NFL Hall-of-Famer Harry Carson is Walter Camp “Man of the Year”
Former SC State All-American and New York Giants’ captain will be honored on January 14
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NEW HAVEN, CT – Former New York Giants’ captain and Hall-of-Fame linebacker Harry Carson (South Carolina State) is the recipient of the Walter Camp Football Foundation’s 2011 “Man of the Year” award.
Carson, a graduate of South Carolina State University, joins a distinguished list of former “Man of the Year” winners, including Roger Staubach (Navy), Gale Sayers (Kansas), Dick Butkus (Illinois), John Elway (Stanford) and last year’s recipient Will Shields (Nebraska).
The Walter Camp “Man of the Year” award honors an individual who has been closely associated with the game of football as a player, coach or close attendant to the game. He must have attained a measure of success and been a leader in his chosen profession. He must have contributed to the public service for the benefit of his community, country and his fellow man. He must have an impeccable reputation for integrity and must be dedicated to our American Heritage and the philosophy of Walter Camp.
“Harry Carson was a leader on the football field, but his passion and devotion for the game of football and those who played it clearly represents the life of Walter Camp and makes him a worthy recipient of the Man of the Year Award,” said Foundation president John Marks.
A native of Florence, South Carolina, Carson attended South Carolina State from 1972-1975 and was a two-time Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Defensive of the Year recipient and College Division All-America selection. Carson is enshrined in the SC State Athletic Hall of Fame and was named to the school’s 2007 Centennial Football Team.
Selected in the fourth round of the 1976 NFL Draft by the New York Giants, Carson spent 13 years with the team, serving as captain for 10. He was an All-NFL pick seven times and made nine Pro Bowl appearances. He teamed with fellow Hall-of-Fame linebacker Lawrence Taylor to lead the “Big Blue Wrecking Crew” to the Super Bowl XXI title, a 39-20 victory over the Denver Broncos. He retired following the 1988 season.
Carson was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2002 and the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2006. Rated by Pro Football Weekly as the top inside linebacker in NFL history, Carson was a member of the inaugural class of the New York Giants’ Ring of Honor in 2010.
Carson is currently the CEO and President of Harry Carson, Inc., a sports consulting and promotions company, and is a frequent motivational speaker. He also serves as Executive Director of the Fritz Pollard Alliance, which is dedicated to creating a greater sense of racial diversity within non-player ranks within the NFL.
In addition, Carson is an authority and internationally-recognized speaker on concussions in sports.
He has authored two books – Point of Attack (1985) and Captain For Life (2011) and continues to be a strong advocate for retired players as an advisory board member of the Gridiron Greats Player Assistance Fund, which provides funds to former players.
He currently resides in Franklin Lakes, N.J.
Carson as well as all of the major award winners and members of the 2011 Walter Camp All-America team will be honored at the organization’s 45th annual national awards banquet on Saturday, January 14, 2012 at the Yale University Commons in New Haven.
The Foundation is offering a “Holiday Ticket Promotion” for the National Awards Dinner. Buy two tickets for $400 (you save $150). Please call (203) 288-CAMP (288-2267) for more information.
Walter Camp, “The Father of American football,” first selected an All-America team in 1889. Camp – a former Yale University athlete and football coach – is also credited with developing play from scrimmage, set plays, the numerical assessment of goals and tries and the restriction of play to eleven men per side. The Walter Camp Football Foundation (www.waltercamp.org) – a New Haven-based all-volunteer group – was founded in 1967 to perpetuate the ideals of Camp and to continue the tradition of selecting annually an All-America team.
Man of the Year Recipients
2011 – Harry Carson, South Carolina State
2010 – Will Shields, Nebraska
2009 – John Elway, Stanford
2008 – Morten Andersen, Michigan State
2007– Dick Butkus, University of Illinois
2006 – Mike Utley, Washington State
2005 – Dwight Stephenson, Alabama
2004 – Anthony Munoz, Southern California
2003 – Ozzie Newsome, Alabama
2002 – Jim Kelly, Miami (Fla.)
2001 – Mike Singletary, Baylor
2000 – Howie Long, Villanova
1999 – Gil Brandt, Dallas Cowboys
1998 – Lou Holtz, Kent State University
1997 – Calvin Hill, Yale
1996 – Lynn Swann, Southern California
1995 – Reggie Williams, Dartmouth
1994 – Dick Anderson, Colorado
1993 – Warren Moon, Washington
1992 – Bob Griese, Purdue
1991 – Mel Blount, Southern
1990 – Nick Buoniconti, Notre Dame
1989 – Paul Brown, Miami (Ohio)
1988 – Andy Robustelli, Arnold
1987 – Levi Jackson, Yale
1986 – Willie Davis, Grambling
1985 – Ricky Bleier, Notre Dame
1984 – Don Shula, John Carroll
1983 – Roger Staubach, Navy
1982 – Merlin Olsen, Utah State
1981 – Otto Graham, Northwestern
1980 – Gale Sayers, Kansas
1979 – Jack Kemp, Occidental
1978 – Floyd Little, Syracuse
1977 – Fred Dunlap, Colgate
1976 – Edward Krause, Notre Dame
1975 – Pete Dawkins, Army
1974 – Jake Gaither, Knoxville College/Florida A&M
1973 – Duffy Daugherty, Syracuse/Michigan State
1972 – Clinton Frank, Yale
1971 – Doc Blanchard, Army
1970 – Harry Kipke, Michigan
1969 – Pete Rozelle, San Francisco
1968 – Ted Blair, Yale
1967 – Hamilton Fish, Harvard
