Charles A. Casey (born February 1, 1944) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

player. He played at the

end End, END, Ending, or variation, may refer to: End *In mathematics: ** End (category theory) ** End (topology) **End (graph theory) ** End (group theory) (a subcase of the previous) **End (endomorphism) *In sports and games **End (gridiron footbal ...

position at the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...

. He was selected as a first-team All-American in 1965 and set Florida single-season records for receptions (58), receiving yards (809), and receiving touchdowns (8). At the end of his collegiate career, he was the leading receiver in

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities o ...

(SEC) history with career totals of 114 receptions and 1,612 receiving yards.

Early years

Casey grew up in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

, Georgia. He attended Brown High School where he was a star athlete in baseball, basketball and football. He was offered a $10,000 signing bonus to play baseball by the Milwaukee Braves and scholarships to play basketball by Navy, Louisville and other schools.

Pepper Rodgers Franklin Cullen "Pepper" Rodgers (October 8, 1931 – May 14, 2020) was an American football player and coach. As a college football player, he led the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets to an undefeated season in 1952 and later became their head ...

, who also attended Atlanta's Brown High, recruited Casey to play football at the

where Rodgers was an assistant coach.

University of Florida

Casey enrolled at the University of Florida and played at the

position for head coach

Ray Graves Samuel Ray Graves (December 31, 1918 – April 10, 2015) was an American college and professional football player and college football coach. He was a native of Tennessee and a graduate of the University of Tennessee, where he was the starting ...

Florida Gators football The Florida Gators football program represents the University of Florida (UF) in American college football. Florida competes in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Eastern Division o ...

teams from 1963 to 1965.
2014 Florida Gators Football Media Guide
'', University Athletic Association, Gainesville, Florida, pp. 76, 79, 87, 89, 90, 91, 94, 141, 152, 153, 154, 177 (2014). Retrieved October 3, 2014. After catching nine passes as a sophomore in 1963, Casey gained notice during a March 1964 scrimmage when he caught six passes. During the 1964 season, and despite being routinely double-teamed, Casey was the SEC's leading receiver, and he broke Florida's single-season records with 47 receptions and 673 receiving yards. As a senior in 1965, Casey broke his own single-season receiving records. In his second season teaming up with Florida quarterback Steve Spurrier, Casey was again the leading receiver in the SEC with 58 receptions for 809 yards and eight touchdowns. He ended his college career as the leading receiver in SEC history. After the 1965 season, he was selected as a first-team All-American offensive end by the

American Football Coaches Association The American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) is an association of over 11,000 American football coaches and staff on all levels. According to its constitution, some of the main goals of the American Football Coaches Association are to "mainta ...

(AFCA) and the Associated Press (AP). He also was selected to play in the

Senior Bowl The Senior Bowl is a post-season college football all-star game played annually in late January or early February in Mobile, Alabama, which showcases the best NFL Draft prospects of those players who have completed their college eligibility. Pr ...

, and received the Daytona Beach Quarterback Club's award as the outstanding senior college football player in the State of Florida. Casey received 13 of 17 first-place votes for the award. The Gators coaching staff named him as the recipient of the team's

Fergie Ferguson Award The Forest K. Ferguson Award, commonly known as the "Fergie Ferguson Award," is presented annually to a senior member of the Florida Gators football team in memory of one of the University of Florida's greatest athletes. Namesake The award tak ...

, as the "senior football player who displays outstanding leadership, character and courage."

Later years

Casey was selected by the Atlanta Falcons in the sixth round (81st overall pick) of the

1966 NFL Draft The 1966 National Football League draft was held at the Summit Hotel in New York City on Saturday, November 27, 1965. The expansion Atlanta Falcons were awarded the first pick in each round as well as the final pick in each of the first five rou ...

. He signed a two-year contract for approximately $125,000, but he was released by the Falcons in August 1966 without appearing in any regular season NFL games. Casey was inducted into the

University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame The University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame includes over 300 former Florida Gators athletes who represented the University of Florida in one or more intercollegiate sports and were recognized as "Gator Greats" for their athletic excellence ...

as a "Gator Great".F Club, Hall of Fame
Gator Greats
Retrieved December 13, 2014.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Casey, Charles 1944 births Living people All-American college football players American football ends Florida Gators football players Players of American football from Atlanta

Early years

University of Florida

Later years

See also

References