Rob Carpenter (running back)

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Rob Carpenter
No. 26, 38
Position: Running back
Personal information
Born: (1955-04-20) April 20, 1955 (age 69)
Lancaster, Ohio, U.S.
Height:6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Weight:224 lb (102 kg)
Career information
High school: Lancaster
(Lancaster, Ohio)
College: Miami (OH)
NFL draft: 1977  / Round: 3 / Pick: 84
Career history
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics
Rushing attempts:1,172
Rushing yards:4,363
Receptions:215
Receiving yards:1,707
Total TDs:34
Player stats at PFR

Robert Joseph Carpenter, Jr. (born April 20, 1955) is a former American football running back who played 10 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He is the father of linebacker Bobby Carpenter, former linebacker at Ohio State University, Johnathan Carpenter, former Marshall University linebacker George Carpenter, and former Ohio defensive back Nathan Carpenter. He currently resides in Lancaster, Ohio and is a gym teacher at Lancaster High School.

Contents

College career

Carpenter played for the Miami Redskins from 1973 to 1976, where he was a three-year letterman. He played for two Mid-American Conference championship teams in 1974 and 1975. In his final two seasons, he made first team All-MAC, and was an honorable mention on the College Football All-America Team, rushing for 1,142 yards as a Junior and 1,064 yards as a senior. In four seasons for the Redskins, Carpenter rushed for 2,909 yards and 28 touchdowns, while also catching 35 passes for 315 yards and two more scores. [1] Carpenter was inducted into Miami's athletic Hall of Fame in 1988. [2]

NFL career

Houston Oilers

Carpenter was selected by the Houston Oilers in the third round of the 1977 draft. After a solid 652-yard rushing season as a rookie, Carpenter spent most of his next three seasons as a blocking fullback for Houston's new star running back Earl Campbell, though he still managed to rush for over 340 yards in each one. In a 1979 divisional playoff game against the San Diego Chargers, Carpenter filled in for an injured Campbell, leading the team in rushing with 67 yards while also catching four passes for 23 yards in a 17–14 upset victory, despite being barely recovered from a knee injury himself and was still in crutches, reportedly did not take a painkiller in order to "feel the pain." [3]

New York Giants

In 1981, Carpenter was traded to the New York Giants after the fourth week for a third round draft pick. [4] He went on to have the best season of his career, rushing for a career high 822 yards, including four 100-yard games, before going on to lead the Giants to their first playoff victory in decades, carrying the ball 33 times for a franchise postseason record 161 yards while also catching four passes for 32 in a 27–21 win over the Philadelphia Eagles. Carpenter called the game "the greatest football day of my life". [5] Carpenter went on to rush for 61 yards and catch 3 passes for 18 in New York's loss to San Francisco in the following week. He continued playing for the Giants until 1985.

Los Angeles Rams

After spending the 1986 season with the Los Angeles Rams, Carpenter called it a career.

He retired with 6,070 career yards from scrimmage and 34 touchdowns. [6]

Mentorship of John Tuggle

In his final years on the Giants, Carpenter served as a mentor to fullback John Tuggle, who was the last pick of the 1983 NFL draft. Carpenter helped Tuggle became the first player ever picked last in the draft to make the NFL on the team that drafted him, and Tuggle ended up relieving him as starting fullback when he suffered an injury in week 13.

Tuggle was diagnosed with cancer in the offseason and never played again, dying on August 30, 1986, just prior to the opening of the Giants season. The Giants would go on to win Super Bowl XXI that season, their first world championship since 1956.

Carpenter said the experience with Tuggle affected him significantly, telling the New York Times "I think about him every day. I loved his enthusiasm right away. He was very positive and friendly, so I tried to get him that fifth running back spot on the team."

Carpenter also said Tuggle's struggle with cancer influenced his decision to leave the team in 1985. "I had a hard time dealing with it," he said. "Since I felt so responsible for his making the team, I felt I had to get out of there." [7]

NFL career statistics

Legend
BoldCareer high

Regular season

YearTeamGamesRushingReceiving
GPGSAttYdsAvgLngTDRecYdsAvgLngTD
1977 HOU 1171446524.5771231566.8270
1978 HOU 112823484.2205171508.8370
1979 HOU 160923553.9133161167.3221
1980 HOU 151973593.7463433468.0250
1981 HOU 4418744.120013806.2331
NYG 1091907483.9355242018.4370
1982 NYG 55672043.02317294.1110
1983 NYG 10101706243.7374262589.9382
1984 NYG 16162507953.2227262098.0191
1985 NYG 1411602013.4460201628.1230
1986 RAM 60231.530000.000
118651,1724,3633.777292151,7077.9385

Playoffs

YearTeamGamesRushingReceiving
GPGSAttYdsAvgLngTDRecYdsAvgLngTD
1979 HOU 31341263.711012726.0140
1980 HOU 10591.8403268.7140
1981 NYG 22502224.42107507.1150
1984 NYG 2216241.58112453.880
1985 NYG 224256.312066010.0160
1071094063.7211402536.3160

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References

  1. ↑ "Rob Carpenter College Stats". College Football at Sports-Reference.com.
  2. ↑ "1988 Hall of Fame Inductees". Miami University RedHawks.
  3. ↑ "Remembering the hysteria, love affair with the '70s Houston Oilers". NFL.com .
  4. ↑ Katz, Michael (September 30, 1981). "GIANTS ACQUIRE ROB CARPENTER". The New York Times.
  5. ↑ Carpenter Brings Giants the Power And the Glory Washington Post. December 29, 1981.
  6. ↑ "Rob Carpenter Stats". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
  7. ↑ Weintraub, Robert (April 22, 2013). "Once Mr. Irrelevant, a Giant Remains an Inspiring Force". The New York Times.
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