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| No. 27, 85, 91, 21, 34, 2, 30 | |||||||||||||||
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| Position | Fullback | ||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
| Born | (1935-05-25)May 25, 1935 Brackenridge, Pennsylvania, U.S. | ||||||||||||||
| Died | January 10, 2011(2011-01-10) (aged 75) Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S. | ||||||||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | ||||||||||||||
| Weight | 251 lb (114 kg) | ||||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||||
| High school | Har-Brack (Natrona Heights, Pennsylvania) | ||||||||||||||
| College | None | ||||||||||||||
| NFL draft | 1954: undrafted | ||||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||||
* Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |||||||||||||||
| Awards and highlights | |||||||||||||||
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| Career AFL statistics | |||||||||||||||
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| Career CFL statistics | |||||||||||||||
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Carlton Chester "Cookie"Gilchrist (May 25, 1935 – January 10, 2011) was an Americanfootballfullback who played in theAmerican Football League (AFL) and theCanadian Football League (CFL).[1][2] He was named theAFL Most Valuable Player (MVP) with theBuffalo Bills in 1962. He was named to theAFL All-Time Second-team.
A star player atHar-Brack High School inNatrona Heights, Pennsylvania, in 1953 he led the team to the W.P.I.A.L. co-championship with Donora. As a junior, he was talked into signing aprofessional football contract with the NFL'sCleveland Browns byPaul Brown. The signing was against NFL rules and likely illegal, and when Brown reneged on his promise that Gilchrist would make the team, Gilchrist left training camp atHiram College, inHiram, Ohio, and went toCanada to play. There, in theOntario Rugby Football Union (ORFU), he received the Jim Shanks (Team MVP) Trophy for theSarnia Imperials in 1954, and theKitchener-Waterloo Dutchmen's Team MVP Award in 1955.
In 1956, he joined theCanadian Football League (CFL) with theHamilton Tiger-Cats, helping lead them to a 1957Grey Cup victory. He spent one season with theSaskatchewan Roughriders, rushing for 1,254 yards. He then was traded to theToronto Argonauts forTex Schwierer, and played three years in Toronto.[3] In his six years in the CFL, Gilchrist was a divisional All-Star at running back five consecutive years from 1956 to 1960 (there were no All-Canadians selected in those years) and was also an Eastern All-Star at linebacker in 1960. Additionally, in 1960 he was runner up for theCFL's Most Outstanding Player Award. In his CFL career, Gilchrist recorded 4,911 rushing yards, 1,068 receiving yards and 12 interceptions.
Gilchrist then joined the roster of theBuffalo Bills of the fledglingAmerican Football League. Incidentally, Gilchrist was Buffalo's backup plan: they had actually draftedErnie Davis to be the team's franchise running back in 1962. Davis instead chose the NFL, but died of leukemia before ever playing a down of professional football. The Bills instead signed Gilchrist as a free agent. While with Buffalo, Gilchrist played fullback and kicked, though he insisted he could haveplayed both ways. He was the first 1,000-yardAmerican Football League rusher, with 1,096 yards in a 14-game schedule in 1962. That year, he set the all-time AFL record for touchdowns with 13, and he earnedAFL MVP honors. Gilchrist rushed for a professional football record 263 yards and five touchdowns in a single game against theNew York Jets in 1963. Though he was with the Bills for only three years (1962–1964), he remains the team's ninth-leading rusher all-time,[4] and led the league in scoring in each of his three years as a Bill. Gilchrist ran for 122 yards in the Bills' 1964 American Football League championship defeat of theSan Diego Chargers, 20–7. His 4.5 yard/rush average is second as a Bill only to O.J. Simpson. One of Gilchrist's strengths was blocking. Gilchrist's blocking was mentioned by broadcaster and ex-coachJohn Madden during a CBS TV broadcast in the 1987 season, saying "Cookie Gilchrist may have been the best blocking running back that ever played the game."
In an early civil rights victory for black athletes, Gilchrist led a successfulboycott of New Orleans as the site of the 1965American Football League All-Star game. He is the only athlete to turn down being enshrined into theCanadian Football Hall of Fame and Museum, because of what he described as racism and exploitation by management. However, Gilchrist had stated before his death that he never turned down the Hall, instead stating that it was "not that simple". When he was informed about being nominated by the Hall by John Agro (counsel for theCanadian Football League Players Association), he was told to be "nice" toJake Gaudaur, the CFL commissioner, and Gilchrist stated that he would "take it under advisement" due to his strained relations with Gaudaur while also expressing the belief that Canada had treated him as a "persona non grata" from 1956 to 2010.[5]
Gilchrist frequently was at odds with team management. He told a reporter from theLondon Free Press that most of the problems he encountered were a result of his standing up for principles at a time when black athletes were expected to remain silent.[6][7]
Gilchrist was traded to theDenver Broncos before the 1965 season in exchange for fullbackBilly Joe and cash.[8]He played for the Broncos in 1965 and 1967, and for theMiami Dolphins in 1966. He was sent to the man who started his career, Paul Brown in the Cincinnati Bengals expansion draft in 1968, but retired because of knee problems. He was anAmerican Football League All-Star in 1962, 1963, 1964 and 1965, making him one of only a few professional football players who made their league's All-Star team for 10 consecutive years (six in theCFL, and four in theAFL). Gilchrist was selected as the fullback of theAll-Time American Football League Team.[9] TheProfessional Football Researchers Association named Gilchrist to the PRFA Hall of Very Good Class of 2013.[10]
Gilchrist was named to the Bills' Wall of Fame during the team's home game on October 29, 2017, against theOakland Raiders.
| General | Rushing | Receiving | Field Goals & Converts | Interceptions | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Team | GP | Att | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Rec | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | FGA | FGM | Avg | S | XPA | XPM | Int | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD |
| 1954 | Sarnia Imperials | 11 | 118 | 845 | 7.1 | -- | 5 | 9 | 185 | 20.5 | -- | 3 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | - | -- |
| 1955 | Kitchener Dutchmen | 12 | 129 | 806 | 6.2 | -- | 10 | 11 | 179 | 16.2 | -- | 0 | 16 | 5 | 31.2 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| 1956 | Hamilton Tiger-Cats | — | 130 | 832 | 6.4 | 70 | 2 | 18 | 297 | 15.5 | 40 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 3.5 | 6 | 0 |
| 1957 | Hamilton Tiger-Cats | — | 204 | 958 | 4.7 | 57 | 7 | 8 | 82 | 10.3 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 65 | 21.7 | 55 | 2 |
| 1958 | Saskatchewan Roughriders | — | 235 | 1,254 | 5.3 | 73 | 5 | 15 | 144 | 9.6 | 41 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1959 | Toronto Argonauts | — | 87 | 496 | 5.7 | 69 | 4 | 5 | 70 | 14.0 | 38 | 1 | 14 | 9 | 64.3 | 0 | 24 | 16 | 4 | 66 | 16.5 | 32 | 0 |
| 1960 | Toronto Argonauts | 14 | 88 | 662 | 7.5 | 74 | 6 | 25 | 346 | 13.8 | 42 | 2 | 18 | 5 | 27.8 | 0 | 48 | 43 | 1 | 16 | 16.0 | 16 | 0 |
| 1961 | Toronto Argonauts | 12 | 105 | 709 | 6.8 | 67 | 3 | 15 | 147 | 9.8 | 24 | 0 | 9 | 5 | 55.6 | 3 | 11 | 5 | 2 | 41 | 20.5 | 35 | 0 |
| 1962 | Buffalo Bills | 14 | 214 | 1,096 | 5.1 | 44 | 13 | 24 | 319 | 13.3 | 76 | 2 | 20 | 8 | 40 | 0 | 17 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1963 | Buffalo Bills | 14 | 232 | 979 | 4.2 | 32 | 12 | 24 | 211 | 8.8 | 42 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1964 | Buffalo Bills | 14 | 230 | 981 | 4.3 | 67 | 6 | 30 | 345 | 11.5 | 37 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1965 | Denver Broncos | 14 | 252 | 954 | 3.8 | 44 | 6 | 18 | 154 | 8.6 | 29 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1966 | Miami Dolphins | 8 | 72 | 262 | 3.6 | 22 | 0 | 13 | 110 | 8.5 | 22 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1967 | Denver Broncos | 1 | 10 | 21 | 2.1 | 6 | 0 | 1 | -4 | -4.0 | -4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| CFL Totals | — | 849 | 4,911 | 5.8 | 74 | 28 | 86 | 1,068 | 12.4 | 42 | 5 | 41 | 19 | 46.3 | 4 | 83 | 64 | 12 | 195 | 16.3 | 55 | 2 | |
| AFL Totals | 65 | 1,010 | 4,293 | 4.3 | 67 | 37 | 110 | 1,135 | 10.3 | 76 | 6 | 20 | 8 | 40.0 | 0 | 17 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Career totals | — | 1,859 | 9,204 | 5.0 | 74 | 65 | 196 | 2,203 | 11.2 | 76 | 11 | 61 | 27 | 44.3 | 4 | 100 | 78 | 12 | 195 | 16.3 | 55 | 2 | |
In 1974, Gilchrist founded the United Athletes Coalition of America to help former football players adjust to life after retirement. In 1975, he bookedMarvin Gaye,Ike & Tina Turner, andTaveres for a benefit concert atMaple Leaf Gardens in Toronto.[11]
Gilchrist had numerous feuds with the people he worked with during his football career. It has been stated that he refused entry into theCanadian Football Hall of Fame because he did not believe he was paid well enough for his service, while other sources contend that Gilchrist rejected the honor due to how he was treated in the past.[12][13][14] However, Gilchrist stated that he did not turn down the Hall, stating the following in 2010:
He also refused to accept enshrinement on the Buffalo Bills Wall of Fame because he wanted payment for appearing;Van Miller eventually convinced Gilchrist to change his mind, but Gilchrist was not inducted prior to his death.[16] Gilchrist was posthumously inducted into the Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame in 2011.[17] Gilchrist did accept induction onto the Bills' Wall of Honor, the predecessor to the Wall of Fame that had been set up atWar Memorial Stadium in 1970, but none of the honorees on that wall were carried over toRich Stadium when it was built in 1973.[18] On August 30, 2017, the Bills announced that he would be inducted into the Buffalo Bills Wall of Fame.[19]
In an article inThe Buffalo News on March 18, 2007, Gilchrist, then 71, announced that he was being treated forthroat cancer. At the time, he lived inNatrona Heights, Pennsylvania.
On January 10, 2011, Gilchrist died at an assisted living facility in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.[13][20] Gilchrist was posthumously diagnosed with stage fourchronic traumatic encephalopathy, which may explain, in part, some of his behavioural difficulties.[14] Gilchrist was aware of the possibility that he had the disease when writing his autobiography,The Cookie That Did Not Crumble, along with Chris Garbarino[citation needed]. Consequently, he donated his brain to the Canadian Sports Concussion Project for use in their study of CTE. Gilchrist was one of at least 345NFL players to be diagnosed after death with this disease, which is caused by repeated hits to the head.[21][22]