Carl Davis Ward (born July 26, 1944) 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 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). He 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 ...

as a halfback for the

Michigan Wolverines The Michigan Wolverines comprise 29 varsity sports teams at the University of Michigan. These teams compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA's NCAA Division I, Division I and in the Big Ten Conference in all sports except wo ...

from 1964 to 1966 before playing in the NFL for the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. The Browns compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team is named after ...

and

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. Since 1975, the team ...

from 1967 to 1969.

Early years

Ward was born in

Hartford, Alabama Hartford is a city in Geneva County, Alabama, United States. It incorporated in 1896. It is part of the Dothan, Alabama Metropolitan Statistical Area. At the 2020 census, the population was 2,651, an increase over the figure of 2,624 tabulat ...

, in 1944. He attended Taft High School in

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

, Ohio.

Michigan

In 1964, Ward helped lead the Wolverines football team to their first

Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference, among others) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Fa ...

championship since 1950, breaking the longest championship drought in school history. The 1964 Wolverines outscored their opponents 235–83, finished the regular season 8–1, and narrowly missed an undefeated season with a 21–20 loss to a

Purdue Boilermakers The Purdue Boilermakers are the official college athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletics teams representing Purdue University, located in West Lafayette, Indiana. As is common with athletic nicknames, the Boilermakers nickname ...

team led by sophomore

Bob Griese Robert Allen Griese ( ; born February 3, 1945) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback for the Miami Dolphins of the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NFL). He earned All-American hono ...

. The Wolverines (ranked No. 4) advanced to the Rose Bowl where they defeated

Tommy Prothro James Thompson Prothro Jr. (July 20, 1920 – May 14, 1995) was an American football coach and player. He was the head coach at Oregon State University from 1955 to 1964 and the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) from 1965 to 1970, com ...

Oregon State Beavers The Oregon State Beavers are the sport, athletic teams that represent Oregon State University, located in Corvallis, Oregon. The Beavers compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I (NCAA Division I ...

, 34–7, on New Year's Day. Ward gained 88 rushing yards on 10 carries in the 1965 Rose Bowl, including a 43-yard touchdown run. Ward continued as one of the Wolverines' leading yard gainers for three consecutive years from 1964 to 1966. He was the team's leading rusher in 1965 with 639 net rushing yards and the leading kickoff returner with 193 yards on 10 kickoff returns. In a September 1966 game that matched Michigan against its 1965 Rose Bowl opponent, Ward scored to touchdowns in a 31–0 victory over Oregon State. From 1964 to 1966, Ward totaled 2,266

all-purpose yards All-purpose yards or all-purpose yardage is a gridiron football statistical measure. It is virtually the same as the statistic that some football leagues refer to as combined net yards. In the game of football, progress is measured by advancing ...

for Michigan, including 1,673 rushing yards, 396 yards on kickoff returns, and 188 receiving yards. His biggest single-game performances for Michigan were as follows:

Professional football

Ward was selected by the

in the 4th round (83rd overall pick) of the

1967 NFL/AFL draft The 1967 NFL/AFL draft was conducted March 14–15, 1967, at the Gotham Hotel in New York City. It was the first common draft between the National Football League (NFL) and the American Football League (AFL), part of the AFL–NFL merger agreeme ...

and signed with the Browns in July 1967. In the Browns' final pre-season game, Ward returned a kickoff 85 yards against 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 ...

. During the 1967 regular season, he returned 22 kickoffs for 546 yards and 6 punts for 62 yards, ranking 8th in the NFL in punt and kickoff return yardage. The highlight of Ward's rookie season came on November 26, 1967 when he returned a kickoff 104 yards for a touchdown against the

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East ...

. His 104-yard return was the longest in Cleveland Browns franchise history and remains tied for the 15th-longest in NFL history. During the 1968 season, Ward returned 13 kickoffs for 236 yards. In September 1969, the

acquired Ward off waivers from the Browns. Ward appeared in only two games for the Saints during the 1969 season, returning 3 kickoffs for 58 yards.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ward, Carl 1944 births Living people Michigan Wolverines football players Cleveland Browns players New Orleans Saints players Players of American football from Alabama