Age: 26 (Nov.
24)
3rd
season in pro football, 2nd in AFL & 1st with Titans
College: North
Carolina State
Height: 5’10” Weight: 195
Prelude:
Christy
excelled on both offense and defense as well as returning kicks in college, and
his dramatic 46-yard field goal against South Carolina gave NC State the 1957 Atlantic
Coast Conference title. Named ACC player of the year while also receiving All-America
honors from the Associated Press, Christy was chosen in the third round of the
1958 NFL draft by the Green Bay Packers but was dealt to Pittsburgh prior to
the season. He primarily returned kicks as a rookie, averaging 9.0 yards on 17
punt returns and 24.0 returning 16 kickoffs and was released by the Steelers
prior to the ’59 season. Christy joined the Boston Patriots of the new AFL in
1960 and gained 1321 all-purpose yards that included 363 rushing and 268 on 26
pass receptions. He was traded to Oakland in the deal that brought QB Babe
Parilli to the Patriots, and was then dealt to the Titans during the preseason.
1961 Season Summary
Appeared in
all 14 games
[Bracketed
numbers indicate league rank in Top 20]
Rushing
Attempts – 81
[13]
Most
attempts, game – 13 (for 21 yds.) at Oakland 10/29
Yards – 180
Most yards,
game – 32 yards (on 7 carries) at Buffalo 9/17
Average gain
– 2.2 [14]
TDs – 2
Pass
Receiving
Receptions – 29
Most
receptions, game – 7 (for 103 yds.) at Houston 11/19
Yards – 521 [17]
Most yards,
game – 145 (on 6 catches) vs. Dallas 12/3
Average gain
– 18.0 [5]
TDs – 1
100-yard receiving
games – 2
Kickoff
Returns
Returns – 15
[9, tied with Ron Burton]
Yards – 360
[8]
Most yards,
game – 131 (on 6 ret.) at Houston 11/19
Average per
return – 24.0 [7]
TDs – 0
Longest
return – 60 yards
Punt Returns
Returns – 18
[3, tied with Al Frazier]
Yards – 383 [1]
Most yards,
game – 137 (on 3 ret.) vs. Denver 9/24
Average per
return – 21.3 [1]
TDs – 2 [1]
Longest
return – 70 yards
All-Purpose
yards – 1444 [5]
Passing
Pass attempts
– 1
Pass
completions – 0
Interceptions
– 0
Scoring
TDs – 5 [19,
tied with eight others]
Points – 30
Titans went 7-7
to finish third in the AFL Eastern Division.
Aftermath:
Christy
followed up with his best season in 1962, leading the AFL with 2147 all-purpose
yards that broke down into 535 on 114 rushing attempts, 538 on 62 pass
receptions, a league-leading 824 on 38 kickoff returns for a 21.7-yard average,
and he again topped the AFL with a 16.7 average on 15 punt returns for 250
yards. However, he had a lesser season with the re-named Jets in ’63 and was
cut during the 1964 preseason. Christy played in the minor league Atlantic
Coast Football League and North American Football League in 1964 and ’65,
leading the ACFL in kickoff returning (30.4 avg.) in ‘64. He died in a car
crash in 1966 at age 30. Overall in the AFL, he rushed for 1166 yards, caught
125 passes for 1400 more yards (11.2 avg.), returned 50 punts for a 15.0-yard
average and four TDs and averaged 23.6 yards on 101 kickoff returns, scoring a
total of 19 touchdowns. Christy was chosen to one AFL All-Star Game. North
Carolina State created the Dick Christy Award, which is given to the most
valuable player of the annual game against South Carolina.
--
Highlighted Years features players who were consensus
first-team All-League* selections or league* or conference** leaders in the
following statistical categories:
Rushing:
Yards, TDs (min. 10)
Passing:
Yards, Completion Pct., Yards per Attempt, TDs, Rating
Receiving:
Catches, Yards, TDs (min. 10)
Scoring: TDs,
Points, Field Goals (min. 5)
All-Purpose:
Total Yards
Defense:
Interceptions, Sacks
Kickoff
Returns: Average
Punt Returns:
Average
Punting:
Average
*Leagues
include NFL (1920 to date), AFL (1926), AFL (1936-37), AAFC (1946-49), AFL
(1960-69), WFL (1974-75), USFL (1983-85)
**NFC/AFC
since 1970
