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Carl Eller (born January 25, 1942) is an American former professional
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
player who played as a
defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...
in 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) from 1964 through 1979. He was born in
Winston-Salem, North Carolina Winston-Salem is a city in Forsyth County, North Carolina, United States, and its county seat. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 249,545, making it the List of municipalities in North Carolina, fifth-most populous ...
and played
college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...
for the
Minnesota Golden Gophers The Minnesota Golden Gophers (commonly shortened to Gophers) are the college athletics, college sports teams of the University of Minnesota. The university fields a total of 21 (9 men's, 12 women's) teams in both men's and women's sports and com ...
. He was elected to the
Pro Football Hall of Fame The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame for professional football (gridiron), professional American football, located in Canton, Ohio. Opened on September 7, 1963, the Hall of Fame enshrines exceptional figures in the sport of profes ...
in 2004.


Early life

Eller was born on January 25, 1942, in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Eller's family was poor, and his father died when Eller was young. Early in his Professional Football Hall of Fame acceptance speech, Eller acknowledges how great his parents were in his life. He attended Atkins High School, where he excelled in football, and was inspired and given direction by his high school football coaches. His team won the 1959 state football championship. One of his championship teammates was future
National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...
player Happy Hairston. He was also on the track team, in discus and
shot put The shot put is a track-and-field event involving "putting" (throwing) a heavy spherical Ball (sports), ball—the ''shot''—as far as possible. For men, the sport has been a part of the Olympic Games, modern Olympics since their 1896 Summer Olym ...
. He got the nickname "Moose" while playing sandlot football around the same time.


College career

He was recruited to the
University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint ...
by head coach Murrary Warmath, on the recommendation of Bobby Bell, a fellow North Carolina high school player, from Shelby. Eller played defensive tackle from 1961-1963, and began starting in his sophomore year (1961), playing with a broken hand that year. In 1961 and 1962, Eller played tackle alongside Bell, a future NFL Hall of fame linebacker and the 1962
Outland Trophy The Outland Trophy is awarded to the best college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that g ...
winner. As a sophomore, on January 1, 1962, Eller starred in helping lead the Golden Gophers to a 21–3 Rose Bowl victory over
UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...
. Eller played both offensive left tackle and defensive tackle in the game, throwing key blocks as an offensive lineman during the game. The team had been divided on whether to go back to the Rose Bowl, after losing the game one year earlier, but quarterback Sandy Stevens convinced the team they should go for Eller's sake, as he might never have another opportunity to play in the game. In 1972, a group of writers and Rose Bowl experts included Eller at defensive tackle on their 50-year Rose Bowl team. While Eller shared the starting position at offensive tackle as a sophomore, he became a full-time, two-way player as a junior and senior and was voted
All-America 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 ...
in 1962 and 1963. The 1962
Naval Academy A naval academy provides education for prospective naval officers. List of naval academies See also

* Military academy {{Authority control Naval academies, Naval lists ...
team included Eller on its all-opponent team. As a junior in 1962, he was second team All-Big Ten, and the following year Eller was a consensus All-American and first team All-Big Ten. In 1963, he also won the school's Bronko Nagurski Award as the team's most valuable player. As a senior (1963), Eller was the runner-up for the Outland Trophy. During his freshman year in college, the 1960 Gophers were National Champions and Big Ten Champions, losing in the Rose Bowl; though Eller did not play on that team. Minnesota was a losing team in the immediate prior seasons, and coach Warmath had decided to field a racially and geographically diverse team. Eller, who was on the 1960 freshman team, believed and emphasized that the ultimately successful Minnesota teams during that era were “'a major, major factor in the lackfreedom movement.'" At the
University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint ...
, Eller joined the Mu chapter of the
Alpha Phi Alpha Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. () is the oldest intercollegiate List of African-American fraternities, historically African American Fraternities and sororities, fraternity. It was initially a literary and social studies club organized in the ...
fraternity.


Professional career

In 1964, Eller was selected in the first round of the
NFL draft The NFL draft, officially known as the Annual Player Selection Meeting, is an annual event which serves as the most common source of player recruitment in the National Football League. Each team is given a position in the drafting order in reve ...
by the
Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. The Vikings compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. Founded in 1960 as ...
(6th overall). He was also selected in the first round of the
American Football League draft The American Football League draft, the American Football League (AFL, 1960–1969) stocked its teams in two ways: # Signing free agents (players whose contracts in other professional football leagues had expired, or who had no professional exper ...
by the
Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East div ...
(5th overall), who could not sign him. As the left
defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...
in the Vikings front four, he was a major factor in the unit known as the " Purple People Eaters" (the other members being
Alan Page Alan Cedric Page (born August 7, 1945) is an American former Minnesota Supreme Court judge and professional American football, football player for the Minnesota Vikings and Chicago Bears. He was the NFL's MVP in 1971. He was awarded the Presid ...
, Jim Marshall and Gary Larsen). Starting in 1968, Eller's fifth campaign, Minnesota won 10 Central Division titles in the next 11 seasons. The Vikings won the NFL Championship in 1969, losing to the AFL Champion Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl IV. The Vikings also won the NFC Championships in 1973, 1974, and 1976, but lost in the Super Bowl each year. Eller was one of 11 Vikings to play in all four of their
Super Bowl The Super Bowl is the annual History of the NFL championship, league championship game of the National Football League (NFL) of the United States. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966 NFL season, 1966 (with the excep ...
s. He was selected to play in six
Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (since 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's All-star, star players. The format has changed ...
s (1968–1971, 1973, and 1974). After being traded with an eighth-round pick to Seattle Seahawks for defensive tackle Steve Niehaus, Eller played his final season in 1979 with the
Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The club entered the NFL a ...
, where he ran his career total to 225 games. In his career, "Moose" only missed three games and started 209 out of the 225 he played. Eller is credited as the Vikings' all-time sack leader with 130½. He also had 3 sacks with the Seahawks in 1979 for a career total of 133½. He set a career high with 15 sacks in 1969 and matched that total in 1977; he also amassed 7 seasons with 10 or more sacks. He recovered 23 fumbles during his career. Eller was First-team All-NFL from 1968 to 1971, and again in 1973. He was also Second-team All-Pro in 1967 and 1972 and was named first team All-NFC by the AP,
UPI United Press International (UPI) is an American international news agency whose newswires, photo, news film, and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations for most of the 20th ce ...
, and
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in 1975. Including his Pro Bowls, Eller had a nine-year consecutive streak of post-season honors which began in 1967 with his Second-team All-Pro selection and ended in 1975 with his All-NFC honors. He was named to the Pro Football Hall of Fame 1970s All-Decade Team. He was voted the winner of the George Halas Trophy in 1971 as the NFL's Defensive Player of the Year as awarded by the
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.


Honors and awards

In 2004, Eller was elected to the
Pro Football Hall of Fame The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame for professional football (gridiron), professional American football, located in Canton, Ohio. Opened on September 7, 1963, the Hall of Fame enshrines exceptional figures in the sport of profes ...
. He was elected to the
College Football Hall of Fame The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and interactive Tourist attraction, attraction devoted to college football, college American football. The National Football Foundation (NFF) founded the Hall in 1951 to immortalize the players ...
in 2006. In 2000, Eller was named to the Vikings' 40th Anniversary Team and in 2010, he was named to the Vikings' 50th Anniversary team. Beginning in 1984, following each football season, the Carl Eller Award is given to the University of Minnesota's Defensive Player of the Year. In 1992, he was inducted into the University of Minnesota's M Club Hall of Fame. In 2003, he was named to the
Professional Football Researchers Association The Professional Football Researchers Association (PFRA) is an organization of researchers whose mission is to preserve and, in some cases, reconstruct professional American football history. It was founded on June 22, 1979 in Canton, Ohio by w ...
Hall of Very Good in the association's inaugural HOVG class.


Life after football

As a licensed drug and alcohol counselor, Eller founded a group of substance-abuse clinics in the Twin Cities called Triumph Life Centers in 1986. He obtained a college degree in Human Services from
Metropolitan State University Metropolitan State University (Metro State) is a public university in the Minneapolis–St. Paul, Minnesota metropolitan area. It is a member of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system.
in 1994 and went on to work for the Minnesota Department of Human Services, addressing issues of health disparities between white people and people of color. Eller was arrested in 2006 for
driving under the influence Driving under the influence (DUI) is the crime of driving, operating, or being in control of a vehicle while one is impaired from doing so safely by the effect of either alcohol (drug), alcohol (see drunk driving) or some other drug, whether re ...
and pleaded guilty. He was arrested in 2008 for fourth-degree assault of a
police officer A police officer (also called policeman or policewoman, cop, officer or constable) is a Warrant (law), warranted law employee of a police, police force. In most countries, ''police officer'' is a generic term not specifying a particular rank. ...
and second-degree refusal to submit to chemical testing, both gross misdemeanors. He was sentenced and served 60 days in the county workhouse. Eller later served as president of the NFL Retired Players Association. In 2020, he joined the Halberd Corporation, a research-based publicly traded company that helps discover and develop medical treatments for diseases, as a consultant.


References


External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Eller, Carl 1942 births Living people All-American college football players American football defensive linemen American substance abuse counselors College Football Hall of Fame inductees Minnesota Golden Gophers football players Minnesota Vikings players National Conference Pro Bowl players NFL announcers Players of American football from Winston-Salem, North Carolina Pro Football Hall of Fame inductees Seattle Seahawks players Western Conference Pro Bowl players 21st-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century American sportsmen Alpha Phi Alpha members