Linwood Wray Carlton (born June 18, 1937) 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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in both Canada and the United States. He played

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for the Duke Blue Devils. Unable to come to terms with the

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, who had selected him in the 1959 NFL draft, Carlton traveled to

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and the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...

(CFL) to play for the Argonauts. His Canadian career lasted only four games before he declined a trade to Vancouver, British Columbia, and went home. But another league and another opportunity was in his future. In his early years with the

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of 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), Carlton formed a virtually unstoppable backfield tandem, first with Elbert "Golden Wheels" Dubenion, then with Carlton Chester "Cookie" Gilchrist. On September 18, 1960, in Buffalo's home opener, a 27–21 loss to the

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, Carlton made history in the second quarter when he scored the team's first touchdown on a one-yard run. Carlton gained 1,010 yards from scrimmage (533 rushing and 477 receiving) and 11 touchdowns in the Bills first season. Carlton briefly retired following the 1963 season, but re-signed with the Bills in July 1964. Later he helped the Bills win back-to-back league championships in 1964 and 1965. Perennially among the AFL's top rushers, he led the league in rushing touchdowns in 1965 and was voted to the American Football League Eastern Division All-Star team in 1965 and 1966. Carlton was the Bills' all-time leading rusher during their AFL years, with a 4.1 yards per carry average. He was cut from the team in the 1968 preseason; he, along with Dubenion (who finished the 1968 season then retired), were the last players from the Bills' inaugural season still on the roster.

Awards

* Carlton was inducted into The Greater Wilmington Sports Hall of Fame in 2008 * The North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame in 2012.

References

1937 births Living people American football running backs Players of Canadian football from North Carolina Canadian football running backs Buffalo Bills players Duke Blue Devils football players Toronto Argonauts players American Football League All-Star players People from Wallace, North Carolina Players of American football from North Carolina 20th-century American sportsmen {{Runningback-1930s-stub

Awards

See also

References