.jpg) Carmichael in 2023 | |||||||||
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| Position | Wide receiver | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born | (1949-09-22)September 22, 1949 (age 76) Jacksonville, Florida, U.S. | ||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) | ||||||||
| Weight | 225 lb (102 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school | William M. Raines (Jacksonville) | ||||||||
| College | Southern (1967–1970) | ||||||||
| NFL draft | 1971: 7th round, 161st overall pick | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
Playing | |||||||||
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* Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |||||||||
Operations | |||||||||
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| Awards and highlights | |||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||
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Lee Harold Carmichael (born September 22, 1949) is an American former professionalfootball player who was awide receiver in theNational Football League (NFL) for thirteen seasons with thePhiladelphia Eagles (1971–1983) and one year for theDallas Cowboys (1984). He playedcollege football for theSouthern Jaguars. After his playing career, Carmichael was the director of player development and alumni for the Eagles from 1998 to 2014, and a fan engagement liaison from 2014 to 2015.
Carmichael attended William M. Raines High School inJacksonville, Florida, where he played thetrombone in the school's band. He began playingquarterback on the football team.[1]
Hewalked-on atSouthern University and became a tri-sport athlete. He used his 6'8" height to play on thebasketball team as a center, and threw thejavelin anddiscus for thetrack and field team. In football, he shifted to playing wide receiver, where he was a four-year starter, although he never led the team in receptions.[2] He received All-conference honors as a senior. He was a teammate ofMel Blount.
In 1989, he was inducted into theLouisiana Sports Hall of Fame. In 2004, he was inducted into theFlorida Sports Hall of Fame. In 2012, he was inducted into theSouthwestern Athletic Conference Hall of Fame. In 2018, he was inducted into the Black College Football Hall of Fame. In January 2020, he was elected as one of 10 seniors to the Centennial Slate for the Class of 2020 of the NFL Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Carmichael was selected by thePhiladelphia Eagles in the seventh round (161st overall) of the1971 NFL draft.[3] As a rookie, he was converted into atight end, starting in six out of the nine games and leading the team's tight ends with twenty receptions (fourth on the team).
The next year he was moved to wide receiver. In1973, he had a breakout year with the arrival of head coachMike McCormack, leading the league with 67 receptions for 1,116 yards (16.7-yard average) and was tied for fourth with nine receivingtouchdowns.
His production fell in the next three seasons as the team struggled to find a reliable quarterback. In1977,Ron Jaworski was named the starting quarterback, with Carmichael leading the team with 46 receptions for 665 yards and seventouchdowns.
He was elected to fourPro Bowls in his NFL career. He finished third in receiving yards in1978 with 1,072 and was second in receiving touchdowns in1979 with eleven.
In1980, he set anNFL record at the time by catching passes in 127 consecutive NFL games while also helping the Eagles make an appearance inSuper Bowl XV.
On May 11,1984, he was waived by the Eagles. On August 8, he was signed as afree agent by theNew York Jets, who were looking to improve their depth at wide receiver whileWesley Walker held out in a contract dispute andLam Jones recovered from a broken collarbone.[4] He was released on August 26.[5]
On September 6, he signed with theDallas Cowboys, who were looking for wide receiver depth afterTony Hill was injured in the season opener 20–13 win against theLos Angeles Rams.[6] He played in two games and caught only one pass before being cut on November 14 and announcing his retirement.[7]
He ended his career with 590 receptions for 8,985 yards with 79 career touchdown catches, along with 64 rushing yards on nine carries. He currently ranks 25th all-time in career touchdown receptions, but he was seventh all-time at the time of his retirement. His career catches ranked fifth all-time when he retired. He retired as the Eagles' all-time leader in pass receptions, receiving yards, receiving touchdowns, and total touchdowns (79), with all four records still standing as of early 2017. He also holds Eagles post-season records for receiving yards (465), touchdowns (six), yards per reception (sixteen), and yards per game (66.4). He andBrent Celek are the only Eagles with three touchdowns in a single post-season (1979), and he is one of four players with two touchdowns in a single post-season game. He holds the Eagles record for most games with a touchdown for both the regular season (69) and playoffs (five, shared withDuce Staley andBrian Westbrook). At 6 foot 8 inches, he is believed to be the tallest wide receiver in the history of the NFL.[8] He is also one of only a few players able to throw a football from one end zone to the other end zone.[9]
Carmichael was selected to theNFL 1970s All-Decade Team by voters of thePro Football Hall of Fame. From 1973 to 1983, Carmichael led all NFL receivers in receptions, receiving yards, and touchdowns. In 1987, he was inducted into the Eagles Hall of Fame. TheProfessional Football Researchers Association named him to the PRFA Hall of Very Good Class of 2009.[10]
On January 15, 2020, Carmichael was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2020.[11]
After retiring from his playing career, he settled in South Jersey and joined a Philadelphia travel agency as a vice president for sales.[7] He later operated various businesses, including steel fabrication and sports marketing.
In 1998, Carmichael was named the director of player and community relations for the Eagles, a newly created position where he would be a "combination mentor, confidant, troubleshooter, and liaison between the players and the authority figures in the organization".[12] He was moved to a Fan Engagement Liaison position in 2014, and retired from that role on April 2, 2015. He currently works as an ambassador for the team in his retirement.[13]
| Year | Team | Games | Receiving | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Rec | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | ||
| 1971 | PHI | 9 | 6 | 20 | 288 | 14.4 | 50 | 0 |
| 1972 | PHI | 13 | 2 | 20 | 276 | 13.8 | 54 | 2 |
| 1973 | PHI | 14 | 14 | 67 | 1,116 | 16.7 | 73 | 9 |
| 1974 | PHI | 14 | 14 | 56 | 649 | 11.6 | 39 | 8 |
| 1975 | PHI | 14 | 13 | 49 | 639 | 13.0 | 62 | 7 |
| 1976 | PHI | 14 | 14 | 42 | 503 | 12.0 | 24 | 5 |
| 1977 | PHI | 14 | 14 | 46 | 665 | 14.5 | 50 | 7 |
| 1978 | PHI | 16 | 16 | 55 | 1,072 | 19.5 | 56 | 8 |
| 1979 | PHI | 16 | 16 | 52 | 872 | 16.8 | 50 | 11 |
| 1980 | PHI | 16 | 16 | 48 | 815 | 17.0 | 56 | 9 |
| 1981 | PHI | 16 | 16 | 61 | 1,028 | 16.9 | 85 | 6 |
| 1982 | PHI | 9 | 8 | 35 | 540 | 15.4 | 46 | 4 |
| 1983 | PHI | 15 | 11 | 38 | 515 | 13.6 | 35 | 3 |
| 1984 | DAL | 2 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 7.0 | 7 | 0 |
| Career | 182 | 160 | 590 | 8,985 | 15.2 | 85 | 79 | |
Media related toHarold Carmichael at Wikimedia Commons