Charlie Evans, who performed within the Giants backfield within the early Nineteen Seventies, died in his Texas house on Nov. 4 at 76.
A explanation for loss of life was not introduced.
He was drafted out of USC by the Giants in 1971 and spent the primary month of the season on the taxi squad, one of many gamers below contract to the group however not on the primary roster.
These gamers used an auxiliary dressing room at Yankee Stadium.
“It’s kind of lonely back there,” he advised The New York Instances. ““Sometimes they forget about you, and when you look in your locker there won’t be any clean sweats, or jocks, or undershirts, or things like that.”
Accidents opened up a spot for him and he scored 5 touchdowns over three video games, together with three in a 35-17 win over the Chargers.
That was the ultimate season the legendary Fran Tarkenton was Giants quarterback earlier than being traded again to the Vikings.
“Tarkenton would call his own plays, and you had better do what you were asked to do on each play,” Evans mentioned.
Evans’ finest recreation of 1972 got here in a 45-21 win over the Saints during which he ran for 2 touchdowns and caught a 3rd. He ran for 87 yards on 17 carries.
Sadly, his season led to early November when he suffered a damaged leg in opposition to the Broncos.
He spent 1973 with the Giants and 1974 in Washington, the ultimate season of his profession.
“The hardest thing to realize when you get out of the game is the fact that you don’t get any more freebies,” he later advised Newsday. “You don’t get any more checks picked up by people you never met because they know who you are. You don’t sign any autographs. Nobody wants you.”
His physique was donated to NFL concussion protocol analysis, in response to his obituary.
Regardless of well being points associated to soccer, Evans advised Newsday he had no regrets about his profession.
“It’s part of the game, part of what you love, part of what you wanted to do and the way I look at it, ok, what came along, came along. I can’t do anything about that,” he mentioned.
