With my University of Minnesota brothers–Bobby Bell and Carl Eller.
“It is often overlooked how much of a contribution and the sacrifice athletes made to Civil Rights in this country, athletes like Bobby or Sandy or myself,” Eller told the University of Minnesota Alumni Association’s Rick Johnson several decades later. He suited up for Minnesota Golden Gophers head football coach Murray Warmath beginning in his sophomore season in 1961.Įller, a defensive tackle, was part of a 1960 Golden Gophers freshman class that also included another North Carolina native and future Kansas City Chiefs Hall of Fame pass rusher, Bobby Bell.Įller, Bell, and sophomore quarterback Sandy Stephens were African-American players who stood out at Minnesota during the height of the Civil Rights movement in the early 1960s. Little did Carl Eller know that he would not only become a force on the Minnesota Golden Gophers’ defensive line but he would also spend his next nineteen football seasons in the North Star State.Ĭollege Days with the Minnesota Golden GophersĬarl Eller attended the University of Minnesota from 1960 to 1963. Carl Eller told Brandt many years later that Paul Amen played a pivotal role in his recruitment at Minnesota. Warmath wasted no time and recruited both Sharp and Eller. Just about the only way to lure Eller away from Ohio State was by signing his close friend, Jay B. It turned out Cowboys scout Paul Amen and Warmath were former co-workers on the Army Black Knights’ coaching staff.Īmen knew about Eller’s intention of committing to the Buckeyes. Carl was going to take care of him.Īccording to former Dallas Cowboys vice president of player personnel Gil Brandt, Eller was planning to commit to Woody Hayes’ Ohio State Buckeyes before Warmath’s intervention. Warmath told her in jest it was going to be the other way around. Legendary Minnesota Golden Gophers head football coach Murray Warmath recruited Eller during his senior year in 1959.Ĭarl’s mom, Earnestine, asked Warmath to take care of her “little baby up in Minnesota,” per the Pioneer Press’ Charley Walters. His efforts paid dividends when he became a high school All-American and earned a football scholarship to the University of Minnesota.
North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame January 25, 2018Ĭarl Eller worked hard on the high school football field. On this Date 1942 Carl Eller born in Winston-Salem! #hallpass #ncsportshistory /kyIXquNCuw Before long, they planted the seed that helped the future Minnesota Vikings great boost his long-term confidence. Warren and Oldham encouraged the young Eller to use football as a platform to help him achieve his life’s purpose. He told him to try taking out his anger and frustrations on the high school gridiron.Ĭarl Eller listened and became a standout on the Atkins Camels football team.Įller, who didn’t know what to do with his life prior to playing high school football, suddenly had two life mentors in his coaches: Ben Warren and Warren Oldham. His death had a profound effect on Carl, who became angry and developed a grudge against the world.įortunately, Carl’s high school principal intervened at the perfect moment.
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He also pursued art as a hobby in retirement, per the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s official website.Įller’s father passed away during his high school days. His fascination grew to the point that he regularly visited museums on out-of-town trips. That move made quite an impression on Eller, who thought King – a young man whose goal was to earn a college diploma – was different from everybody else in his neighborhood.Įller attended Atkins High School in his hometown of Winston-Salem, NC.Įller was already enamored with art and ceramics as a high school student in North Carolina. The former wore his athletic gear and leaped over the fence. “I was just a really happy kid running around.”Ĭarl looked up to Norman King, a student-athlete from Winston-Salem State College. “I really didn’t start off with any dreams or any goals,” Eller said in his enshrinement speech in 2004. Few of them had aspirations to live an extraordinary life and break the monotony.Ĭarl Eller, future Pro Football Hall of Famer, was one of them. Carl grew up in an environment where people went about their normal, daily routines. However, Eller’s family was poor and had to work hard to survive. When the took the podium, he told the crowd his parents were decent, hard-working people.
When Eller entered the Pro Football Hall of Fame some sixty-two years later, he recalled his humble beginnings in North Carolina. This is Carl Eller’s incredible and controversial football story.Ĭarl Eller was born in Winston-Salem, NC on January 25, 1942. Eller eventually earned his gold jacket and bust in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in the summer of 2004.
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