Harold Carmichael
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| Position: | Wide receiver | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Date of birth: | September 22, 1949 | ||||||||
| Place of birth: | Jacksonville, Florida, USA | ||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) | ||||||||
| Weight: | 225 lb (102 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| College: | Southern | ||||||||
| NFL Draft: | 1971 / Round: 7 / Pick: 161 | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
| * Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||
| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||
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Lee Harold Carmichael (born September 22, 1949) is a former American football wide receiver in the National Football League who played 13 seasons for the Philadelphia Eagles (1971–1983) and one season for the Dallas Cowboys (1984). Carmichael was the Director of Player Development and Alumni for the Eagles from 1998−2014, and a Fan Engagement Liaison from 2014−2015, before retiring again in 2015.
Early life
Carmichael played quarterback on the high school football team at William M. Raines High School in Jacksonville, Florida.[1]
He attended Southern University as a tri-sport athlete. He used his 6'8" height to play on the basketball team as a center, and threw the javelin and discus for the track and field team. In football, he shifted to playing wide receiver, where his performance was so outstanding he was inducted into the SWAC Hall of Fame in 2012.[2] He was drafted by the Eagles in the 7th round of the 1971 NFL Draft.[3]
NFL playing career
Early in his career, Carmichael showed his significant physical tools but struggled with injuries and being moved between the tight end and wide receiver positions before eventually finding his place as a wide receiver.
He was elected to four Pro Bowls in his NFL career, and led the league in receptions and receiving yards during the 1973 season. He finished third in receiving yards in 1978 with 1,072 and was second in receiving touchdowns in 1979 with 11.
In 1980, he set an NFL record at the time by catching passes in 127 consecutive NFL games.
In 1984, he was cut by the Eagles and then by the New York Jets before signing with the Dallas Cowboys. He caught only one pass that season before being cut by the Cowboys and retiring.[4]
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 7th all-time at the time of his retirement. 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), TDs (6), yards per reception (16.0), and yards per game (66.4). He and Brent Celek are the only Eagles with 3 TDs in a single post-season (1979), and he is one of four players with 2 TDs 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 (5, shared with Duce Staley and Brian Westbrook). At 6 foot 8 inches, he is believed to be the tallest wide receiver in the history of the NFL.[5]
Carmichael was selected to the NFL 1970s All-Decade Team by voters of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
The Professional Football Researchers Association named Carmichael to the PRFA Hall of Very Good Class of 2009 [6]
Later life
After retiring from his playing career, he settled in South Jersey and joined a Philadelphia travel agency as a vice president for sales.[4] He later operated various businesses, including in 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".[7] 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.[8]
References
- ↑ "Harold Carmichael". Retrieved 12 August 2016.
- ↑ "SWAC Hall of Fame". swac.org.
- ↑ "The Milwaukee Sentinel - Google News Archive Search". Retrieved 12 August 2016.
- 1 2 "Schenectady Gazette - Google News Archive Search". Retrieved 12 August 2016.
- ↑ "Tallest Players in NFL History". The Bleacher Report. Retrieved 23 November 2012.
- ↑ "Hall of Very Good Class of 2009". Retrieved November 23, 2016.
- ↑ "Carmichael Named To New Eagles Post The Ex-birds Star Will Wear A Number Of Hats. Basically, Though, He'll Be There For The Players.". Retrieved 12 August 2016.
- ↑ Gaul, Jerry (April 2, 2015). "Eagles' Harold Carmichael retiring from role as Fan Engagement Liaison". philly.com. Retrieved 2015-04-02.