Charles Lee Young (born October 13, 1952) 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 with ...

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offen ...

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) for the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisi ...

. He was drafted in the first round (22nd overall) of the

1974 NFL Draft The 1974 NFL draft took place at the Americana Hotel in New York City, New York, on January 29–30, 1974. Each of the 26 NFL teams were granted 17 selections for a total of 442 picks. Many experts consider the 1974 Pittsburgh Steelers to have h ...

. 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 ...

North Carolina State University North Carolina State University (NC State) is a public land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina. Founded in 1887 and part of the University of North Carolina system, it is the largest university in the Carolinas. The universit ...

Early years

Following a standout high school sports career at William G. Enloe High School, in 1970, Young and

Willie Burden Willie Burden (July 21, 1951 – December 4, 2015) was a professional Canadian football player with the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League, who subsequently became an academic and sports administrator. He was made a member of the C ...

became the first

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

s recruited to the

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

team. He also was a part of the

track Track or Tracks may refer to: Routes or imprints * Ancient trackway, any track or trail whose origin is lost in antiquity * Animal track, imprints left on surfaces that an animal walks across * Desire path, a line worn by people taking the shorte ...

team. As a sophomore in 1971, he was second on the team behind Burden with 85 carries for 385 yards (4.5-yard avg.) and 2 rushing

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone. In Ameri ...

s. In 1972, when

Lou Holtz Louis Leo Holtz (born January 6, 1937) is an American former football player, coach, and analyst. He served as the head football coach at The College of William & Mary (1969–1971), North Carolina State University (1972–1975), the New York ...

arrived as the new head coach at

, he implemented split-back veer offense to take advantage of the talent at

, that included Young, Burden, Stan Fritts and

Roland Hooks Roland L. Hooks (born January 2, 1953 in Brooklyn, New York) is a former American football running back in the NFL who played for the Buffalo Bills. He played college football at North Carolina State University. Early years Hooks attended Fa ...

. At the time, this was arguably the best group of

s in the nation, they were known as "The Four Stallions" and everyone of them went on to play in a professional football league. He was second on the team behind Fritts with 118 carries for 611 yards (5.2-yard avg.) and 7 rushing

s. In 1973, he was part of the

Atlantic Coast Conference The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate athletic conference located in the eastern United States. Headquartered in Greensboro, North Carolina, the ACC's fifteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Associa ...

championship team as the starting fullback. He was third on the team behind Burden and Fritts, with 114 carries for 661 yards (5.8-yard avg.) and 7 rushing

s. Young finished his college career with 317 carries for 1,657 rushing yards, 17

s and averaged 5.2 yards per carry. He played in the 1973

East–West Shrine Game East West (or East and West) may refer to: *East–West dichotomy, the contrast between Eastern and Western society or culture Arts and entertainment Books, journals and magazines *'' East, West'', an anthology of short stories written by Salm ...

Professional career

In the

, the

had two first round draft choices. With the first one they selected

Ed "Too Tall" Jones Edward Lee Jones (born February 23, 1951), commonly known as Ed "Too Tall" Jones due to his height, is a former American football player who played 15 seasons (1974–1978, 1980–1989) in the National Football League (NFL) for the Dallas Cowboys ...

. The team was targeting

Lynn Swann Lynn Curtis Swann (born March 7, 1952) is an American former football player, broadcaster, politician, and athletic director, best known for his association with the University of Southern California and the Pittsburgh Steelers. He served on the ...

with their second first-round pick, but selected Young instead, after Swann was taken 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 considered a prospect at both fullback and halfback, because of his 4.6 speed. As a rookie he saw most of his playing time at fullback, running for 205 yards on 33 carries, with a 6.2-yard average and a 53-yard run against the

Houston Oilers The Houston Oilers were a professional American football team that played in Houston from its founding in 1960 to 1996 before relocating to Memphis, and later Nashville, Tennessee becoming the Tennessee Titans. The Oilers began play in 1960 as ...

, which was the team's longest of the year. In

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

, he competed with

Doug Dennison William Douglas Dennison (born December 18, 1951) is a former American football running back in the National Football League for the Dallas Cowboys and Cleveland Browns. He also was a member of the Chicago Blitz and Arizona Wranglers of the Unite ...

for the starting halfback job left vacated by

Calvin Hill Calvin G. Hill (born January 2, 1947) is a retired American football player. He played running back in the National Football League (NFL) for twelve seasons. Hill played for the Dallas Cowboys, Washington Redskins, and Cleveland Browns. He also p ...

. He ended up in a reserve role, moving from halfback to fullback during the first half of the season. He experienced foot problems, but was able to focus on the halfback position at the end of the year. He registered 225 rushing yards and 2

s. In

1976 Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 Phila ...

, he earned the starting halfback job during the pre-season, but after registering a total of 57 rushing yards in the first 2 games, he gave way in the lineup to Dennison. He posted 208 rushing yards rushing (4.3-yard average), 12 receptions for 134 yards and his only

. Young suffered a torn medial collateral ligament in his left knee during the 1977 training camp and was placed on the

injured reserve list The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in th ...

on August 11. He returned in

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd go ...

and was released on August 24.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Young, Charley 1952 births Living people Track and field athletes from Raleigh, North Carolina Players of American football from Raleigh, North Carolina American football running backs William G. Enloe High School alumni NC State Wolfpack football players NC State Wolfpack men's track and field athletes Dallas Cowboys players