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by Mike Toone
Carlton Chester Gilchrist was born May
25, 1935 in a small western Pennsylvania town of Brackenridge.
He once explained that as a child his father called
him doughnut. His mother preferred the nickname of cupcake.
So they compromised and he became known as Cookie. That
was one of the few compromising events in his life.
A star player in high school he signed
a pro football contract with the Cleveland Browns. Thought
about that when he graduated, and after spending a short
time in Cleveland’s training camp; headed North to Canada.
Almost immediately he became the
Most Valuable Player (MVP) with the Sarnia Imperials
and Kitchener-Waterloo Dutchmen of the Ontario Rugby
Football Union. He then joined the Canadian Football
League (CFL). Playing for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats he
helped lead them to the 1957 winning of the Grey Cup.
He then moved over to the Saskatchewan Roughriders where
he rushed for over 1,300 yards. He then played three
years for the Toronto Argonauts where he was runner
up for the 1960 "CFL’s Most Outstanding Player
Award".
By the time he left Canada he had played
fullback, linebacker, and place-kicker. He had had gained
over 4,800 yards rushing, and was one of Canada’s favorite
players. In addition to a fistful of firsts while playing
he also became known for a different first after playing.
In later years he was nominated to be in the CFL Hall
of Fame. To this day he is the only athlete to turn
down enshrinement. He explained he did not like what
he described as racism and exploitation by team management
in Canada.
After Canada Cookie took another chance.
He joined the lineup with the Buffalo Bills. The American
Football League (AFL) was still growing its niche in
professional football. Cookie was just one of many fine
players to help its growth explode. He was the first
AFL 1,000-yard rusher. In 1962, with only a fourteen
game season schedule, he rushed 1,096 yards. It was
also that year he set the all time AFL record for touchdowns
(13) earning him MVP honors. In 1963 he set a new one
game record of rushing 243 yards and getting five touchdowns.
This game was one the New York Jets would like to forget.
While only with the Bills for three years
the fans loved him. Whenever he entered the field, or
did something wonderful which were often; fans would
chant "Lookie, lookie, lookie that’s our Cookie!"
To this day with a yard rush average of 4.5 yards he
is only second on the Bills to O. J. Simpson. In an
early civil rights victory for black athletes he successfully
led a boycott of New Orleans for the AFL All-Star Game
to be played there.
After Buffalo he had three more professional
years of playing. In 1965 and 1967 he was with Denver.
In 1966 he played for Miami. During this time the most
he ever made a year was $30,000. So like many players
of that time he returned to the work world of non-football.
Though for years any appearance in Buffalo was greeted
with cheers.
Just a few other achievements
were that he appeared four times as a Pro Bowler. Those
years being 1962, 63, 64 and 1965. He also is one of
the elite members of the AFL All Time Team. Outside
of the whitelines he has been known to jump out of helicopters
into Canadian Lakes. This was so he could stake out
mining claims. Also in December he could sometimes be
found selling Christmas Trees outside of Buffalo’s old
War Memorial Stadium. For the 1960’s he defined the
word unique for football players. These days life is
a bit different for Cookie Gilchrist.
Please take a moment to read the "Remember
The AFL" article below. The news came to Sports
Lore thanks to Ange Coniglio, creator and host of "Remember
The AFL".
Hello, AFL fans, players, and families:
Larry Felser's Buffalo News column on
Cookie Gilchrist is here.
I've also added a couple of interesting
notes from fans, in the last (bottom) entry on our Guestbook,
and the last entry on Guest
Essays.
Regards,
Ange Coniglio
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