Virgil Carter
Encyclopedia
Virgil R. Carter is a former professional American football
quarterback
who played in the National Football League
and the World Football League
from 1967 through 1976. He was the first great quarterback from Brigham Young University
.While at BYU Carter set six national, 19 conference, and 24 school records and was an academic All-American. He led BYU to its first-ever football conference championship in 1965.
Carter was drafted by the Chicago Bears in 1968 and was traded to the Cincinnati Bengals after the 1969 season. He led the NFL in pass completion percentage in 1971 and was third in overall passing. His best game of that season was the opener, in which the Bengals defeated the Philadelphia Eagles 37-14. Carter completed 22 of 30 attempts for 273 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions. The following year he split time with Ken Anderson before Anderson took sole possession of the starting job. The Bengals chose to go with Anderson in 1973 and Carter left the Bengals for the Chicago Fire of the World Football League, where he played in 1974.
Carter was the WFL's leading passer in 1974 until an injury sidelined him in week eleven. He finished the season with 358 attempts completing 195 for 2629 yards. He threw 27 touchdown passes and was intercepted 16 times. The Fire offense in 1974 is compared today to the West Coast Offense.
In 1975 he was signed by the San Diego Chargers, then traded to the Bears during the season. He retired from the Bears after the 1976 season.
Carter was a highly intelligent quarterback, who blossomed in Cincinnati under the west coast
system implemented by Bill
Walsh, then the Bengals' quarterbacks coach and later head coach of the San Francisco 49ers. In his first stint with the Bears Carter earned a Masters degree from Northwestern, and while in Cincinnati with the Bengals taught statistics and mathematics at Xavier University.
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
quarterback
Quarterback
Quarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line...
who played in the National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
and the World Football League
World Football League
The World Football League was a short-lived gridiron football league that played in 1974 and part of 1975. Although the league's proclaimed ambition was to bring American football onto a worldwide stage, the farthest the WFL reached was placing a team – the Hawaiians – in Honolulu, Hawaii. The...
from 1967 through 1976. He was the first great quarterback from Brigham Young University
Brigham Young University
Brigham Young University is a private university located in Provo, Utah. It is owned and operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , and is the United States' largest religious university and third-largest private university.Approximately 98% of the university's 34,000 students...
.While at BYU Carter set six national, 19 conference, and 24 school records and was an academic All-American. He led BYU to its first-ever football conference championship in 1965.
Carter was drafted by the Chicago Bears in 1968 and was traded to the Cincinnati Bengals after the 1969 season. He led the NFL in pass completion percentage in 1971 and was third in overall passing. His best game of that season was the opener, in which the Bengals defeated the Philadelphia Eagles 37-14. Carter completed 22 of 30 attempts for 273 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions. The following year he split time with Ken Anderson before Anderson took sole possession of the starting job. The Bengals chose to go with Anderson in 1973 and Carter left the Bengals for the Chicago Fire of the World Football League, where he played in 1974.
Carter was the WFL's leading passer in 1974 until an injury sidelined him in week eleven. He finished the season with 358 attempts completing 195 for 2629 yards. He threw 27 touchdown passes and was intercepted 16 times. The Fire offense in 1974 is compared today to the West Coast Offense.
In 1975 he was signed by the San Diego Chargers, then traded to the Bears during the season. He retired from the Bears after the 1976 season.
Carter was a highly intelligent quarterback, who blossomed in Cincinnati under the west coast
West Coast offense
In American football, "West Coast Offense" refers to two similar but distinct offensive-strategic-systems of play: the "Air Coryell" system; or more commonly the pass play system popularized by Bill Walsh...
system implemented by Bill
Walsh, then the Bengals' quarterbacks coach and later head coach of the San Francisco 49ers. In his first stint with the Bears Carter earned a Masters degree from Northwestern, and while in Cincinnati with the Bengals taught statistics and mathematics at Xavier University.