named to the ACC Silver Anniversary football team in 1978. The ''Dick Christy Award'' was created by NC State to honor the football team's most valuable players in games against South Carolina. In 2016, Christy was inducted into the NC State Athletic Hall of Fame.

References

External links

North Carolina State Athletics
Program spotlight: Dick Christy {{DEFAULTSORT:Christy, Dick 1935 births 1966 deaths Players of American football from Philadelphia American football halfbacks NC State Wolfpack football players Pittsburgh Steelers players Boston Patriots players New York Titans (AFL) players New York Jets players American Football League players American Football League All-Star players Road incident deaths in Pennsylvania