Obituary: Carlton Chester 'Cookie' Gilchrist / Outspoken, Brackenridge-born star running back
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Carlton Chester "Cookie" Gilchrist in 1964.
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Before there was a Jerome Bettis, before there was an Earl Campbell, before there was even a Jim Brown, there was Carlton Chester "Cookie" Gilchrist, the outsized running back with an outsized personality to match -- a star player whose political views and temperamental nature put him at odds with coaches and teammates.
Mr. Gilchrist, the Brackenridge-born runner who played for the American Football League's Buffalo Bills and in the Canadian Football League, died on Monday of cancer at Sterling House of Penn Hills, a personal care home.
He was 75.
"The Bills were very lucky to have procured the services of Cookie Gilchrist, who was one of the greatest fullbacks I have ever seen in all of my years in professional football," Buffalo Bills owner Ralph Wilson told The Associated Press. The two had reconciled in recent weeks after Mr. Gilchrist's condition was deemed terminal.
At a playing weight of 251 pounds, Mr. Gilchrist often outweighed the linebackers trying to tackle him and the offensive linemen trying to block for him. His crashing style later led to comparisons with Mr. Brown, the Cleveland Browns' Hall of Fame back who was born the year after Mr. Gilchrist and played for the team that offered Mr. Gilchrist his first pro contract.
It was a short-lived contract. The Browns signed him to a $5,500 deal in May 1954, while the young phenom was still attending Har-Brack High School in Natrona Heights. The previous fall, Har-Brack played Donora to a 0-0 tie in the WPIAL Class AA championship game.
While Mr. Gilchrist was set to skip college -- he claims he was recruited by no fewer than 108 college football teams -- that pro deal violated National Football League rules at the time (at age 19, he was too young to play in the NFL), and the contract was voided. The Browns then offered him a new contract: $100 per game for a 12-game season.
"I was raped, in public, by the Cleveland Browns. I've been the villain and scapegoat ever since," Mr. Gilchrist told Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reporter Milan Simonich in a 2003 profile.
Instead of moving to Cleveland, Mr. Gilchrist was Canada-bound, playing six years for the Canadian Football League and a related league before joining the Bills in 1962. His first season in the AFL, he was named player of the year, rushing for 1,096 yards and 13 touchdowns.
First Published January 11, 2011 12:00 am
