 | |||||||||||||
| No. 40, 89, 36 | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Positions | End Halfback Tight end Return specialist | ||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||
| Born | (1934-01-24)January 24, 1934 Hayti, Missouri, U.S. | ||||||||||||
| Died | June 30, 2011(2011-06-30) (aged 77) Tulsa, Oklahoma, U.S. | ||||||||||||
| Listed height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | ||||||||||||
| Listed weight | 190 lb (86 kg) | ||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||
| High school | West Memphis (West Memphis, Arkansas) | ||||||||||||
| College | Arkansas | ||||||||||||
| NFL draft | 1956: 1st round, 13th overall pick | ||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||
| Awards and highlights | |||||||||||||
| Career NFL/AFL statistics | |||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||
Verba Preston Carpenter (January 24, 1934 – June 30, 2011)[1] was an American professionalfootball player. He played as anend,halfback,tight end, andkick returner over eleven seasons for five different teams in theNational Football League (NFL) and theAmerican Football League (AFL). Carpenter playedcollege football at theUniversity of Arkansas for theRazorbacks.
Carpenter was born to Verba Glen Carpenter and Edna Earl Pullam inHayti, Missouri. He graduated fromMuskogee Central High School, where he was Oklahoma All State. His brother,Lew Carpenter, played and coached in the NFL for over forty years.[2]
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).[2]
At theUniversity of Arkansas, Carpenter was an outstandingsingle-wing blocking back andlinebacker for theRazorbacks in 1953 and 1954. In 1954, he caught a 66-yard touchdown pass againstOle Miss in one of the most famous plays in Razorbacks history. He was anAll-Southwest Conference selection in 1955 as ahalfback.[3]
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.[3]
A first-round draft choice in1956, Carpenter was selected by the reigning NFL championCleveland Browns, who picked thirteenth. The Browns used him primarily as ahalfback in hisrookie 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.
With thePittsburgh Steelers, 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 NFLPro Bowl in 1962.
From 1964 through 1966 with theWashington Redskins andMinnesota Vikings, Carpenter gained another 1,281 yards and seven touchdowns receiving. He completed his pro football career with theAmerican Football League'sMiami Dolphins 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.
| Legend | |
|---|---|
| Bold | Career high |
| Year | Team | Games | Receiving | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Rec | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | ||
| 1956 | CLE | 12 | 8 | 16 | 124 | 7.8 | 34 | 0 |
| 1957 | CLE | 12 | 12 | 27 | 398 | 14.7 | 33 | 2 |
| 1958 | CLE | 12 | 12 | 29 | 474 | 16.3 | 74 | 1 |
| 1959 | CLE | 12 | 12 | 24 | 372 | 15.5 | 43 | 2 |
| 1960 | PIT | 12 | 11 | 29 | 495 | 17.1 | 70 | 2 |
| 1961 | PIT | 13 | 12 | 33 | 460 | 13.9 | 40 | 4 |
| 1962 | PIT | 13 | 12 | 36 | 492 | 13.7 | 43 | 4 |
| 1963 | PIT | 14 | 14 | 17 | 233 | 13.7 | 28 | 1 |
| 1964 | WAS | 14 | 11 | 31 | 466 | 15.0 | 39 | 3 |
| 1965 | WAS | 9 | 9 | 23 | 298 | 13.0 | 36 | 0 |
| 1966 | WAS | 1 | 1 | 3 | 31 | 10.3 | 17 | 0 |
| MIN | 12 | 12 | 27 | 487 | 18.0 | 52 | 4 | |
| 1967 | MIA | 13 | 1 | 10 | 127 | 12.7 | 42 | 0 |
| 149 | 127 | 305 | 4,457 | 14.6 | 74 | 23 | ||
| Year | Team | Games | Receiving | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Rec | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | ||
| 1957 | CLE | 1 | 1 | 4 | 43 | 10.8 | 18 | 0 |
| 1958 | CLE | 1 | 1 | 2 | 18 | 9.0 | 12 | 0 |
| 2 | 2 | 6 | 61 | 10.2 | 18 | 0 | ||
Carpenter was inducted into theArkansas Sports Hall of Fame in 1992.[3]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.
