Larry Evans, American chess grandmaster and author, died from complications following gallbladder operation he was , 78

Larry Melvyn Evans was an American chess grandmaster, author, and journalist died from complications following gallbladder operation he was , 78. He won or shared the U.S. Chess Championship five times and the U.S. Open Chess Championship four times. He wrote a long-running syndicated chess column and wrote or co-wrote more than 20 books on chess.

(March 22, 1932 – November 15, 2010)

 Chess career

Early years

Evans was born in Manhattan on March 22, 1932, and learned much about the game by playing for ten cents an hour on 42nd Street in New York City^{[citation needed]}, quickly becoming a rising star. At age 14, he tied for fourth-fifth place in the Marshall Chess Club championship. The next year he won it outright, becoming the youngest Marshall champion at that time. He also finished equal second in the U.S. Junior Championship, which led to an article in the September 1947 issue of Chess Review. At 16, he played in the 1948 U.S. Chess Championship, his first, tying for eighth place at 11½–7½.^[1] Evans tied with Arthur Bisguier for first place in the U.S. Junior Chess Championship of 1949. By age 18, he had won a New York State championship as well as a gold medal in the Dubrovnik Chess Olympiad of 1950. In the latter, his 90% score (eight wins and two draws) on sixth board tied with Rabar of Yugoslavia for the best result of the entire Olympiad.^[2]

US champion

In 1951, he first won the U.S. Championship, ahead of Samuel Reshevsky, who had tied for third-fourth in the 1948 World Championship match-tournament.^[3] Evans won his second championship the following year by winning a title match against Herman Steiner.^[4] He won the national championship thrice more – in 1961–62, 1967–68^[5] and 1980, the last in a tie with Walter Browne and Larry Christiansen.^[6][7][8]

Grandmaster

FIDE awarded Evans the titles of International Master (1952) and International Grandmaster (1957). In 1956 the U.S. State Department appointed him a "chess ambassador".
Evans performed well in many U.S. events during the 1960s and 1970s, but his trips abroad to international tournaments were infrequent and less successful. He won the U.S. Open Chess Championship in 1951, 1952, 1954 (he tied with Arturo Pomar but won the title on the tie-break) and tied with Walter Browne in 1971. He also won the first Lone Pine tournament in 1971.^[9]

Olympiad successes

He represented the U.S. in eight Chess Olympiads over a period of twenty-six years, winning gold (1950), silver (1958), and bronze (1976) medals for his play, and participating in team gold (1976) and silver (1966) medals.^[10][11][12]

Best international results

His best results on foreign soil included two wins at the Canadian Open Chess Championship, 1956 in Montreal, and 1966 in Kingston, Ontario. He tied for first-second in the 1975 Portimão, Portugal International^[13] and for second-third with World Champion Tigran Petrosian, behind Jan Hein Donner, in Venice, 1967.^[14] However, his first, and what ultimately proved to be his only, chance in the World Chess Championship cycle ended with a disappointing 14th place (10/23) in the 1964 Amsterdam Interzonal.^[15]

Helps Fischer win world title

He never entered the world championship cycle again, and concentrated his efforts on assisting his fellow American Bobby Fischer in his quest for the world title. He was Fischer's second for the Candidates matches leading up to the World Chess Championship 1972 against Boris Spassky, though not for the championship match itself, after a disagreement with Fischer.
At his peak in October 1968 he was rated 2631 by the United States Chess Federation.

Chess journalism

Evans had always been interested in writing as well as playing. By the age of eighteen, he had already published David Bronstein's Best Games of Chess, 1944–1949 and the Vienna International Tournament, 1922. His book New Ideas in Chess was published in 1958, and was later reprinted. He wrote or co-wrote more than 20 books on chess.^[16]
He wrote the tenth edition of the important openings treatise Modern Chess Openings (1965), co-authored with editor Walter Korn. He also made a significant contribution to Fischer's My 60 Memorable Games (1969), writing the introductions to each of the games and urging the future World Champion to publish when he had initially been reluctant to do so.^[17] Some of Evans's other books are Modern Chess Brilliancies (1970), What's The Best Move (1973), and Test Your Chess I.Q. (2001).
Evans began his career in chess journalism during the 1960s, helping to found the American Chess Quarterly, which ran from 1961–65. He was an editor of Chess Digest during the 1960s and 1970s. For over thirty years, until 2006, he wrote a question-and-answer column for Chess Life, the official publication of the United States Chess Federation (USCF), and has also written for Chess Life Online. His weekly chess column, Evans on Chess, has appeared in more than fifty separate newspapers throughout the United States. He also wrote a column for the World Chess Network.
Evans has also commentated on some of the most important matches for Time magazine and ABC's Wide World of Sports, including the 1972 Fischer versus Spassky match, the 1993 PCA world title battle between Garry Kasparov and Nigel Short and the Braingames world chess championship match between Vladimir Kramnik and Garry Kasparov in 2000.
Evans also contributed a large amount of tutorial and other content to the Chessmaster computer game series, most notably an endgame quiz and annotations of classic chess games. His contributions to chess writing and journalism earned him many awards, including the USCF's Chess Journalist of the Year award in 2000.^{[citation needed]} He was inducted into the U.S. Chess Hall of Fame in 1994.
Chess historian Edward Winter criticized Evans's work, asserting that it was sloppy, dishonest, and riddled with factual inaccuracies,^[18] though these claims were denounced by Larry Parr.^[19]

Death

On November 15, 2010, Evans died in Reno, Nevada, from complications following gallbladder surgery.^[20][21][22]

Selected games

This game, against future grandmaster Abe Yanofsky, who had won the brilliancy prize against Botvinnik at Groningen the year before, was Evans's first victory against a noted player:

Daniel Yanofsky – Larry Evans, 1947

	a	b	c	d	e	f	g	h
8									8
7									7
6									6
5									5
4									4
3									3
2									2
1									1
	a	b	c	d	e	f	g	h

Position after 25. f3

Yanofsky – Evans, U.S. Open 1947, Alekhine defence B05
1. e4 Nf6 2. e5 Nd5 3. d4 d6 4. Nf3 Bg4 5. h3 Bxf3 6. Qxf3 dxe5 7. dxe5 e6 8. a3 Nc6 9. Bb5 Qd7 10. c4 Nde7 11. 0-0 Qd4 12. Bg5 a6 13. Bxe7 axb5 14. Bxf8 Rxf8 15. cxb5 Nxe5 16. Qe2 0-0-0 17. Nc3 Ng6 18. Rad1 Qe5 19. Qc2 Rxd1 20. Rxd1 Rd8 21. Rc1 Nf4 22. Kh1 Qh5 24. Kh2 Rd3 25. f3 (see diagram at left) 25 ...Rxf3!   26. Rd1 Nxh3! 27. gxf3 Nf2+ 28. Kg3 Qh3+ 29. Kf4 Qh2+ 30. Ke3 (0–1)
See the game online
In his book Modern Chess Brilliances, Evans listed four of his own wins:

• Evans vs. Berger, 1964
• Evans vs. Blackstone, 1965
• Evans vs. Zuckerman, 1967, US Championship
• Koehler vs. Evans, 1968, US National Open

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Moira Hoey, Irish actor (The Riordans, Glenroe). died she was , 88

Moira Hoey ^[1] was an Irish actress. She starred as Mary Riordan in The Riordans from 1965 until it was axed in 1979, before appearing as Nellie Connors in Glenroe died she was , 88. Mary Riordan was considered "the quintessential Irish mammy" - Irish Independent / The Irish Times.^[2][3] She played Mrs Coffey in The Irish R.M.^[4] She had roles in This Is My Father^[5] and Angela's Ashes (as moneylender Mrs Purcell)^[6] as well.

(née Deady; 1922 — 15 November 2010)

Hoey came from County Cork.^[5] She resided in Greystones, County Wicklow.^[2] She began acting by travelling around Ireland as part of fit-ups (travelling theatre troupes) and this contributed to her early fame.^[2] Deady married fellow actor Johnny Hoey (Franice Maher in The Riordans).^[2] He predeceased her, though three daughters and one son were still alive at the time of her own death in 2010.^[2] Fans often thought she was married to John Cowley who played Tom Riordan, her husband in The Riordans, and fans were also upset when seeing her with Johnny Hoey, her real-life husband.^[3]
She died at the age of 88 on 15 November 2010 in Loughlinstown Hospital, County Dublin.^[5] Minister for Tourism, Culture and Sport Mary Hanafin commented on her part in Irish history: "In her role as the matriarch of The Riordans homestead, she was ever present, each Sunday, on our television screens dealing with the changing landscape and domestic issues that Ireland as a country was experiencing".^[5][6] John Boland, writing in the Irish Independent, called her "everyone's mammy and the conscience of a nation" while reflecting that this meant all the senior cast members of The Riordans were now dead.^[7] Hundreds of people attended her funeral on 18 November at Holy Rosary Church, Greystones.^[8]
In 2009 she reunited with other cast members of The Riordans for an RTÉ documentary on the programme.^[4][2]

Roles

Television

• The Riordans - Mary Riordan^[5]
• Bracken^[2] - ?
• Glenroe - Nellie Connors^[5]
• The Irish R.M. - Mrs Coffey^[4]
• Legend^[9] - ?

Film

• This Is My Father - Mrs Kearney^[9]
• Angela's Ashes - Mrs Purcell^[6]
• Headrush - Mrs Macroom^[9]
• The Tiger's Tail - Liam's mother, Maeve^[9]

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William Self, American actor and television production manager (Batman, Lost in Space, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea), died after suffering a heart attack he was 89

 William Edwin Self  was an American television and feature film producer who began his career as an actor died after suffering a heart attack he was 89.

(June 21, 1921 – November 15, 2010^[1])

Biography

Self graduated from the University of Chicago in 1943 before traveling to Los Angeles to be an actor. His first film role was Private Gawky Henderson in The Story of G.I. Joe (1945) directed by William Wellman. Self also appeared in four films directed by Howard Hawks, including Red River (1948) and the Science Fiction cult classic, The Thing from Another World (1951).^[2] Between 1945 and 1952, he appeared in over thirty films.
In 1952, Self left acting to launch a life-long career in television production. His first producing credit was Assistant to the Producer on the series China Smith starring Dan Duryea. From 1952 until 1956, Self was acting-producer (billed as Associate Producer)^[3] and then Producer of the Schlitz Playhouse of Stars. During this period, he produced two-hundred-eight half-hour episodes at fifty-two episodes per year. Many notable actors appeared as guest stars including Anthony Quinn, Peter Lorre, Vincent Price, Walter Brennan, Ronald Reagan, Rod Steiger, Charles Bronson, and James Dean.
Self moved on to produce The Frank Sinatra Show in 1957. Later that year, he accepted the post of Program Executive for CBS Television Network where his assignment was to develop new television series. The first pilot he produced was Rod Serling's The Twilight Zone.
Self was hired in 1959 by 20th Century Fox where he remained for fifteen years. During this period, Self piloted Fox television from near-extinction to become one of the top suppliers of television programming in the business.^[4] In 1966, Fox had more television hours on the air than any other supplier.^[5] Significant among Fox series were Peyton Place (1964–1969), the first Prime Time soap-opera; Batman (1966–1968), the first series based on a comic book to air in Prime Time; Julia (1968–1971), the first weekly television series to star an African American woman; and the enduring classic M*A*S*H (1972–1983). Other notable Fox series of the time included Daniel Boone (1964–1969), Twelve O'Clock High (1964–1967), Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (1964–1968), Lost in Space (1965–1968), The Green Hornet (1966–1967), The Ghost & Mrs. Muir (1968–1970), Land of the Giants (1968–1970), and Room 222 (1969–1972).
Self's talents were rewarded by the studio as he was promoted progressively from his original position of Executive Producer/Twentieth Century Fox Television (1962) to Vice-President/Twentieth Century Fox Television (1964) to President/Twentieth Century Fox Television (1968), and finally to Vice-President/Twentieth Century Fox Corporation.^[6]
Self left Fox in 1975 to partner with Mike Frankovich in the development and production of television and feature films.^[7] Although the partnership lasted just a little over a year, Frankovich/Self produced two feature films. These were The Shootist (1976), John Wayne's last film, and From Noon Till Three (1976) starring Charles Bronson.
Self returned to CBS in 1977 as Vice-President/Head of the West Coast. A year later, he took on a new challenge when he accepted the position of Vice President in Charge of Television Movies and Mini-Series, also for CBS. Before leaving this job in 1982, he supervised production of about fifty films and three or four mini-series per year. These included The Corn is Green (1979) starring Katharine Hepburn; All Quiet on the Western Front (1979) starring Ernest Borgnine and Richard Thomas; Guyana Tragedy (1980) starring Powers Boothe; Playing For Time (1980) starring Vanessa Redgrave; The Bunker (1981) starring Anthony Hopkins; Bill (1981) starring Mickey Rooney and Dennis Quaid; The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1982) starring Anthony Hopkins; and The Blue and the Gray (1982), an American Civil War mini-series which garnered four prime-time Emmy nominations.^[8]
Self returned to the feature film in 1982 when he was made President of CBS Theatrical Film Production. He served in this capacity for three years, supervising the making of ten movies including Target (1985) directed by Arthur Penn and starring Gene Hackman and Matt Dillon; Eleni (1985) directed by Peter Yates and starring Kate Nelligan and John Malkovich; Better Off Dead (1985) with John Cusack; and Turtle Diary (1985) starring Glenda Jackson and Ben Kingsley.
In 1985, when CBS decided to get out of the feature film business, Self established the independent William Self Productions to develop both television and feature films. In partnership with Norman Rosemont, Self produced The Tenth Man (1988) for the Hallmark Hall of Fame. It starred Anthony Hopkins, Kristin Scott Thomas, and Derek Jacobi. He also partnered with Glenn Close in producing three television movies for Hallmark: Sarah, Plain and Tall (1991), Skylark (1993), and Sarah, Plain and Tall: Winter's End (1999), all starring Glenn Close and Christopher Walken. Sarah, Plain and Tall received the highest rating of any Hallmark Hall of Fame to that date.
Self married his college sweetheart, Margaret Lucille Flynn of Spokane, Washington, in 1941. This union lasted until her death in 2007. Self had two children, Edwin and Barbara. He was a member of the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and the Directors Guild of America. He had been involved in non-profit work for many years, serving on the Board of Trustees of the John Tracy Clinic, the Motion Picture and Television Fund, and the Buffalo Bill Historical Center in Cody, Wyoming.

Early life and education

Self was born at Miami Valley Hospital in Dayton, Ohio. During his youth, he lived in Dayton, Akron, Chicago, and Milwaukee. He graduated from Dayton's Roosevelt High School in 1939.
Self's father, Edwin Byron Self, worked as an Advertising Manager at the Dayton Rubber Manufacturing Company, Akron Rubber Company, Miller Brewing Company, and Joseph Schlitz Brewing Company. Edwin Self wrote a novel, Limbo City (1949), and at least three plays which opened on Broadway: Junk (1927) starring Sydney Greenstreet,^[9] Two Strange Women(1933), and The Distant City (1941). His play, The Lady and the Clown, starring Estelle Winwood, opened in 1944 at the Civic Theatre in Chicago with William Self playing a small part.^{[citation needed]} Edwin and Elizabeth (Elsie) Fundus Self, a homemaker, had two children: William and Jean LaVerne Self (later Bright).
From childhood, Self has had "enthusiasms," keen interests that started when he was young and had continued throughout his life. Some of these interests had resulted in important connections and personal friendships. Self's fascination with Rudolph Valentino, for example, began when he was only five years old and his sister took him to see The Son of the Sheik (1926). Self had said that because his sister told him that Valentino had just died, he expected to see the movie idol in his casket on screen. Valentino stayed in Self's mind. He saw all the movies and read all the books he could find. As an adult, he became friends with Valentino's personal manager, George Ullman; one of Valentino's best friends, Robert Florey; as well as with Valentino's brother, Alberto.
It was also show business that led Self to become an accomplished tennis player. In 1932, age eleven, his parents took him to New York to see a Broadway production of Show Boat. Self's father pointed out tennis champion Bill Tilden in the lobby, telling him that Tilden was the greatest living tennis player. Self didn't know anything about tennis, but he was impressed. He asked Tilden to sign his program. Back in Dayton, Self bought Tilden's book, Match Play and the Spin of the Ball,^[10] and talked his parents into purchasing him a tennis racket. With time, he would become runner-up in the Wisconsin Junior Tennis Championship, represent Wisconsin on the Junior Davis Cup team and, in 1945, win The Wisconsin State Men's Championship. Self played Varsity tennis at the University of Chicago and in his Senior Year was elected Captain of the team. When he came to Los Angeles in 1944, as an unknown and untried actor, his skill at tennis allowed him to make important contacts. He regularly played with Spencer Tracy, Katharine Hepburn, Charlie Chaplin, and Jack Warner, among other Hollywood notables. He also became friends with and played Bill Tilden.
One of Self's favorite hobbies was magic. When he was thirteen years old, he won a citywide contest, mounted by the renowned magician Howard Thurston and his traveling show, to name "Dayton's Best Amateur Magician and the Person Most Likely to Become Thurston's Successor." The contest was limited to children thirteen and under. Being the winner, Self appeared at the Colonial Theatre on the stage with Mr. Thurston to perform his trick. Although he had never before performed this trick in public (a fact he had left out on his contest application), it went off perfectly. Self's photograph was taken with Thurston and a notice appeared in a Dayton newspaper. He was friends with some of the best-known magicians and magic historians in the United States, and attended many of the major magic conventions. For many years, he was a member of The Magic Castle, a professional magician's club in Hollywood. In later years he became a close friend of Howard Thurston's daughter, Jane, who had appeared on stage with her father.
Another film that sparked a life-long interest was Annie Oakley (1936), which starred Barbara Stanwyck. Self was fifteen years old when he saw the movie at the Keith Theatre in Dayton. Annie Oakley's brother, who lived in nearby Greenville, Ohio, had lent some of his Oakley memorabilia for display in the lobby. The film and the memorabilia fired Self's imagination, and his fascination with Oakley and Buffalo Bill Cody took root. He looked up Oakley's brother in Greenville and the two became friends. He also started writing an Oakley biography. To research this project, Self, age seventeen, persuaded his family to travel to Cody, Wyoming so that Self could study the Oakley scrapbooks in the small log structure which housed the Buffalo Bill Museum. He also persuaded the museum's founder and curator, Mary Jester Allen (Buffalo Bill's niece), to name him Assistant Historian. Self had letterhead stationary and business cards printed with this title, although he never did anything in the position. The book was never published, but Self went on to serve on the Board of Trustees of the Buffalo Bill Historical Center: the five-museum, five-football-fields-sized outgrowth of the original institution. Many of Oakley's grandnieces and nephews were his friends.
While in high school, he decided to take up acting. In 1938, he appeared in Roosevelt High's Junior Class play, and in 1939 he was cast in the leading role of the Senior Class play, The Eyes of Tlaloc by Agnes Emelie Peterson. He also worked behind the scenes as electrician and stage manager. Self's drama teacher, Bertha May Johns, was a great inspiration to him as well as to her other students.
Self gave up drama while at the University of Chicago, thinking he should devote himself to more serious pursuits. While there, he joined Phi Kappa Psi Fraternity. He graduated from Chicago in 1943 with a degree in Political Science.

Death

Self died on November 15, 2010 at the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center after suffering a heart attack 4 days earlier.

Filmography

As Actor

• The Story of G.I. Joe (1945) - Uncredited
• Decoy (1946) - Uncredited
• Monsieur Verdoux (1947) - Uncredited
• A Likely Story (1947) - Uncredited
• Kilroy Was Here (1947)
• Marshal of Cripple Creek (1947)
• Homecoming (1948)
• A Foreign Affair (1948)
• Red River (1948) - Credited as Billie Self
• The Great Gatsby (1949) - Uncredited
• I Was a Male War Bride (1949) - Uncredited
• Father was a Fullback (1949) - Uncredited
• Battleground (1949) - Uncredited
• Adam's Rib (1949) - Uncredited
• Sands of Iwo Jima (1949)
• Malaya (1949) - Uncredited
• A Ticket to Tomahawk (1950) - Uncredited
• Three Secrets (1950) - Uncredited
• Breakthrough (1950) - Uncredited
• Operation Pacific (1951) - Uncredited
• The Thing from Another World (1951)
• The People Against O'Hara (1951)
• Deadline - U.S.A. (1952) - Uncredited
• Pat and Mike (1952)
• Washington Story (1952) - Uncredited
• The Big Sky (1952) - Uncredited
• Plymouth Adventure (1952) - Uncredited
• Battle Circus (1953) - Uncredited

As film Producer

• Ride the High Iron - (1956)
• The Shootist - (1975)
• From Noon Till Three - (1976)

As Television Producer

• Schlitz Playhouse of Stars (208 episodes between 1953 and 1956)
• The Frank Sinatra Show (ABC) (1957 and 1958)
• Adventures in Paradise (3 episodes in 1960 and 1961)
• The Time Tunnel (30 episodes in 1966 and 1967)
• The Green Hornet (26 episodes in 1966 and 1967) (In charge of production for Twentieth Century-Fox Television)
• State Fair (1976)
• The Tenth Man (1988)
• Sarah, Plain and Tall (1991)
• Skylark (1993)
• Sarah, Plain and Tall: Winter's End (1999)

As Director

• The Secret (1954: Season 4, Episode 1 of The Schiltz Playhouse of Stars)
• The Last Out (1955: Season 5, Episode 1 of The Schiltz Playhouse of Stars)
• The Careless Cadet (1955: Season 5, Episode 9 of The Schiltz Playhouse of Stars)
• The Night They Won the Oscar (1956: Season 6, Episode 7 of The Schiltz Playhouse of Stars)

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Lew Carpenter, American football player (Detroit Lions, Green Bay Packers, Philadelphia Eagles) died he was , 78

 Lewis Glen "Lew" Carpenter was an American football player and coach died he was , 78. He played college football at the University of Arkansas and professionally for ten seasons in the NFL as a halfback and fullback with the Detroit Lions, Cleveland Browns, and Green Bay Packers. After his playing career ended, Carpenter spent 31 years as an assistant coach in the NFL with the Minnesota Vikings (1964–1966), Atlanta Falcons (1967–1968), Washington Redskins (1969), St. Louis Cardinals (1970–1972), Houston Oilers (1970–1974), Green Bay Packers (1975–1985), Detroit Lions (1987–1988), and Philadelphia Eagles (1990–1994). Carpenter also coached the Frankfurt Galaxy of the World League of American Football in 1996 and at Southwest Texas State University. He concluded his 47 years of playing and coaching football at the end of the 1996 season.


(January 12, 1932 – November 14, 2010)

 Early years and family

Carpenter was born to Verba Glen Carpenter and Edna Earl Pullam in Hayti, Missouri. He was raised in West Memphis, Arkansas, where he attended high school and played six-man football. His brother, Preston Carpenter, married Jeanne and the couple had three sons: Scott, Bruce, and Lewis Todd.^[1][2] In 1951, Lew married Ann Holt. The couple had four daughters; Cheryl Doane, Cathy, Lisa Prewitt and Rebecca. He also had ten grandchildren; Chad, Jennifer and Travis Cory (deceased) Doane, Ketzal, Rivelino,and Alisha Carpenter, Natalie Prewitt, Tyler Wendland, Parker Carpenter and Annika Blomquist. Carpenter was a descendant of Thomas "Jack" Carpenter (born 1740 Virgina and died 1803 in North Carolina).^[1][2]

College career

While at the University of Arkansas (1949–1953), Carpenter starred at the halfback position for the Razorbacks. As a senior, he played in the Blue-Grey College All-Star Game.^[1][3] Carpenter also played wide receiver, tight end, and served as back-up quarterback during his college years. Carpenter received varsity letters in football, basketball, and baseball. He graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in biology.^[4][5]
Carpenter played baseball after his 1953 senior year in college in the minor (then class B) Carolina League, as a pitcher, with the Winston-Salem Cardinals. During this season he had a batting average of .286 under manager Jimmy Brown.^[6] Scouts for the NFL also offered him a contract and football beat baseball in this circumstance.^[1][3]

NFL playing career

Carpenter's primary positions played: defensive half back, fullback, halfback, and offensive half back/running back. Carpenter was listed at a height of 6 foot 2 inches and had a playing weight from 205 to 220 pounds and was considered fast afoot.^[7]

The T-formation, one of the most basic formations in football

Carpenter was assigned mostly to the halfback position. In American football, it is commonly viewed as a requirement for a team's success. They are responsible for carrying the ball on the majority of running plays, and may frequently be used as a receiver on short passing plays. Today, when not serving either of these functions, the primary responsibility of a halfback is to aid the offensive linemen in blocking, but this was not common in the 1950s and early 1960s. Sometimes the halfback, also known as the tailback, can catch the ball from the backfield as he is an eligible receiver. Many of these functions are described today as for the running back position, fit the 1950s & 1960s halfback. It was all a matter of position in the back field.^[8]
Carpenter also played as a fullback, which is a position in the offensive backfield in American and Canadian football, and it is one of the two back field positions supporting the quarterback. Today, fullbacks are larger in size than halfbacks and in most offensive schemes their duties are split between power running and blocking for the quarterback. In the 1950s and 1960s, it was more of a running position and alternate thrower for the quarterback.^[9][10]

Detroit Lions

In 1953, Carpenter was selected drafted by the National Football League for the Detroit Lions in the 8th round draft, 97th selection. The very first time in game play he got the football, he scored a 73 yard touchdown on a interception.^[11]
For the next three seasons Carpenter played as a running back. He was the leading rusher and won his first world championship in 1953.^[1][3][5]
In 1954, Carpenter led Detroit with 476 rushing yards and in 1955, 543 yards. Over his three seasons with the Lions, he rushed for 1,043 yards, with 60 pass receptions (457 yards gained & 4 TDs), and scored 10 touchdowns (TDs).^[11]
Carpenter's football career was placed on hold when he was drafted by the United States Army. He served honorably during an 18-month tour in Germany.^[1][3]

Cleveland Browns

In 1957, after returning from Germany, Carpenter found himself traded to the Cleveland Browns where he played with Preston Carpenter, his brother. While with the Browns he helped them win two world championships.^[1][3][5]
In 1957, the Browns drafted fullback Jim Brown out of Syracuse University, who became the NFL's leading rusher with 942 yards in a 12-game regular season. Once again at the top of the division at 9 win, 2 loss and 1 tied game season, they advanced back to the Championship Game against Detroit. But the Lions dominated from start to finish, causing six turnovers and allowing the Browns' two quarterbacks (Tommy O'Connell and Milt Plum) only 95 yards passing in a 59 to 14 major loss. This was the Lions' last league championship.
In 1958, Jim Brown ran for 1,527 yards, almost twice as much as any other running back. In his nine seasons in the league, he crossed the 1,000 yard barrier seven times. Lew Carpenter and his brother Preston, both backs, supported Brown in his legendary time with the Cleveland Browns.
On November 3, 1957, during the third quarter, Browns Vs. Redskins game, the rookie Brown had one of his good days. The big fullback Brown carried the ball 21 times with 109 yards. Brown and Lew Carpenter "shared the burden in the final time consuming march of 49 yards" for the touchdown. Later in the fourth quarter, the Browns were in trouble with less than 5 minutes to play. Jim Brown carried the ball four times while Lew carried it eight times (the last six carries in a row). With a 4th down and 8 yards to go, the Browns needed a first down. Lew went "sweeping his left end behind good blocking carrying for 12 yards." The Browns had its first place title and the win of 21 to 17.^[12]
On the last winning game of the 1958 season, (December 7, 1958 a 21 to 14 win over the Eagles) during the first quarter, Brown racked up 138 yards in 21 plays. "Sharing the rushing laurels was Lew Carpenter, who picked his way for 100 yards in 21 carries. Finally the Eagles had to concentrate on the hard nosed runner from Arkansas ..."^[13] Carpenter was now a valuable player and wanted by other teams.

Green Bay Packers

Main article: History of the Green Bay Packers

In 1959, Coach Vince Lombardi got a key trade by getting Lew Carpenter to come to Green Bay, Wisconsin and to play for the Packers.^[5] Carpenter's first game under Lombardi came quickly. On September 27, 1959, a sellout crowd packed Green Bay's Lambeau Field for the first Packer game of the regular season against the Chicago Bears. On the Packers first offensive play, a new Lombardi technique was seen. "Packer halfback Paul Hornung took a handoff from the quarterback, ran to his left and threw the ball downfield to a wide open receiver near the goal line." The crowd jumped to its feet, cheering at this new tactic! Then, the receiver, "Lew Carpenter dropped the ball."^[14][15]
At halftime in the locker room, Coach Lombardi concluded his pep talk with, "And now, men of Green Bay, step aside. Make way for the mightiest Green Bay team in years! A Winning team! Go get 'em, Green Bay!" In response, Carpenter and the rest of the Packers slammed their lockers, growled loudly, and assaulted the field in determination. During the rest of the game, the Bears watched Carpenter closely, seeing him as a threat. The Packers adjusted tactics and used Carpenter repeatedly as bait while another player got the critical touchdown. At the end of the game, the Green Bay Packers beat the Chicago Bears by a score of 9 to 6. The Packer players raised Lombardi to their shoulders and ran with him in victory. "We're on our way Now!" shouted Lombardi.^[14][15]
After winning their first three games, the Packers lost the next five due to injuries, including Carpenter's. Returning, Carpenter and his team finished strong by winning the rest of the season. The 7 win & 5 loss record represented the Packers' first winning season since 1947. Rookie head coach Lombardi was named Coach of the Year. For the Pack this was the start of the Glory Years.^[1][15]
The next year, the Packers, led by Paul Hornung's 176 points, and assisted by running back Carpenter, won the NFL West title and played in the NFL Championship against the Philadelphia Eagles at Philadelphia. In a see saw game, the Packers trailed the Eagles by four points late in the game, when Chuck Bednarik tackled Jim Taylor just nine yards short of the goal line as time ran out. The Packers claimed that they did not "lose" that game; they were simply behind in the score when time ran out on them.^[1]
The Packers returned to the NFL Championship game the following season and faced the New York Giants in the first league title game to be played in Green Bay. The Packers scored 24 second-quarter points assisted by Carpenter, including a championship-record 19 by Paul Hornung, on special loan from the Army (one touchdown, four extra-points and three field goals), powering the Packers to a 37 to 0 major win over the Giants, their first NFL Championship since 1944.^[1][16]
The Packers stormed back in the 1962 season, jumping out to a 10 win & 0 loss start, on their way to a 13 wins & 1 loss season. This consistent level of success would lead to Lombardi's Packers becoming one of the most prominent teams of their era, and even to their being featured as the face of the NFL on the cover of Time on December 21, 1962, as part of the magazine's cover story on "The Sport of the '60s" and Lew Carpenter is mentioned in the article as one of the Packer's star players.^[17] Shortly after Time's article, the Packers faced the Giants in a much more brutal championship game than the previous year, but the Packers prevailed on the surprising foot of Jerry Kramer and the determined running of Jim Taylor. The Packers defeated the Giants in New York, 16 to 7. Carpenter re-injured himself but finished the game. During this season Carpenter assisted other players in their game, gaining the informal title of "coach."^[1]
In 1963, Paul Hournung was suspended for the season for betting on football. This caused Carpenter and others to make more than extra efforts for the team.^[18] While the Packers had a respectful 11 win and 1 loss season, it was at great cost. Many players injured themselves and re-injured themselves like Carpenter. This season was a frustration for Carpenter for he played his heart and body to the point of exhaustion. Coach Lombardi placed Carpenter as a reserve running back, but had to play him time after time for the winning effort. After four full seasons of play with the Packers, Carpenter concluded his professional football playing days at the end of the 1963 season.^[1]
Carpenter played 123 professional football games, He finished his 10 year career with 2,025 yards and 16 touchdowns on 468 carries. He also caught 87 passes for 782 yards.^[19]

Coaching career

In 1964 Carpenter became one of the assistant coaches of the Minnesota Vikings. He served in various coaching positions and teams over the next 30 years. These included receivers coach, passing game coach and offensive coordinator for the Atlanta Falcons and the Washington Redskins.^[1][3]
Carpenter coached alongside Vince Lombardi then coached for St. Louis Cardinals (now the Arizona Cardinals), the Houston Oilers, the Green Bay Packers, the Detroit Lions and the Philadelphia Eagles. Along the way, he mentored many upcoming Pro Bowl players.^[1][3]

Minnesota Vikings

Carpenter coached several Vikings who were later inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Fran Tarkenton and Carl Eller.

Atlanta Falcons

In late 1966, Carpenter became one of the first coaches on the new NFL Atlanta Falcons franchise, the 23rd professional football club and the 15th NFL franchise. In 1967, the Falcons played in the new Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium. The first preseason game was held on August 1, 1966, before a crowd of 26,072 at Atlanta Stadium. Under Head Coach Norb Hecker, the Falcons became the only expansion team in history not to finish in last place their first year. The Falcons finished seventh out of eight teams in the NFL's Eastern Conference. Carpenter helped coach the Falcons first victory on November 20, 1966, defeating the New York Giants, 27 to 16, at Yankee Stadium. Tommy Nobis, first draft pick and coached by Carpenter was voted to the Pro Bowl and named 1966 Rookie of the Year.^[20][21]
Carpenter participated in many pivotal events for the newly created American football team called the Atlanta Falcons.^[20][21]
1967 was disappointing for the Falcons. They finished their season at 1–12–1. Tommy Nobis (LB) was named to his second Pro Bowl and Junior Coffey (RB) ended the year with 722 yards to finish as the eighth leading rusher in the league and the Falcons’ Most Valuable Player and Carpenter helped coach them both.^[20][21]
1968 - The former Head Coach of the Minnesota Vikings Norm Van Brocklin was named to replace Norb Hecker as Falcon's head coach after only three games of the 1968 season. Carpenter worked with Van Brocklin, who he knew as a player and a coach.^[20][21]
Carpenter helped coach two future Georgia Sports Hall of Fame winners. These were Tommy Nobis and Claude Humphry.^[20][21]

Washington Redskins

In 1969, the Washington Redskins hired Vince Lombardi, who gained fame with the Green Bay Packers, to be their new head coach.^[22]
Lombardi reorganized the Redskins and brought along a couple of coaches he worked with before, including Bill Austin for the offensive line and Lew Carpenter for the receivers. Carpenter was listed as the Packers passing game coordinator and offensive coordinator Coach over various seasons.^[14]
Lombardi led the Redskins to a 7 win & 2 loss record,^[23] their best since 1955, but died of cancer on the eve of the 1970 season.^[22] Carpenter was in the running to replace Lombardi as head coach, but Redskins assistant coach Bill Austin (the former Pittsburgh Steelers head coach) was chosen instead during 1970 and produced a record of 6–8. Carpenter decided to coach elsewhere.^[23]
Carpenter coached only one season with the Redskins as the receivers and tight ends coach.^[5] His coaching and efforts had an influence on the 1969 season and future game play. Those Vikings who became inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame include Sonny Jurgensen in 1983, Charley Taylor in 1984, Bobby Mitchell in 1983 and Sam Huff in 1982 were helped in one way or the other by Carpenter. Carpenter's General Manager during his assistant coaching tenure was George Preston Marshall who was also inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1969. One of the Redskin's assistant coaches who worked with Carpenter, Mike McCormack was inducted in 1984. Vince Lombardi, the unforgettable coach, was inducted in 1971.^[24]

St. Louis Cardinals

The football club St. Louis Cardinals moved to St. Louis, Missouri, in 1960 and stayed there until 1987. Then the franchise moved to Tempe, Arizona and became the Arizona Cardinals. When Carpenter got there in 1970 the club had many nicknames such as, the "football Cardinals," "Big Red", "Gridbirds" or "Cardiac Cards" to avoid confusion with the baseball St. Louis Cardinals.
"Coach Lew" went to St. Louis as a receivers and tight end coach for head coach Bob Holloway.^[5]
Two brothers, Charles W. Bidwell, Jr. and William V. Bidwell (sons of the 1933-1947 Cardinal franchise owner Charles W. Bidwell, Sr. and the 1947–1962 owner, the widow, Mrs. Violet Bidwell) had joint custody of the franchise from 1962 to 1972. That was the year William V. Bidwell took sole control as managing general partner and made many changes in the coaching staff and players.^[25]
Carpenter did work with and help coach future Pro Football Hall of Fame winners during his time with the Cardinals. These included Dan Dierdorf inducted in 1996, Jackie Smith inducted in 1994, Larry Wilson inducted in 1978 and Roger Wehrli inducted in 2007.^[26]

Houston Oilers

In 1973, Carpenter's first coaching season there, the Oilers won only 1 game during the entire season. This was a 31 to 27 win over the Baltimore Colts. On a brighter note, Elvin Bethea won his 3rd Pro Bowl team spot. In 1974, the Oilers won their season opener at home by defeating the San Diego Chargers with a 21 to 14 win. The 1974 season was the best year with a 7 win & 7 loss season. And best of all, they defeated their rival Cleveland Browns for the first time ever with a 28 to 24 victory.^[27]
Carpenter was the receivers and tight ends coach^[5] brought in by the new Oiler general manager Sid Gilman to work with head coach Bill Peterson and stayed during Gilman's tenure. After Peterson was fired in October 1973, Gilman took over as head coach.^[5] Gillman was inducted as a coach into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1983 and the College Football Hall of Fame in 1989.^[27]
Carpenter worked with and helped coach future Pro Football Hall of Fame winners during his time the Oilers. These include Elvin Bethea inducted in 2003 and Ken Houstoninducted in 1986. Head coach Sid Gilman was inducted in 1989.^[28]

Green Bay Packers

Carpenter was the receivers and tight ends coach for the Green Bay Packers under head coaches (HC) Bart Starr (1975––1983) and Forrest Gregg (1984–1987) from 1975 to 1985.^[5]
Poor personnel decisions typified this Packer time period. A notorious example includes the 1974 trade in which Dan Devine (HC 1971–1974) acting as GM sent five 1975 and 1976 draft picks (two first-rounders, two second-rounders and a third rounder) to the Los Angeles Rams for aging quarterback John Hadl, who would spend only 1½ seasons in Green Bay.^[29] This continued in the 1989, when players such as Barry Sanders, Deion Sanders, and Derrick Thomas were available, but the Packers chose offensive lineman Tony Mandarich with the second overall pick in the NFL draft. Though rated highly by nearly every professional scout at the time, Mandarich's performance failed to meet expectations. ESPN has rated Mandarich as the third "biggest sports flop" in the last 25 years.^[30] This must have been a frustrating time for Carpenter but he focused on the basics and coached on for his beloved Packers.
Carpenter worked with and/or coached with the following Pro Football Hall of Famers during his coaching tenure with the Packers. These include coach Bart Starr who was inducted as a player in 1977, coach Forrest Gregg who was inducted as a player in 1977 and James Lofton, inducted in 2003.^[31][32][33]

Detroit Lions

Carpenter was the Detroit Lions receivers and tight ends coach for 1987 and 1988. He worked with head coaches Darry Rogers and Wayne Fontes.^[5][34] At the end of the 1988 season, Fontes hired Mouse Davis and June Jones as assistants and installed the Run & Shoot offense. This required the letting go of Carpenter and other assistant coaches. Fontes would later abandon the Run & Shoot offense.^[35]
Carpenter worked with and/or helped coach the following Pro Football Hall of Famers. These include Lem Barney inducted in 1992, Barry Sanders inducted in 2004 and coach Dick LeBeau inducted as a player in 2010.^[33][36]

Philadelphia Eagles

Carpenter was the Eagles wide receivers coach from 1990 to 1992 and the wide receivers/tight ends coach in 1993 and 1994.^[5][37] Carpenter again coached James Lofton.

Later coaching

In 1995, Carpenter went back to Southwest Texas State University, now known as Texas State University–San Marcos and was the running backs coach under head coach Jim Bob Helduser.^[5] In 1989, Carpenter had coached at the Southwest Texas State University as a backfield coach under head coach John O’Hara.^[5] In 1996, Carpenter coached the Frankfurt Galaxy of the World League of American Football.

Death and honors

In 1996, after 47 years of playing and coaching professional NFL football, Carpenter reluctantly retired from the game he loved because of his health.^[3] On November 14, 2010, with his family at his side, he passed away from pulmonary fibrosis.^[1][2][3] Carpenter's last public appearance was in Green Bay's Lambeau Field for the "Alumni Weekend" on September 16 and 17, 2010.
Carpenter was inducted into the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame in 1988,^[4] and the University of Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame in 2000.^[38] The "Lewis Carpenter University of Arkansas Scholarship" has been established in his memory through Chase Bank in New Braunfels, Texas.^[11]

In media

In the 2009 book by John Eisenberg, That First Season: How Vince Lombardi Took the Worst Team in the NFL and Set It on the Path to Glory, Lew Carpenter is mentioned on 30 pages of its 304 hardback pages.^[15] Carpenter participated in a 2001 reunion documentary on Vince Lombardi and his Green Bay Packers called With Love & Respect: A Reunion of the Lombardi Green Bay Packers.^[39]

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