Carl Eller
Encyclopedia
Carl Eller is a former professional American football
player in the National Football League
who played from 1964 through 1979. He was born in Winston-Salem, North Carolina
and attended the University of Minnesota
. He was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame
in 2004.
Eller joined Alpha Phi Alpha
fraternity, via the Mu Chapter while at the University of Minnesota.
As a sophomore, Eller helped lead the Gophers to a Rose Bowl victory. While Eller shared the starting position as a sophomore he became a full-time, two-way player as a junior and senior and was voted All-America
both years. During his time in college the Gophers were National Champions as well as Big Ten champions. As a senior (1963) Eller was the runner-up for the Outland Trophy
. Following each football season, the Carl Eller Award is given to the University of Minnesota's Defensive Player of the Year. He was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame
in 2006.
by the Minnesota Vikings
and also drafted in the first round of the American Football League Draft
by the Buffalo Bills
, who could not sign him. As the left defensive end
in the Vikings front four, he was a major factor in the unit known as the "Purple People Eaters
".
Starting in 1968, Eller's fifth campaign, Minnesota won 10 Central Division titles in the next 11 seasons. The Vikings won the 1969 NFL championship and NFC crowns in 1973, 1974, and 1976 and Eller was one of 10 Vikings to play in all four of their Super Bowl
s, all losses.
He was selected to play in six Pro Bowl
s (1968–1971, 1973, and 1974). After being traded with an eighth round pick to Seattle Seahawks for defensive tackle Steve Niehaus
, Eller played his final season in 1979 with the Seattle Seahawks
, where he ran his career total to 225 games. In his career, "Moose" only missed three games and started 209 out of the 225 he played.
Eller is credited as the Vikings all-time sack leader with 130½. He also had 3 sacks with Seahawks in 1979 for a career total of 133½. He set career-high 15 sacks in 1969 and then matched that total in 1977, also to his credit 7 seasons with 10 or more sacks.
Eller was First-team All-NFL from 1968–71, and again in 1973. He was also Second-team All-Pro in 1967 and 1972 and was All-NFC by AP
and The Sporting News
in 1975. Matched with his Pro Bowls, Eller had a nine-year consecutive streak with some sort of post-season honor which began in 1967 with his Second-team All-pro selection and ended in 1975 with his All-NFC honors.
He was voted the George S. Halas Trophy in 1971 as the NFL's Defensive Player of the Year as awarded by the Newspaper Enterprise Association (NEA).
.
In 2000, Eller was named to the Vikings' 40th Anniversary Team and in 2010 he was named to the Vikings 50th Anniversary team.
He obtained a college degree in Human Services from Metropolitan State University
in 1994 and went on to work for the Minnesota Department of Human Services, addressing issues of health disparities between white people and people of color.
From 1997 to 2001 Eller collaborated with Craig M. Rosenblum on Carl Eller's Viking News, on the frontier of online sports journalism by and for fans in Minnesota.
On February 27, 2006, he was arrested for DUI
.
On April 10, 2008, he was arrested for fourth-degree assault on police officers, fleeing police in a motor vehicle, refusing to take an alcohol test and driving while intoxicated. He was sentenced to 60 days in the county workhouse
beginning on February 23, 2009, to be followed by 60 days of electronic home monitoring and a $3,000 fine.
Eller has previously acknowledged personal problems with substance abuse, and he has spoken openly and publicly to groups about the problems of chemical dependency.
Eller is the President of the Retired Players Association (RPA), a non-profit organization dedicated to providing powerful national advocacy and collegial support for retired professional football players, their families and the community at large.
Eller continues to be active in retirement working on charitable fundraising events with the Minnesota Vikings and the Pro Football Hall of Fame and other causes. He remains an active member of his North Minneapolis community.
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
player in the National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
who played from 1964 through 1979. He was born in Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Winston-Salem is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina, with a 2010 population of 229,617. Winston-Salem is the county seat and largest city of Forsyth County and the fourth-largest city in the state. Winston-Salem is the second largest municipality in the Piedmont Triad region and is home to...
and attended the University of Minnesota
University of Minnesota
The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities is a public research university located in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, United States. It is the oldest and largest part of the University of Minnesota system and has the fourth-largest main campus student body in the United States, with 52,557...
. He was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame
Pro Football Hall of Fame
The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame of professional football in the United States with an emphasis on the National Football League . It opened in Canton, Ohio, on September 7, 1963, with 17 charter inductees...
in 2004.
College career
At the University of MinnesotaUniversity of Minnesota
The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities is a public research university located in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, United States. It is the oldest and largest part of the University of Minnesota system and has the fourth-largest main campus student body in the United States, with 52,557...
Eller joined Alpha Phi Alpha
Alpha Phi Alpha
Alpha Phi Alpha is the first Inter-Collegiate Black Greek Letter fraternity. It was founded on December 4, 1906 at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. Its founders are known as the "Seven Jewels". Alpha Phi Alpha developed a model that was used by the many Black Greek Letter Organizations ...
fraternity, via the Mu Chapter while at the University of Minnesota.
As a sophomore, Eller helped lead the Gophers to a Rose Bowl victory. While Eller shared the starting position as a sophomore he became a full-time, two-way player as a junior and senior and was voted All-America
All-America
An All-America team is an honorary sports team composed of outstanding amateur players—those considered the best players of a specific season for each team position—who in turn are given the honorific "All-America" and typically referred to as "All-American athletes", or simply...
both years. During his time in college the Gophers were National Champions as well as Big Ten champions. As a senior (1963) Eller was the runner-up for the Outland Trophy
Outland Trophy
The Outland Trophy is awarded to the best United States college football interior lineman by the Football Writers Association of America. It is named after John H. Outland. One of only a few players ever to be named All-America at two positions, Outland garnered consensus All-America honors in...
. Following each football season, the Carl Eller Award is given to the University of Minnesota's Defensive Player of the Year. He was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame
College Football Hall of Fame
The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and museum devoted to college football. Located in South Bend, Indiana, it is connected to a convention center and situated in the city's renovated downtown district, two miles south of the University of Notre Dame campus. It is slated to move...
in 2006.
NFL career
In 1964 Eller was drafted in the first round of the NFL draftNFL Draft
The National Football League Draft is an annual event in which the National Football League teams select eligible college football players and it is their most common source of player recruitment. The basic design of the draft is each team is given a position in the drafting order in reverse order...
by the Minnesota Vikings
Minnesota Vikings
The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Vikings joined the National Football League as an expansion team in 1960...
and also drafted in the first round of the American Football League Draft
American Football League Draft
The American Football League stocked its teams in two ways:# Signing free agents ....
by the Buffalo Bills
Buffalo Bills
The Buffalo Bills are a professional football team based in Buffalo, New York. They are currently members of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
, who could not sign him. As the left defensive end
Defensive end
Defensive end is the name of a defensive position in the sport of American and Canadian football.This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formations have substantially changed how the position is played over the years...
in the Vikings front four, he was a major factor in the unit known as the "Purple People Eaters
Purple People Eaters
Purple People Eaters is a term for the defensive line of the Minnesota Vikings from the late 1960s to the late 1970s. The term is a reference to a popular song from 1958, the superb efficiency of the defense, and the color of their uniforms...
".
Starting in 1968, Eller's fifth campaign, Minnesota won 10 Central Division titles in the next 11 seasons. The Vikings won the 1969 NFL championship and NFC crowns in 1973, 1974, and 1976 and Eller was one of 10 Vikings to play in all four of their Super Bowl
Super Bowl
The Super Bowl is the championship game of the National Football League , the highest level of professional American football in the United States, culminating a season that begins in the late summer of the previous calendar year. The Super Bowl uses Roman numerals to identify each game, rather...
s, all losses.
He was selected to play in six Pro Bowl
Pro Bowl
In professional American football, the Pro Bowl is the all-star game of the National Football League . Since the merger with the rival American Football League in 1970, it has been officially called the AFC–NFC Pro Bowl, matching the top players in the American Football Conference against those...
s (1968–1971, 1973, and 1974). After being traded with an eighth round pick to Seattle Seahawks for defensive tackle Steve Niehaus
Steve Niehaus
Steve Niehaus was a defensive lineman in the NFL. He was the first ever draft pick for the Seattle Seahawks and the second player taken in the 1976 NFL Draft. Niehaus was the 1976 NFC Defensive Rookie of the Year and holds the Seahawk rookie record for sacks in a season with 9½.He suffered multiple...
, Eller played his final season in 1979 with the Seattle Seahawks
Seattle Seahawks
The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle, Washington. They are currently members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team joined the NFL in 1976 as an expansion team...
, where he ran his career total to 225 games. In his career, "Moose" only missed three games and started 209 out of the 225 he played.
Eller is credited as the Vikings all-time sack leader with 130½. He also had 3 sacks with Seahawks in 1979 for a career total of 133½. He set career-high 15 sacks in 1969 and then matched that total in 1977, also to his credit 7 seasons with 10 or more sacks.
Eller was First-team All-NFL from 1968–71, and again in 1973. He was also Second-team All-Pro in 1967 and 1972 and was All-NFC by AP
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
and The Sporting News
The Sporting News
Sporting News is an American-based sports magazine. It was established in 1886, and it became the dominant American publication covering baseball — so much so that it acquired the nickname "The Bible of Baseball"...
in 1975. Matched with his Pro Bowls, Eller had a nine-year consecutive streak with some sort of post-season honor which began in 1967 with his Second-team All-pro selection and ended in 1975 with his All-NFC honors.
He was voted the George S. Halas Trophy in 1971 as the NFL's Defensive Player of the Year as awarded by the Newspaper Enterprise Association (NEA).
Honors in Retirement
In 2004, Eller was elected to the Pro Football Hall of FamePro Football Hall of Fame
The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame of professional football in the United States with an emphasis on the National Football League . It opened in Canton, Ohio, on September 7, 1963, with 17 charter inductees...
.
In 2000, Eller was named to the Vikings' 40th Anniversary Team and in 2010 he was named to the Vikings 50th Anniversary team.
Life After Football
As a licensed drug and alcohol counselor, Eller founded a group of substance-abuse clinics in the Twin Cities called Triumph Life Centers in 1986.He obtained a college degree in Human Services from Metropolitan State University
Metropolitan State University
Metropolitan State University is a four-year public university located in the Twin Cities of Minnesota, United States. It is a member of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system.-History:...
in 1994 and went on to work for the Minnesota Department of Human Services, addressing issues of health disparities between white people and people of color.
From 1997 to 2001 Eller collaborated with Craig M. Rosenblum on Carl Eller's Viking News, on the frontier of online sports journalism by and for fans in Minnesota.
On February 27, 2006, he was arrested for DUI
Driving under the influence
Driving under the influence is the act of driving a motor vehicle with blood levels of alcohol in excess of a legal limit...
.
On April 10, 2008, he was arrested for fourth-degree assault on police officers, fleeing police in a motor vehicle, refusing to take an alcohol test and driving while intoxicated. He was sentenced to 60 days in the county workhouse
Workhouse
In England and Wales a workhouse, colloquially known as a spike, was a place where those unable to support themselves were offered accommodation and employment...
beginning on February 23, 2009, to be followed by 60 days of electronic home monitoring and a $3,000 fine.
Eller has previously acknowledged personal problems with substance abuse, and he has spoken openly and publicly to groups about the problems of chemical dependency.
Eller is the President of the Retired Players Association (RPA), a non-profit organization dedicated to providing powerful national advocacy and collegial support for retired professional football players, their families and the community at large.
Eller continues to be active in retirement working on charitable fundraising events with the Minnesota Vikings and the Pro Football Hall of Fame and other causes. He remains an active member of his North Minneapolis community.
Films and Television
- Busting (1974) as a huge black man
- The Black Six (1974) as Jr. Bro Williams
- The Fall GuyThe Fall GuyThe Fall Guy is an American action/adventure television program produced for ABC and originally broadcast from November 4, 1981 to May 2, 1986. It starred Lee Majors, Douglas Barr, and Heather Thomas. Majors and Barr are the only two actors to appear in all 112 episodes of the series...
pilot (1981) as Tony - Taggert