Reginald Howard "Stretch" Carolan (October 25, 1939 – January 1, 1983) was an American football player, a tight end in the

American Football League The American Football League (AFL) was a major professional American football league that operated for ten seasons from 1960 until 1970, when it merged with the older National Football League (NFL), and became the American Football Conference. ...

(AFL). He played seven seasons the last five with the Kansas City Chiefs. In college, Carolan starred in

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 ...

, basketball, and

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 ...

at the University of Idaho in and was drafted by the

San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team that played in San Diego from 1961 until the end of the 2016 season, before relocating to Los Angeles, where the franchise had played its inaugural 1960 season. The team is now ...

(and

Los Angeles Rams The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division. The Rams play ...

) in 1961 while a junior. As a rookie with the Chargers 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 wors ...

, he was selected as an

AFL All-Star The American Football League All-Star game was the annual game which featured each year's best performers in the American Football League (AFL). The game was first played in 1961 and the final AFL All-Star game occurred in 1969, prior to the leagu ...

. He earned a

1966 Events January * January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko. * January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo i ...

AFL Championship ring with the Chiefs in their victory over the

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

, and played in the first AFL-NFL World Championship Game against the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. It ...

, commonly known as Carolan was a graduate of Sir Francis Drake High School in San Anselmo, California, and taught at

Tamalpais Union High School District The Tamalpais Union High School District or TUHSD provides high school education to students residing in ten elementary districts in central and southern Marin County, California and parts of West Marin. The headquarters are on the property of ...

schools during the off-season. While jogging around Phoenix Lake with a friend in

Marin County Marin County is a county located in the northwestern part of the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 262,231. Its county seat and largest city is San Rafael. Marin County is acros ...

, he went for an extra lap by himself, suffered an epileptic seizure, fell in the lake, and drowned at age 43. His son

Brett Carolan Brett Carolan (born March 16, 1971 in San Rafael, California) is a former professional American football player. He played tight end in the National Football League (NFL) for three seasons with the San Francisco 49ers and Miami Dolphins. He was ...

(b.1971) played football at San Marin High School in Novato, at Washington State in Pullman, and in the NFL with the San Francisco 49ers and Miami Dolphins in the 1990s. The Carolans are among 161 pairs of fathers and sons documented at the Pro Football Hall of Fame to have played pro football.Pro Football Hall of Fame, "Fathers and Sons Who Have Played Pro Football", April 20, 2007
accessed March 8, 2008

References

External links

*
University of Idaho Athletics Hall of Fame
– Reg Carolan 1939 births 1983 deaths Sportspeople from San Rafael, California Players of American football from Marin County, California American football tight ends Idaho Vandals football players Idaho Vandals men's basketball players Idaho Vandals men's track and field athletes San Diego Chargers players Kansas City Chiefs players American Football League All-Star players American Football League players People with epilepsy Deaths by drowning in California Archie Williams High School alumni {{tightend-1930s-stub

See also

References

External links