Chuck Muncie

Chuck Muncie

Muncie in October 2008
No. 42, 46
Running back
Personal information
Date of birth: (1953-03-17)March 17, 1953
Place of birth: Uniontown, Pennsylvania
Date of death: May 13, 2013(2013-05-13) (aged 60)
Place of death: Perris, California
Height: 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) Weight: 227 lb (103 kg)
Career information
College: California
NFL Draft: 1976 / Round: 1 / Pick: 3
Debuted in 1976 for the New Orleans Saints
Last played in 1984 for the San Diego Chargers
Career history
New Orleans Saints (1976–1980) San Diego Chargers (1980–1984)
Career highlights and awards
3× Pro Bowl selection (1979, 1981–1982) Pro Bowl MVP (1979) San Diego Chargers 50th Anniversary Team San Diego Chargers 40th Anniversary Team Pop Warner Trophy (1975)
Career NFL statistics
Rushing Yards 6,702 Average 4.3 TDs 71 Stats at NFL.com

Harry Vance "Chuck" Muncie (March 17, 1953 − May 13, 2013) was an American football running back who played for the New Orleans Saints and San Diego Chargers in the National Football League from 1976 to 1984. He was selected to the Pro Bowl three times, and tied the then-NFL season record for rushing touchdowns in 1981.

Muncie played college football for the California Golden Bears, setting numerous school records. In his senior year in 1975, he was the runner-up for the Heisman Trophy, given annually to the most outstanding college football player. Muncie was drafted by New Orleans in the first round in the 1975 NFL Draft with the third overall pick. He became the first member of the Saints to be named to a Pro Bowl, and he was their first player to rush for 1,000 yards. He was traded to San Diego in 1980, starring in their high-scoring offense known as Air Coryell while being named to two additional Pro Bowls.

Muncie was considered one of the best running backs of his era until cocaine problems forced him into retirement. His drug problems eventually landed him in prison. Afterwards, he turned his life around by helping others through mentoring programs. He founded the Chuck Muncie Youth Foundation.

Early life

Muncie was born and raised in the Pittsburgh area coal-mining town of Uniontown, Pennsylvania, as one of six children in a football-playing family. He was hit by a truck when he was six, breaking his thigh, leg, hip, and arm. Muncie was in a cast from his neck to his toes for six months, and doctors warned that he might never be able to walk properly again. He recovered to become a multi-sport athlete, but the accident left his left leg shorter than his right. He compensated by playing with a shoe with an extra-thick sole.

Muncie quit playing football after three games during his senior year at Uniontown Area High School, when he suffered a concussion and his mother wanted him to stop playing. Playing basketball, he earned an athletic scholarship to Arizona Western Junior College (now Arizona Western College).

College career

While at Arizona Western, the football coach convinced Muncie to try out for football as well, and Muncie made the team. He never played basketball for the school, and he received a scholarship from the University of California, Berkeley after one year.

At Berkeley, Muncie was a star running back for the California Golden Bears during the 1970s. He was big, fast and elusive, and was a good receiver. He was instrumental in Cal's NCAA-leading offense which propelled the team to the co-championship of the Pac-8 in 1975, and he appeared for the first time on the cover of Sports Illustrated. Muncie set then-school single-season records for rushing yards (1,460), all-purpose yards (1,871), and rushing touchdowns (13). He was a runner-up for the Heisman Trophy behind two-time winner Archie Griffin of Ohio State. Muncie outrushed and outscored Griffin (1,357 yards and 4 touchdowns), but Ohio State was 11–0 and ranked No. 1 at the time. Muncie was awarded the 1975 W.J. Voit Memorial Trophy as the outstanding football player on the Pacific Coast. He finished his college career with then-school career records for rushing yards (3,052), rushing touchdowns (32), 100-yard rushing games (15) and all-purpose yards (4,194).

In his senior year in 1976, Muncie began using cocaine. He graduated from Berkeley with a Bachelor of Arts degree in social studies with a minor in business.

NFL career

New Orleans Saints

Muncie was selected by the New Orleans Saints in the first round with third overall selection of the 1976 NFL Draft. Muncie was part of a backfield known as "Thunder and Lightning" along with Saints' second round pick Tony Galbreath.

Muncie was one of the first players to wear glasses or goggles during games.

Muncie played in the Pro Bowl after the 1979 season with the Saints and was selected as the Most Valuable Player of the game. He was the first Saints player named to the Pro Bowl and also was the first Saints player ever to reach the 1,000-yard rushing plateau when he ran for a then-team record of 1,198 yards in 1979. Coming from the tolerant environment in Berkeley, it was a culture shock for Muncie in New Orleans, where his house and car were regularly vandalized by racists despite his living in a nice neighborhood. He requested a trade after the 1979 season.

San Diego Chargers

During the 1980 season, Muncie was traded to the San Diego Chargers, where he again was selected for the Pro Bowl twice as a member of their high-scoring Air Coryell offense. He enjoyed his best season in 1981, when he ran for 1,144 yards and 19 touchdowns, tying the then-NFL season record for rushing touchdowns. He went on to rush for 120 yards and a touchdown in San Diego's 41-38 win over the Miami Dolphins in a famous playoff game known as The Epic in Miami, and 94 yards in the AFC title game, known as the Freezer Bowl. Muncie also helped lead the team to two AFC West division championships. He appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated three times once while he was at University of California and twice while he was with Chargers.^{[citation needed]}

After the 1982 season, former New Orleans teammate Don Reese said he used cocaine with Muncie during their time with the Saints. Muncie said that he had cut down on his cocaine since his trade to San Diego. He admitted he still had a problem with alcohol and marijuana, and he underwent an initial round of rehabilitation. However, after missing a bed check and a practice during training camp, he underwent three weeks of additional rehabilitation, and returned for the start of the 1983 season. Before the second game of 1984 against the Seattle Seahawks, Muncie missed the team's charter flight from San Diego. He told Chargers coach Don Coryell that he was late because vandals slashed the four tires on his car, but the coach did not believe him. Muncie arrived in Seattle, but he was sent back to San Diego and did not play. Two days later, he was traded to the Miami Dolphins for a second-round draft pick; however, a urinalysis given by Miami detected cocaine, and the trade was voided. Afterwards, Muncie entered an Arizona drug rehabilitation center for a month. On November 15, he was suspended indefinitely by the NFL; he never played another NFL game. In March 1985, Chargers owner Alex Spanos said Muncie would never play for San Diego again, even if his suspension was lifted.

Retirement

After being reinstated layer in 1985, Muncie was traded to the Minnesota Vikings. He started and performed well in the final exhibition game, but he served a one-game suspension in the season opener after failing to attend two aftercare therapy sessions that were one of the conditions of his reinstatement. He retired three days later, citing his need to make his life his first priority and the difficulty with balancing drug rehabilitation with playing football.

Legacy

Muncie finished his nine-season career with 6,702 rushing yards, 263 receptions for 2,323 yards, 20 kickoff returns for 432 yards, and 74 touchdowns. His rushing yards were the seventh-most in the NFL from 1976 though 1984, while his touchdowns ranked fourth. His 71 rushing touchdowns ranked ninth in NFL history at his retirement. At his death in 2013, he ranked fifth in Saints history in career rushing yards, and his 19 touchdowns in a season and 43 in his career with the Chargers had been surpassed only by LaDainian Tomlinson. He was named to the Saints Hall of Honor, and he was a member of the Chargers' 40th and 50th anniversary teams. The Los Angeles Times wrote that Muncie "was gifted with size, speed and power", while U-T San Diego said he was "widely considered the most talented running back of his era." The San Francisco Chronicle said Muncie "could have been the greatest running back in NFL history" if he had the discipline of running backs like Walter Payton or Roger Craig.

Muncie was frustrated that he was not in the Pro Football Hall of Fame nor the San Diego Chargers Hall of Fame, acknowledging that "I'm not there because of the choices I made." He described himself as a "functioning addict" during his Chargers tenure. He did cocaine after games, and sometimes would be high for days leading up to game day. In 1982, Reese said Muncie had to be "superman" to perform at his high level in spite of his addiction.

Later life

In the late 1980s, Muncie was found unwashed and homeless by a police officer outside of Memorial Stadium in Berkeley. In 1989, Muncie was sentenced to 18 months in a federal prison in California after he pleaded guilty to intending to sell 2 ounces (57 g) of cocaine to a friend. He turned his life around after prison, pursuing business interests and sharing stories of his drug problems with at-risk youths. "I was behind bars, pointing fingers at everybody but myself. I finally realized that I’m in charge, that it’s me with the addiction."

Muncie worked with the Boys & Girls Clubs of America. In 1997, he established he Chuck Muncie Youth Foundation in Antioch, California. His foundation offers Youth Mentoring, Kids Camp, Tattoo Removal, School Assistance, Immunization for the Uninsured, Wellness Fair, Job Training and an array of other programs. Muncie also led a program that mentored athletes at his alma mater in Berkeley. In his later years, he also ran a recruiting service evaluating high school football players.

He died of a heart attack on May 13, 2013, in Perris, California, near Los Angeles.

Personal life

Muncie was formerly married to Robyn Hood. He had one daughter, Danielle Ward.

Muncie's other siblings spell their surname as "Munsey". According to George Von Benko, the executive co-chairman and co-founder of Fayette County Sports Hall of Fame, Muncie's father used various names to avoid paying bills, and used "Muncie" on hospital forms when Muncie was born. Muncie's three brothers also played professional football. George Munsey was on the taxi squad for the Minnesota Vikings, Bill Munsey played in the Canadian Football League, and Nelson Munsey played for the Baltimore Colts.

External links

• Chuck Muncie at Pro-Football-Reference.com
• Chuck Muncie Youth Foundation
• Nov. 24, 1975 Sports Illustrated Cover
• Jan. 17, 1983 Sports Illustrated Cover
• 1975 Pac-8 Champions Retrospective
• Chuck Muncie's Identity Protection Business
• Oldest Living Pro Football Players - Chuck Muncie 2013 Necrology