Charlie Joiner

Games played:	239
Games started:	211
Receptions:	750
Receiving yards:	12,146
Touchdowns:	65
	Stats at Pro Football Reference

Charlie Joiner
No. 18
Position:	Wide receiver
Personal information
Born:	October 14, 1947 (age 77); Many, Louisiana
Height:	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Weight:	188 lb (85 kg)
Career information
College:	Grambling State
NFL draft:	1969 / round: 4 / pick: 93
Career history
As a player:
	Houston Oilers (1969–1972); Cincinnati Bengals (1972–1975); San Diego Chargers (1976–1986);
As a coach:
	San Diego Chargers (1987–1991); Buffalo Bills (1992–2000); Kansas City Chiefs (2001–2007); San Diego Chargers (2008–2012);
Career highlights and awards
	3× Pro Bowl (1976, 1979, 1980); First-team All-Pro (1980); San Diego Chargers Hall of Fame; San Diego Chargers 40th Anniversary Team; San Diego Chargers 50th Anniversary Team;
Career NFL statistics
Games played:
Games played:	239
Games started:	211
Receptions:	750
Receiving yards:	12,146
Touchdowns:	65
	Stats at Pro Football Reference
	Pro Football Hall of Fame

Charles B. Joiner Jr. (born October 14, 1947) is a former American football wide receiver who starred in professional football for 18 seasons. He retired with the most career receptions, receiving yards, and games played of any wide receiver in NFL history. He was elected into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1996. Joiner was most recently the wide receivers coach of the San Diego Chargers from 2008 to 2012.

Joiner graduated from Grambling State University in 1969 and was drafted in the fourth round by the American Football League's Houston Oilers. He started his career as a defensive back, but he made the switch to wide receiver in his rookie year after being carted off the field from a hit by Denver Broncos running back Floyd Little.^[1] Joiner played for Houston until 1972, when he was traded to the Cincinnati Bengals. In 1975, Cincinnati traded Joiner to the San Diego Chargers, with whom he remained for eleven seasons before retiring as a player after the 1986 season. Before leaving the Bengals, he set a franchise record with 200 receiving yards in a single game.^[2]

It was with the Chargers' high flying "Air Coryell" offense under coach Don Coryell that Joiner had his most productive years, exceeding 1,000 yards receiving in a season four times and going to three Pro Bowls (1976, 1979–80). Joiner was selected All-Pro in 1980 and 2nd Team All-AFC in 1976. Although he never played in a Super Bowl, Joiner, quarterback Dan Fouts, tight end Kellen Winslow, and fellow receiver John Jefferson helped the Chargers reach the AFC title game in the 1980 and 1981 seasons. In the 1980 AFC championship game, Joiner caught 6 passes for 130 yards and 2 touchdowns. In January 1982, he played a key role in San Diego's 41-38 divisional postseason overtime win over the Miami Dolphins in a game that is known in NFL Lore as The Epic In Miami. Joiner caught 7 passes for 108 yards in the game, including 2 key receptions on his team's game winning drive in overtime. His 29-yard reception on the penultimate play of the game set up the winning field goal.

Joiner finished his 18 AFL/NFL seasons with 750 receptions for 12,146 yards (16.2 average per catch) and 65 touchdowns. He retired as the then-NFL leader in career receptions, yards, and games played by a wide receiver (239).^[3] At age 39, Joiner also retired as the oldest wide receiver in NFL history (since surpassed by Jerry Rice among others).^[4] Joiner credited his success and longevity to Coryell: "Thanks to Coach Coryell’s offense and his revolutionary passing game, he prolonged my career, from the day I got to the Chargers until the day I retired. I will forever be grateful to him and what he did for the game of football."^[5]

In addition to good health and longevity, Joiner was an intelligent player and precise pass route runner.^[6] Hall of Fame coach Bill Walsh called Joiner "the most intelligent, the smartest, the most calculating receiver the game has ever known."^[7] Following his playing career, Joiner successfully transitioned into a receiver's coach with the Kansas City Chiefs and the San Diego Chargers. He was the last former American Football League player (Oilers, 1969) to retire from Professional Football, in 1986.

In 1999, he was ranked number 100 on The Sporting News' list of the 100 Greatest Football Players.

References

^ Jaworski, Ron (2010). The Games That Changed the Game: The Evolution of the NFL in Seven Sundays. Random House. p. 89. ISBN 978-0-345-51795-1.
^ Regular Season Individual Records - Cincinnati Bengals
^ "Joiner retires". Merced Sun-Star. Associated Press. January 13, 1987. p. 10. Retrieved November 21, 2011.
^ "Charlie Joiner highlights". The Oregonian. January 14, 1987. p. D5 (61).
^ Center, Bill. "Don Coryell, ex-Chargers, Aztecs coach dies at 85". San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved 2010-07-02.
^ Jaworski 2010, p.81
^ "Charlie Joiner". Pro Football Hall of Fame. Retrieved November 21, 2011.

External links

Charlie Joiner at the Pro Football Hall of Fame
Career statistics and player information from NFL.com · Pro Football Reference

[1] Jaworski, Ron (2010). The Games That Changed the Game: The Evolution of the NFL in Seven Sundays. Random House. p. 89. ISBN 978-0-345-51795-1.

[2] Regular Season Individual Records - Cincinnati Bengals

[3] "Joiner retires". Merced Sun-Star. Associated Press. January 13, 1987. p. 10. Retrieved November 21, 2011.

[4] "Charlie Joiner highlights". The Oregonian. January 14, 1987. p. D5 (61).

[5] Center, Bill. "Don Coryell, ex-Chargers, Aztecs coach dies at 85". San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved 2010-07-02.

[6] Jaworski 2010, p.81

[7] "Charlie Joiner". Pro Football Hall of Fame. Retrieved November 21, 2011.

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v t e Members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame
Quarterbacks	Aikman Baugh Blanda Bradshaw Clark Conzelman L. Dawson Driscoll Elway Favre Fouts Friedman Graham Griese Herber Jurgensen J. Kelly Layne Luckman Manning Marino Montana Moon Namath A. Parker Stabler Starr Staubach Tarkenton Tittle Unitas Van Brocklin Warner Waterfield S. Young
Running backs	M. Allen Battles Bettis J. Brown Campbell Canadeo Csonka T. Davis Dickerson Dorsett Dudley Faulk Gifford Grange Guyon F. Harris Hinkle Hornung James J. H. Johnson L. Kelly Lambeau Leemans F. Little Martin Matson McAfee McElhenny J. McNally Moore Motley Nagurski Nevers Payton Perry Pollard Riggins B. Sanders Sayers Simpson E. Smith Strong Ji. Taylor T. Thomas Thorpe Tomlinson Trippi Van Buren Walker
Wide receivers / ends	Alworth Badgro Berry Biletnikoff Branch T. Brown Bruce Carmichael Carter Chamberlin Fears Flaherty Halas Harrison Hayes Hewitt Hirsch Hutson Irvin A. Johnson C. Johnson Joiner Largent Lavelli Lofton Maynard McDonald Millner Mitchell Monk Moss Owens Pearson Pihos A. Reed Rice Speedie Stallworth Swann C. Taylor Warfield
Tight ends	Casper Ditka Gonzalez Mackey Newsome C. Sanders Sharpe J. Smith Winslow
Offensive linemen	L. Allen Boselli B. Brown R. Brown Covert Creekmur D. Dawson DeLamielleure Dierdorf Faneca Gatski Gregg Grimm Hannah Hickerson Hill Hutchinson S. Jones W. Jones Kramer Langer L. Little Mack Matthews Mawae McCormack McDaniel Mix Munchak Muñoz Ogden Otto Pace J. Parker Ringo Roaf Shaw A. Shell Shields J. Slater St. Clair Stanfel Stephenson J. Thomas Tingelhoff Upshaw Webster Wright Yary Zimmerman
Pre-modern era two-way players	Edwards Fortmann Healey Hein Henry Hubbard Kiesling Kinard Lyman Michalske Musso Owen D. Slater Stydahar Trafton Turner Wojciechowicz
Defensive linemen	Atkins Bethea Buchanan Culp W. Davis Dean Dent Doleman Donovan Eller Ford Freeney J. Greene Haley Hampton Humphrey D. Jones Jordan Karras Kennedy Klecko Lilly Long Marchetti McMichael Nomellini Olsen Page Peppers Randle Robustelli Sapp Selmon Seymour B. Smith Sprinkle Stautner Strahan Ja. Taylor Weinmeister Ra. White Re. White B. Willis B. Young Youngblood
Linebackers	Bednarik Bo. Bell Brazile Brooks Buoniconti Butkus Carson Connor George Gradishar K. Greene Ham Hanburger Hendricks Howley Huff Jackson Lambert Lanier Lewis Mills Nitschke Richter D. Robinson Schmidt Seau Singletary L. Taylor D. Thomas Z. Thomas Tippett Urlacher Ware Wilcox P. Willis
Defensive backs	Adderley Atwater Bailey Barber Barney Blount W. Brown J. Butler L. Butler Christiansen Dawkins Dillon Easley Green C. Harris Haynes Houston J. Johnson Krause Lane Lary Law LeBeau Lott Lynch Polamalu E. Reed Renfro Revis Riley J. Robinson D. Sanders D. Shell E. Thomas Tunnell Wehrli Williams L. Wilson Wood C. Woodson R. Woodson
Special teams	Andersen Groza Guy Hester Stenerud
Coaches	G. Allen P. Brown Chamberlin Conzelman Coryell Cowher Dungy Ewbank Flaherty Flores Gibbs Gillman Grant Halas J. Johnson Lambeau Landry Levy Lombardi Madden Neale Noll Owen Parcells Shula Stram Vermeil Walsh
Contributors	Beathard Be. Bell Bidwill Bowlen Brandt Carr A. Davis DeBartolo Finks Halas Hunt J. Jones Lambeau T. Mara W. Mara Marshall A. McNally Nunn Polian Ray Reeves A. Rooney D. Rooney Rozelle E. Sabol S. Sabol Schramm Tagliabue R. Wilson Wolf G. Young
Italics denotes members who have been elected, but not yet inducted.

v t e San Diego Chargers 50th Anniversary Team
Offense	QB Fouts Hadl Humphries Rivers RB Lincoln P. Lowe Means Muncie Tomlinson WR Alworth Chandler Garrison Jefferson Joiner TE Gates Winslow T Mix Washington Wright G Dielman Sweeney White Wilkerson C Hardwick Macek
Defense	DE Dean Faison O’Neal DT Johnson Kelcher Ladd Williams LB Allen W. Lowe Merriman Seau Smith DB Buchanon Byrd Harrison Jammer McNeil
Special teams	K Benirschke Carney KR Duncan Sproles P Bennett Scifres ST Bauer Osgood
Coaches	Coryell Gillman Ross

See also

References

External links