Chuck Muncie

Harry Vance "Chuck" Muncie (March 17, 1953 − May 13, 2013) Muncie recovered to become a multi-sport athlete, but the accident left his left leg shorter than his right. He compensated by playing with a shoe with an extra-thick sole.

With Muncie's father disabled, Muncie's mother led the household and ensured that her children were educated.

At Berkeley, Muncie was a star running back for the California Golden Bears during the 1970s. He was big, fast and elusive, and was a good receiver. He was instrumental in Cal's NCAA-leading offense which propelled the team to the co-championship of the Pac-8 in 1975, and he became the first Golden Bear to appear on the cover of Sports Illustrated. He was a runner-up for the Heisman Trophy behind two-time winner Archie Griffin of Ohio State. Muncie was awarded the 1975 W.J. Voit Memorial Trophy as the outstanding football player on the Pacific Coast. He finished his college career with then-school career records for rushing yards (3,052), rushing touchdowns (32), 100-yard rushing games (15) and all-purpose yards (4,194). He graduated from Berkeley with a Bachelor of Arts degree in social studies with a minor in business. Muncie was inducted into the Cal Athletic Hall of Fame in 1995. He teamed with Saints' second round pick Tony Galbreath to form a backfield dubbed by then-coach Hank Stram as "Thunder and Lightning".

Muncie played in the Pro Bowl after the 1979 season with the Saints and was selected as the Most Valuable Player of the game. He was the first Saints player named to the Pro Bowl and also was the first Saints player ever to reach the 1,000-yard rushing plateau when he ran for a then-team record of 1,198 yards in 1979. Saints coach Dick Nolan grew tired of Muncie being late for meetings and practices. After the Saints began the 1980 season with an 0–4 record, they traded Muncie to the 4–0 San Diego Chargers.

San Diego Chargers

With the Chargers, Muncie was selected for the Pro Bowl twice as a member of their high-scoring Air Coryell offense. He also appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated two additional times during the NFL Playoffs. He enjoyed his best season in 1981, when he ran for 1,144 yards and 19 touchdowns, tying the then-NFL season record for rushing touchdowns. He went on to rush for 120 yards and a touchdown in San Diego's 41–38 win over the Miami Dolphins in a famous playoff game known as The Epic in Miami, and 94 yards in the AFC title game, known as the Freezer Bowl. Muncie also helped lead the team to two AFC West division championships.

After the 1982 season, former New Orleans teammate Don Reese said he used cocaine with Muncie during their time with the Saints. Before the second game of 1984 against the Seattle Seahawks, Muncie missed the team's charter flight from San Diego. When he arrived in Seattle, he told coach Don Coryell that vandals slashed the tires on his car. Coryell didn't believe him, and sent him back to San Diego.

Two days later, Muncie was traded to the Miami Dolphins for a second-round draft pick. At the time, he was the NFL's 13th leading rusher of all-time with 6,702 yards; but he served a one-game suspension in the season opener after failing to attend two aftercare therapy sessions that were one of the conditions of his reinstatement. Muncie retired three days later, citing his need to make his life his first priority and the difficulty with balancing drug rehabilitation with playing football. Muncie's rushing yards were the seventh-most in the NFL from 1976 though 1984, while his touchdowns ranked fourth. His 71 rushing touchdowns ranked ninth in NFL history at his retirement. At his death in 2013, he ranked fifth in Saints history in career rushing yards, and his 19 touchdowns in a season and 43 in his career with the Chargers had been surpassed only by LaDainian Tomlinson. and he was a member of the Chargers' 40th and 50th anniversary teams. while The Miami News said he possessed the strength of a fullback and the elegance of a halfback. and the San Francisco Chronicle said Muncie "could have been the greatest running back in NFL history, a 2.0 version of Jim Brown" if he had the discipline of running backs like Walter Payton or Roger Craig. He began wearing glasses at Arizona Western, when he wore them at practice one day and realized they improved his nearsightedness.

NFL career statistics Legend Led the league Bold Career high

Regular season Year Team Games Rushing Receiving Fumbles GP GS Att Yds Avg Y/G Lng TD Rec Yds Avg Lng TD Fum FR 1976 NO 12 11 149 659 4.4 54.9 51 2 31 272 8.8 33 0 6 1 1977 NO 14 11 201 811 4.0 57.9 36 6 21 248 11.8 35 1 3 0 1978 NO 13 11 160 557 3.5 42.8 28 7 26 233 9.0 34 0 7 1 1979 NO 16 15 238 1,198 5.0 74.9 69 11 40 308 7.7 28 0 8 21980 NO 4 3 40 168 4.2 42.0 24 2 7 25 3.6 8 0 1 0 SD 11 5 135 659 4.9 59.9 53 4 24 234 9.8 19 0 10 0 1981 SD 15 14 251 1,144 4.6 76.3 73 19 43 362 8.4 32 0 9 4 1982 SD 9 9 138 569 4.1 63.2 27 8 25 207 8.3 39 1 4 1 1983 SD 15 12 235 886 3.8 59.1 34 12 42 396 9.4 27 1 8 1 1984 SD 1 1 14 51 3.6 51.0 11 0 4 38 9.5 20 0 1 0Career 110 92 1,561 6,702 4.3 60.9 73 71 263 2,323 8.8 39 3 57 10

Later life In the late 1980s, Muncie was found unwashed and homeless by a police officer outside of Memorial Stadium in Berkeley. In 1989, Muncie was sentenced to 18 months in a federal prison in California after he pleaded guilty to intending to sell of cocaine to a friend. He turned his life around after prison, pursuing business interests and sharing stories of his drug problems with at-risk youths. Muncie said his time in prison likely saved his life. In 1997, he established the Chuck Muncie Youth Foundation in Antioch, California. In his later years, he also ran a recruiting service evaluating high school football players.