Dick Christy
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No. 45 | |
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Position: | Running back |
Personal information | |
Born: | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | November 24, 1935
Died: | July 8, 1966 Chester, Pennsylvania | (aged 30)
Height: | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) |
Weight: | 191 lb (87 kg) |
Career information | |
College: | NC State |
NFL Draft: | 1958 / Round: 3 / Pick: 27 |
Career history | |
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Career highlights and awards | |
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Player stats at PFR |
Richard Joseph Christy (November 24, 1935 – July 8, 1966) was a collegiate and professional football player.
At St. James High School, Christy was twice named 1st Team All-Scholastic by the Philadelphia Bulletin (1952 & 1953). He also led St. James to the Philadelphia City Football Championship in 1953. The 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) 191 lb (87 kg) Christy was a star halfback at North Carolina State University (NC State) from 1955 to 1957, leading them to the 1957 Atlantic Coast Conference championship in his senior year. With the league title on the line in the season's final game, Dick Christy scored all 29 points in a 29-26 win over the University of South Carolina to clinch the championship for his Wolfpack. Christy scored the dramatic winning points on a field goal on the last play of the game.[1] At the conclusion of the 1957 season, Christy was 1st team All-ACC and was an AP and UP 1st team All-American. He was also honored as the 1957 ACC Player of the Year in football and as the 1957–58 ACC Athlete of the Year for all sports. His number 40 jersey was retired in 1997 by NC State.
Christy was selected in the third round of the 1958 NFL Draft (27th overall) by the Green Bay Packers. Hobbled in the College All-Star game in mid-August, he was traded to the Pittsburgh Steelers before the start of the season.[2][3] He later played in the new American Football League. Christy was an AFL All-Star for the New York Titans in 1962, renamed the Jets in 1963. He was cut by the Jets in September 1964.[4] In March 1966, Christy became the first signing of the Wilmington Clippers of the Atlantic Coast Football League.[5]
Christy died in a one-vehicle automobile accident in 1966 at age 30 in Chester, Pennsylvania.[6] He was named to the ACC Silver Anniversary football team in 1978. The Dick Christy Award was created by NC State to honor the football team's most valuable players in games against South Carolina. In 2016, Christy was inducted into the NC State Athletic Hall of Fame.
See also[]
References[]
- ^ "Dick Christy's big day was against SC". Wilmington (NC) Star. Associated Press. November 25, 1957. p. 13.
- ^ "Trades bolster Steelers lineup". Beaver Valley (PA) Times. UPI. September 25, 1958. p. 23.
- ^ Wolf, Bob (May 3, 1979). "Packers' 1958 draft may have been greatest ever". Milwaukee Journal. p. 3, paart 3.
- ^ "Pro ax falls". Ocala Star-Banner. Associated Press. September 2, 1964. p. 15.
- ^ Katzman, Izzy (March 23, 1966). "Dick Christy First to Join Clippers". The Morning News.
- ^ "Ex-Packer Christy killed in car crash". Milwaukee Sentinel. Associated Press. July 9, 1966. p. 1, part 2.
External links[]
- North Carolina State Athletics Program spotlight: Dick Christy
- Career statistics and player information from Pro Football Reference ·
- 1935 births
- 1966 deaths
- Players of American football from Philadelphia
- American football running backs
- NC State Wolfpack football players
- Pittsburgh Steelers players
- Boston Patriots players
- New York Titans (AFL) players
- New York Jets players
- American Football League players
- American Football League All-Star players
- Road incident deaths in Pennsylvania
- American football running back, 1930s birth stubs