Verba Preston Carpenter (January 24, 1934 – June 30, 2011)Neiswanger, R
"Football: Arkansas Great Carpenter Dies at 77"
, ''Arkansas News''. June 30, 2011. was an American 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. He played as an end, halfback,

tight end The tight end (TE) is an offense (sports), offensive position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football. It is a hybrid that combines the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a receiver (football), receiv ...

, and

kick returner A return specialist or kick returner is a player on the special teams unit of a gridiron football team who specializes in returning punts and kickoffs. There are few players who are exclusively return specialists; most also play another positio ...

over eleven seasons for five different teams 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) and 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). Carpenter 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 ...

at the

University of Arkansas The University of Arkansas (U of A, UArk, or UA) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Fayetteville, Arkansas, United States. It is the Flagship campus, flagship campus of the University of Arkan ...

for the Razorbacks.

Family

Carpenter was born to Verba Glen Carpenter and Edna Earl Pullam in Hayti, Missouri. He graduated from Muskogee Central High School, where he was Oklahoma All State. His brother, Lew Carpenter, played and coached in the NFL for over forty years. Note: Verba Preston "Preston" Carpenter is RIN 134145. See als
Carpenter Cousins main web page.
/ref> Carpenter married Jeanne Etychison (d. 2019). The couple had three children: Scott, Bruce (d. 2015) and Lewis Todd Carpenter. He is a descendant of Thomas "Jack" Carpenter (1740–1803).

College career

At the

, Carpenter was an outstanding

single-wing In American and Canadian football, a single-wing formation was a precursor to the modern shotgun formation. The term usually connotes formations in which the snap is tossed rather than handed. Formations with one wingback and a handed snap a ...

blocking back and

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the line ...

for the Razorbacks in 1953 and 1954. In 1954, he caught a 66-yard touchdown pass against Ole Miss in one of the most famous plays in Razorbacks history. He was an All-Southwest Conference selection in 1955 as a halfback.

NFL football

Carpenter played 12 seasons in the NFL. He was a Pro Bowl selection as a Pittsburgh Steeler tight end in 1962. Carpenter also played for Miami, Washington and Minnesota.

Cleveland Browns

A first-round draft choice in

1956 Events January * January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan after 57 years. * January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian Missionary, missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, E ...

, Carpenter was selected by the reigning NFL champion

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 ...

, who picked thirteenth. The Browns used him primarily as a halfback in his

rookie A rookie is a person new to an occupation, profession, or hobby. In sports, a ''rookie'' is a professional athlete in their first season (or year). In contrast with a veteran who has experience, a rookie is typically considered needing more tra ...

year, when he gained 756 yards on 188 carries while averaging 25.4 yds/touch on 15 kickoff returns. In 1957–1959, he was used mainly as a receiver, where in four years, he accrued 1,366 yards and five touchdowns. Carpenter led the Cleveland Browns in rushing in 1956 and receiving in 1958.

Pittsburgh Steelers

With 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 ...

, in his first year, he also averaged over 25 yards/touch on kickoff returns, and from 1960 through 1963 with Pittsburgh, he picked up another 1,680 yards and 11 touchdowns on receptions, making the NFL

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 ...

in 1962.

Final pro years

From 1964 through 1966 with 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 ...

and

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 ...

, Carpenter gained another 1,281 yards and seven touchdowns receiving. He completed his pro football career with the

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

in 1967. His career record includes a combined 6,253 receiving, rushing, and return yards, with a 25.9 yards/touch career average on kickoff returns, and a total of 24 touchdowns: 23 rushing and one receiving.

Honors

Carpenter was inducted into the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame in 1992. Carpenter was inducted into the University of Arkansas Sports Hall of Honor in 1996. Carpenter also received The All-American Football Foundation's All-American Football Legends Award on July 25, 2003.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Carpenter, Preston 1934 births 2011 deaths American football ends American football halfbacks American football tight ends Arkansas Razorbacks football players Cleveland Browns players Miami Dolphins players Minnesota Vikings players Pittsburgh Steelers players Washington Redskins players Eastern Conference Pro Bowl players Players of American football from Muskogee, Oklahoma People from Hayti, Missouri American Football League players