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

player. He played professionally as an end, halfback,

tight end The tight end (TE) is a position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football, on the offense (sports), offense. The tight end is often a hybrid position with the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a wide ...

, 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 position ...

over eleven seasons for five different teams in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ma ...

(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, when it merged with the older National Football League (NFL), and became the American Football Conference. ...

(AFL). Carpenter played college football at the

University of Arkansas The University of Arkansas (U of A, UArk, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Fayetteville, Arkansas. It is the flagship campus of the University of Arkansas System and the largest university in the state. Founded as Arkansas ...

for the

Razorbacks The feral pig is a domestic pig which has gone feral, meaning it lives in the wild. They are found mostly in the Americas and Australia. Razorback and wild hog are Americanisms applied to feral pigs or boar-pig hybrids. Definition A feral pi ...

Family

Carpenter was born to Verba Glen Carpenter and Edna Earl Pullam in

Hayti, Missouri Hayti (pronounced "HAY-tie") is a city in eastern Pemiscot County, Missouri, United States. The population was 2,493 at the 2020 census. History Hayti was platted in 1894, when the railroad was extended to that point. According to one tradition, ...

. He graduated from Muskogee Central High School, where he was Oklahoma All State. His brother,

Lew Carpenter Lewis Glen Carpenter (January 12, 1932 – November 14, 2010) was an American football player and coach. He played college football for the University of Arkansas and professionally for ten seasons in the National Football League (NFL) as a ...

, 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

At the

, Carpenter was an outstanding

single-wing In American football, American and Canadian football, a single-wing formation was a precursor to the modern Spread offense, spread or shotgun formation. The term usually connotes formations in which the snap (football), snap is tossed rather th ...

blocking back and

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, pl ...

for the

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 Condominium ends in Sudan. * January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, Ed McCully, Jim Elliot and Pete Fleming, are kille ...

, Carpenter was selected by the reigning NFL champion

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference ( ...

, 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 and expertise, a rookie is usually inexperienced ...

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 club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Stee ...

, 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 (starting in 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's star players. The format has changed thro ...

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 club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) ...

and

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansio ...

, 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. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team pl ...

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

External links

* {{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 Sportspeople from Muskogee, Oklahoma People from Hayti, Missouri Players of American football from Oklahoma American Football League players