Don McCauley

Donald Frederick McCauley Jr. (born May 12, 1949) is an American former professional football player who was a running back for the Baltimore Colts of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the North Carolina Tarheels from 1968 to 1970, during which time he was twice recognized as the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) player of the year. He was also consensus All-American in 1970 and finished ninth in voting for the Heisman Trophy.

Selected in the first round of the 1971 NFL draft, McCauley went on to have an 11-year NFL career with the Colts.

In 2001, McCauley was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.

McCauley attended Garden City High School in Garden City, New York, where he was a power-hitting catcher on the baseball team,^[1] and powerful halfback on the football squad. His football skills earned him a full-ride scholarship to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.^[2] Don is part of the McCauley family of Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Matthew McCauley (1750–1832), Don's great-grandfather, moved from Carrickfergus, County Antrim, Ireland, to Orange County, N.C., prior to the American Revolution and served in the 10th North Carolina Regiment of the Continental Army. Matthew McCauley and his brother William donated 250 acres towards the establishment of the University of North Carolina.^[3]

McCauley arrived at Chapel Hill in the fall of 1967. Under NCAA rules at the time, he spent the first year on the freshman team. Moved to the varsity squad in 1968, McCauley made an impression at spring practice.

مع حصولهم على اختيار الجولة الأولى لفريق ميامي دولفينز ، والذي مُنح لهم كتعويض عن التلاعب في تعيين المدرب الرئيسي لفريق كولتس آنذاك، دون شولا ، اختارت بالتيمور ماكولي في الجولة الأولى (المركز 22 بشكل عام) في مسودة دوري كرة القدم الأمريكية لعام 1971. ^{[ 10 ]}

The 1971 NFL season was spent as a reserve to veteran halfback Tom Matte.^[11] He carried the ball 58 times for 246 yards (4.2 yards per carry) and scored 2 touchdowns during that rookie campaign.^[11] He also handled the ball periodically as a kickoff returner, bringing back 8 kicks with a 24.3 yard average.^[11] With Matte injured, McCauley was thrust into the limelight as a starter in the AFC Championship Game, in which he gained 50 yards on the ground and caught 2 passes for 24 more yards in a 21–0 loss to the Miami Dolphins.^[11]

McCauley's second pro season, 1972, was his best offensive year, in which he gained 675 yards on the ground — the most he would ever record — and another 256 in the air, logging a total of five touchdowns.^[8] One of his touchdowns came via a 93-yard kickoff return against the New York Jets in September, the longest scoring play of his career.^[8]

His third season, 1973, would be the last time he broke the 500-yard mark on the ground, with McCauley generating 514 yards on 144 carries (3.6 yards per carry average) in 13 games.^[12]

McCauley generated no fewer than 296 yards via pass receptions in any of his last six years, snagging more than fifty balls in a season twice.^[12] His high total as a pass-catcher would come in 1979, when he grabbed 55 balls for 575 yards (10.5 yards per catch average).^[12]

Don McCauley would actually finish his NFL career with more yards as a pass receiver (3,026) than as a runner (2,627).^[12]

McCauley was able to carve out a niche as an effective short-yardage back for the Colts over an 11-season career. He finished his career with 156 games played, during which he ran the ball 770 times for 2,627 yards — an average of 3.4 yards per carry.^[12]

Don McCauley scored 58 touchdowns during the course of his NFL career.^[12] He retired sixth all-time for the Colts in yards gained rushing.^[8]

Out of the game at the age of 33, McCauley retired to Huntington Bay, New York with his wife Tracey and three daughters- Krystin, Brooke and Brittney.

In 2001, Don McCauley was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.^[13]