Keith Payson Lincoln (May 8, 1939 – July 27, 2019) was an American professional football player who was a

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 handoffs from the quarterback to rush the ball, to line up as a receiver to catch the ball, and block. Ther ...

for eight seasons in the American Football League (AFL). He played college football for the

Washington State Cougars The Washington State Cougars (known informally as the Cougs) are the athletic teams that represent Washington State University. Located in Pullman, Washington, WSU is a member of the Pac-12 Conference in NCAA Division I. The athletic program com ...

before choosing to play with the San Diego Chargers in the AFL over the established

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). Lincoln was a two-time All-AFL selection and a five-time AFL All-Star. A member of the Chargers Hall of Fame, he won an

AFL championship For its first nine seasons, 1960 through 1968, the American Football League determined its champion via a single playoff game between the winners of its two divisions (although ties in the standings in 1963 (Eastern) and 1968 (Western) necessitat ...

with San Diego in 1963, when he was named the most valuable player (MVP) of the championship game. He had a stint with the Buffalo Bills before returning to San Diego and finishing his career.

Early years

Born in

Reading, Michigan Reading ( ) is a city in Hillsdale County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 1,095 at the 2020 census. Located along M-49, the city is surrounded by Reading Township, but the two are administered autonomously. History Reading w ...

, on May 8, 1939, Lincoln graduated in 1957 from

Monrovia High School Monrovia High School is a public high school located in Monrovia, California, a northeastern suburb of Los Angeles, United States. Monrovia High School is the only grades 9–12 comprehensive high school in the Monrovia Unified School Distric ...

Monrovia, California Monrovia is a city in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains in the San Gabriel Valley of Los Angeles County, California, United States. The population was 37,931 at the 2020 census. Monrovia has been used for filming TV shows, movies and co ...

, in Los Angeles County. He played college football at

Washington State University Washington State University (Washington State, WSU, or informally Wazzu) is a public land-grant research university with its flagship, and oldest, campus in Pullman, Washington. Founded in 1890, WSU is also one of the oldest land-grant uni ...

(WSU) in Pullman, Washington. Originally a

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

on the

Cougars The cougar (''Puma concolor'') is a large cat native to the Americas. Its range spans from the Canadian Yukon to the southern Andes in South America and is the most widespread of any large wild terrestrial mammal in the Western Hemisphere. ...

' freshman team, he was moved to halfback and was also the team's punter. He was nicknamed the "Moose of the

Palouse The Palouse ( ) is a distinct geographic region of the northwestern United States, encompassing parts of north central Idaho, southeastern Washington, and, by some definitions, parts of northeast Oregon. It is a major agricultural area, prima ...

", given to him by a sportswriter from

Spokane Spokane ( ) is the largest city and county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It is in eastern Washington, along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south of the Ca ...

. Lincoln was inducted into the WSU Athletic Hall of Fame and the

State of Washington Sports Hall of Fame State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

in 1980. In 1995, he was named to Washington State's all-time team by a panel of experts commissioned by ''

The Spokesman-Review ''The Spokesman-Review'' is a daily broadsheet newspaper based in Spokane, Washington, the city's sole remaining daily publication. It has the third-highest readership among daily newspapers in the state, with most of its readership base in ...

'' to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the school's football program.

Professional career

Lincoln began his career with the San Diego Chargers, who selected him in the 1961 AFL draft, choosing them over the Chicago Bears of the more established NFL. As a rookie in

1961 Events January * January 3 ** United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces that the United States has severed diplomatic and consular relations with Cuba (Cuba–United States relations are restored in 2015). ** Aero Flight 311 (K ...

, he had a 91-yard

reception Reception is a noun form of ''receiving'', or ''to receive'' something, such as art, experience, information, people, products, or vehicles. It may refer to: Astrology * Reception (astrology), when a planet is located in a sign ruled by another ...

for a

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 Amer ...

, the longest catch in the AFL that year. His 86- and 76-yard touchdown runs in

1962 Events January * January 1 – Western Samoa becomes independent from New Zealand. * January 3 – Pope John XXIII excommunicates Fidel Castro for preaching communism. * January 8 – Harmelen train disaster: 93 die in the wor ...

and

1963 Events January * January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Co ...

, respectively, were the league's longest run in those seasons. His 103-yard

kickoff return A kickoff is a method of starting a drive in gridiron football. Typically, a kickoff consists of one team – the "kicking team" – kicking the ball to the opposing team – the "receiving team". The receiving team is then entitled to ''return' ...

for a touchdown in 1963 was the AFL's longest that year, and is tied for the Chargers team record with

Darren Sproles Darren Lee Sproles (born June 20, 1983) is an American football executive and former running back and return specialist who is a personnel consultant for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football ...

(2008). In the

1963 AFL championship game The 1963 AFL Championship Game was the fourth American Football League (AFL) title game. The Western Division champion San Diego Chargers won 51–10 over the Eastern Division champion Boston Patriots. The Chargers' Keith Lincoln was named the ...

, Lincoln was voted the game MVP after the Chargers routed the Boston Patriots 51-10. It remains the only league title in the franchise's history, as well as the city of

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United State ...

's only championship in a major sports league. In the game, Lincoln carried the ball 13 times for 206 yards and had seven catches for 123 yards, compiling an AFL-record 329

yards from scrimmage Yards from scrimmage is a gridiron football statistical measure. In the game of football, progress is measured by advancing the football towards the opposing team's goal line. Progress can be made during play by the offensive team by advancin ...

; he also passed for 20 yards. The record stood for both AFL and NFL players until 1971, when Ed Podolak gained 350 for the

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The ...

in a double-overtime playoff game against the

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team p ...

. Lincoln's 206 yards rushing remained an NFL playoff record for 22 years, when

Eric Dickerson Eric Demetric Dickerson (born September 2, 1960) is an American former professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL) for 11 seasons. Dickerson played college football for the Mustangs of Southern Meth ...

of the Los Angeles Rams gained 248 against 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 divi ...

in 1985. Lincoln was traded to the Buffalo Bills in

1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 5 ** Spain and Romania sign an agreement in Paris, establishing full consular and ...

. He was productive that season, but was

waived A waiver is the voluntary relinquishment or surrender of some known right or privilege. Regulatory agencies of state departments or the federal government may issue waivers to exempt companies from certain regulations. For example, a United St ...

toward the end of the 1968 season before returning to San Diego and playing one game. Over his eight-year career, Lincoln rushed for 3,383 yards and 19 touchdowns and had 165 receptions for 2,250 yards and 19 touchdowns. He was a two-time All-AFL selection (1963, 1964) and a five-time AFL All-Star (1962–1965, 1967), twice being named the game's MVP (1963, 1964). He was inducted into the Chargers Hall of Fame in 1980, San Diego Chargers 2010, p. 231. and was also named to their 40th and 50th anniversary teams.

Later years

After retiring as a player, Lincoln was a college assistant coach for the

Idaho Vandals The Idaho Vandals are the intercollegiate athletic teams representing the University of Idaho, located in Moscow. The Vandals compete at the NCAA Division I level as a member of the Big Sky Conference. The football team was an independent for th ...

1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity of X (''Extreme''). Between 10,000 and ...

under first-year head coach

Don Robbins Donald Roy Robbinsacademics.utep.edu< ...

. He became an assistant coach at his alma mater WSU in 1971 under fourth-year head coach Jim Sweeney, and later became the school's long-time director of

alumni Alumni (singular: alumnus (masculine) or alumna (feminine)) are former students of a school, college, or university who have either attended or graduated in some fashion from the institution. The feminine plural alumnae is sometimes used for grou ...

relations.

Personal life

Lincoln was married to Bonnie Jo Lincoln ( McKarcher). They had two sons, Lance and Keith (nicknamed "Kip"). Lincoln died at age eighty of

congestive heart failure Heart failure (HF), also known as congestive heart failure (CHF), is a syndrome, a group of signs and symptoms caused by an impairment of the heart's blood pumping function. Symptoms typically include shortness of breath, excessive fatigue, ...

at Pullman Regional Hospital on July 27, 2019.

References

External links

*
Washington State University Athletics Hall of Fame
– Keith Lincoln
State of Washington Sports Hall of Fame
– Keith Lincoln

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lincoln, Keith 1939 births 2019 deaths American football running backs Buffalo Bills players Idaho Vandals football coaches San Diego Chargers players Washington State Cougars football coaches Washington State Cougars football players American Football League All-Star players People from Hillsdale County, Michigan Players of American football from Michigan American Football League players