Donald Frederick McCauley Jr. (born May 12, 1949) 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 was a

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for the Baltimore Colts 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). 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 ...

for the North Carolina Tarheels from 1968 to 1970, during which time he was twice recognized as the

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 ...

(ACC) player of the year. He was also consensus

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 ...

in 1970 and finished ninth in voting for the

Heisman Trophy The Heisman Memorial Trophy ( ; also known simply as the Heisman) is awarded annually since 1935 to the top player in college football. It is considered the most prestigious award in the sport and is presented by the Heisman Trophy Trust followin ...

. Selected in the first round of the 1971 NFL draft by the Colts with a pick forfeited by the Miami Dolphins for tampering, McCauley went on to have an 11-year NFL career with the Colts. In 2001, McCauley was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.

Early life

McCauley attended Garden City High School in Garden City, New York, where he was a power-hitting catcher on the baseball team, and powerful halfback on the football squad. His football skills earned him a full-ride scholarship to the

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC, UNC–Chapel Hill, or simply Carolina) is a public university, public research university in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States. Chartered in 1789, the university first began enrolli ...

. Don is part of the McCauley family of Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Matthew McCauley (1750–1832), Don's great-grandfather, moved from Carrickfergus, County Antrim, Ireland, to Orange County, N.C., prior to the American Revolution and served in the 10th North Carolina Regiment of the Continental Army. Matthew McCauley and his brother William donated 250 acres towards the establishment of the University of North Carolina.

College career

McCauley arrived at Chapel Hill in the fall of 1967. Under

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

rules at the time, he spent the first year on the freshman team. Moved to the varsity squad in 1968, McCauley made an impression at spring practice.

1968

McCauley played in ten games for UNC during the 1968 season, primarily in a reserve role, gaining 360 yards on the ground, 313 yards through the air, and scoring three touchdowns.

1969

As a junior, McCauley began to make his mark as a premier Division I collegiate running back. In 10 games that year he gained 1,092 yards rushing, 238 yards receiving, and scored ten touchdowns. In the 23-3 win against Wake Forest that year, McCauley had 188 yards rushing, a mark that set a new UNC record for yards gained carrying the ball. After watching McCauley's big game against Wake Forest, UNC running back legend Charlie "Choo Choo" Justice anointed him "one of the best backs ever to wear a Carolina uniform." His 1,092 yards rushing would be the second most in ACC history and win McCauley the first of two ACC Player of the Year honors.

1970

In McCauley's senior season he led the nation in rushing with 1,720 yards, and all-purpose running with 2,021 yards. His 1,720 yards rushing broke the NCAA record held by O. J. SimpsonWalter Gutowski and Marge Blatt (eds.)
''Baltimore Colts: 1982 Media Guide.''
Owings Mills, MD: Baltimore Colts, 1982; pp. 37-39. and continued to stand the test of time half a century later, still ranking as the fifth highest total in ACC history and the highest at North Carolina. A consensus All-America selection and team captain his senior year, McCauley led the ACC in scoring in 1970 with 21 touchdowns. Over the course of his three years on the Tarheel varsity team, McCauley generated 3,172 rushing yards, 786 yards receiving, and 1,056 yards on kick returns — for a total of 5,014 all-purpose yards. He also led the team in punting with 48 punts for 1,845 yards — a 38.4 yard average. McCauley was a two-time First-team All-Conference selection, two-time Conference Player of the Year, and won the 1971 ACC Athlete of the Year award. He finished 9th in balloting for the 1970 Heisman Trophy, including 6 first place votes.

Professional career

With the acquisition of the Miami Dolphins' first round draft pick, awarded to them as compensation for tampering in the hiring of then head coach of the Colts, Don Shula, Baltimore selected McCauley in the first round (22nd overall) in the 1971 NFL draft. The 1971 NFL season was spent as a reserve to veteran halfback Tom Matte.Ernie Accorsi and Chip Campbell (eds.)
''The Baltimore Colts '72."
Owings Mills, MD: Baltimore Colts, 1972; p. 45. He carried the ball 58 times for 246 yards (4.2 yards per carry) and scored 2 touchdowns during that rookie campaign. He also handled the ball periodically as a kickoff returner, bringing back 8 kicks with a 24.3 yard average. With Matte injured, McCauley was thrust into the limelight as a starter in the AFC Championship Game, in which he gained 50 yards on the ground and caught 2 passes for 24 more yards in a 21–0 loss to the Miami Dolphins. McCauley's second pro season,

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, ...

, was his best offensive year, in which he gained 675 yards on the ground — the most he would ever record — and another 256 in the air, logging a total of five touchdowns. One of his touchdowns came via a 93-yard kickoff return against the

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team p ...

in September, the longest scoring play of his career. His third season,

1973 Events January * January 1 – The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 14 - The 16-0 19 ...

, would be the last time he broke the 500-yard mark on the ground, with McCauley generating 514 yards on 144 carries (3.6 yards per carry average) in 13 games. McCauley generated no fewer than 296 yards via pass receptions in any of his last six years, snagging more than fifty balls in a season twice. His high total as a pass-catcher would come in

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...

, when he grabbed 55 balls for 575 yards (10.5 yards per catch average). Don McCauley would actually finish his NFL career with more yards as a pass receiver (3,026) than as a runner (2,627). McCauley was able to carve out a niche as an effective short-yardage back for the Colts over an 11-season career. He finished his career with 156 games played, during which he ran the ball 770 times for 2,627 yards — an average of 3.4 yards per carry."Don McCauley,"
Pro Football Reference, www.pro-football-reference.com/ Don McCauley scored 58 touchdowns during the course of his NFL career. He retired sixth all-time for the Colts in yards gained rushing.

Life after football

Out of the game at the age of 33, McCauley retired to Huntington Bay, New York with his wife Tracey and three daughters- Krystin, Brooke and Brittney. In 2001 Don McCauley was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame."2001 College Football Hall of Fame Class Announced,"
National Football Foundation, April 19, 2001, footballfoundation.org/

NFL career statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McCauley, Don 1949 births Living people People from Garden City, New York Sportspeople from Hempstead, New York Players of American football from Nassau County, New York Players of American football from Worcester, Massachusetts American football running backs Garden City High School (New York) alumni North Carolina Tar Heels football players All-American college football players College Football Hall of Fame inductees Baltimore Colts players