Carlester Crumpler, Sr.


In the early 1970s, Carlester Crumpler (1951- ) was widely recognized as the greatest running back East Carolina football had ever seen. His extraordinary, record breaking achievements on the gridiron contributed both to the successes of head coach Sonny Randall, and the Pirate football teams during the 1971, 1972, and 1973 seasons. By the end of his senior year, the “Crump” held a number of Pirate all-time records in rushing and touchdowns scored. Currently, Crumpler remains the record holder for the most career touchdowns (37), and is tied with Dave Alexander for the most touchdowns in a single season (17). Although once an all-time record holder on both counts, Crumpler is now fourth in career rushing yardage (2,889), and fifth in rushing in a single season (1,309).

Crumpler was also a pioneer in the desegregation of sports in eastern North Carolina and at ECU. A native of Wilson, Crumpler enrolled in a white junior high in 1965, one of the first blacks to do so. As a sophomore at Ralph L. Fike High School, Crumpler was the only black on the football team. By his senior year, there were three. Nevertheless, by all counts, Crumpler led the predominantly white Fike football team to N.C. 4A titles his sophomore, junior, and senior years. At Fike, Crumpler’s rushing total of 4,089 yards and 40 touchdowns was unprecedented. If Wilson had doubts about integrated sports, the Fike star running back dispelled them with consistently awesome performances on the gridiron.

At ECU, things were similar. Even his senior year, 1973, Crumpler never had more than five black teammates at one time. While challenges to remnants of Jim Crow culture were often difficult, Crumpler’s outstanding performances as a running back earned for him the adoration of Pirate fans. On one occasion, during a lackluster game in which Crumpler was on the bench, Pirate fans at Ficklen Stadium joined with such fury in calling for the “Crump” that head coach Sonny Randle was forced to send him in, much to the delight of all. Through his outstanding contributions to Pirate football and the emerging Pirate nation, Crumpler helped lay to rest illusions of white supremacy and the bigotry of Jim Crow times.

Praising Crumpler’s talents, Clarence Stasavich, former head coach and athletic director, commented, “He can probably move laterally as fast as anyone. Speed, balance, grace, and power he has an abundance of.” One sports writer, Steve Tompkins, added, “Crumpler is probably the finest running back to ever hit ECU.”

Crumpler was voted Southern Conference Athlete of the Year in 1972 and 1973. Both years, incidentally, ECU had 9-2 records, and went undefeated at home.

In 1972, his best year, the “Crump” set four new Southern Conference records: he carried the ball 340 times, rushed 1,309 yards, ran 17 touchdowns, and scored 102 points. East Carolinian sports writer Don Trausneck declared the 1972 football team “the greatest football team ever,” a remark made in no small part because of Crumpler. More crudely, an East Carolinian caption, expressing a similar judgment, elsewhere declared, “One helluva football team.”

In 1974, Crumpler was drafted by the National Football League’s Buffalo Bills and played professionally until 1977. He also played briefly for the Canadian Football League’s Montreal Alouettes. In 1980, Crumpler was inducted into the ECU Athletics Hall of Fame, and in 2002, into the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame. A dedicated Pirate, Crumpler now serves as an academic coordinator at ECU and a commentator on Pirate’s Sports Radio.

Though typically praised for rushing yards, touchdowns, and carries, Crumpler’s contributions to Pirate culture were also record-breaking in regard to diversity and desegregation. As a leader on the gridiron and exemplar of excellence and extraordinary effort, Crumpler was one of the greatest Pirates of the twentieth century.


Sources


More from Digital Collections

1973 Buccaneer, page 23
1973 Buccaneer, page 23

Citation Information

Title: Carlester Crumpler
Author: John A. Tucker, PhD
Date of Publication: 7/12/2019

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