Al Young (born August 24, 1949) is a former

gridiron football Gridiron football,"Gridiron football"
''Encyclopædia Britannica''. Ret ...

wide receiver who played in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL) and the

World Football League The World Football League (WFL) was an American football league that played one full season in 1974 and most of its second in 1975. Although the league's proclaimed ambition was to bring American football onto a worldwide stage, the farthest t ...

(WFL). He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

South Carolina State South Carolina State University (SCSU or SC State) is a public, historically black, land-grant university in Orangeburg, South Carolina, United States. It is the only public, historically black land-grant institution in South Carolina, is a memb ...

College career

Young was a member of the

South Carolina State Bulldogs The South Carolina State Bulldogs and Lady Bulldogs (also SC State) sponsors fourteen sports teams representing South Carolina State University in Orangeburg, South Carolina in intercollegiate athletics, including men’s and women's basketball, ...

for four seasons. As a senior he had 19 catches for 273 yards and seven touchdowns. Young was inducted into South Carolina State's Athletic Hall of Fame in 2012.

Professional career

Young was selected in the 13th round of the

1971 NFL Draft The 1971 National Football League draft was held January 28–29, 1971, at the Belmont Plaza Hotel in New York City, New York. The Boston Patriots, who did not officially change their name to New England Patriots until after the draft, used th ...

by the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...

. He was inactive for most of his rookie year and only played in the final game of the season. In 1972, Young caught six passes for 86 yards and played in all 14 regular season games. Young was Pittsburgh's leading receiver with four catches for 54 yards and one touchdown in the 1972 AFC Championship Game. Young was signed by the

New York Stars New York Stars could refer to: *New York Stars (WBL), a team that played two seasons in the Women's Professional Basketball League before disbanding in 1980 *New York Stars (WFL), a team in the World Football League that relocated in 1974 and becam ...

of the newly-formed

(WFL) in 1974. In his first season with the team, which relocated midway through the season and was renamed the Charlotte Hornets, he caught 33 passes for 399 yards and one touchdown. Young missed part of the 1975 season due to injury and had 13 receptions for 198 yards before the WFL folded.

Post-football

After his football career, Young taught physical education at

North Augusta High School North Augusta High School is a four-year public high school located in North Augusta, South Carolina. Approximately 1,500 students attend the school. The school offers over thirty student organizations. North Augusta is an AP Magnet School and i ...

and coached the men's basketball and track and field teams for 37 years until retiring in 2014. He returned to coach the North Augusta Girls' Basketball Team, which he has built a dynasty, winning the State Championship 5 times in the past 7 years. His team has competed in the State Championship Game 6 of the past 7 years.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Young, Al 1949 births Living people American football wide receivers South Carolina State Bulldogs football players Players of American football from South Carolina Pittsburgh Steelers players New York Stars players Charlotte Hornets (WFL) players