Harry Carson’s 13-year stint with the New York Football Giants is one of the longest tenures in club history. The indestructible former linebacker served as Team Captain for 10 of his 13 seasons including the 1986 season when the Giants defeated the Denver Broncos 39-20 in Super Bowl XXI. Rated the #1 “Inside Linebacker” in NFL history according to Pro Football Weekly, Carson was named to the All-Rookie Teamafter his first NFL season. Subsequently, during his NFL career, he was named to the All-NFL Team7 times, the All-NFC Team8 times, and NFC Linebacker of the Yeartwice. He once made an amazing 25 tackles in a Monday Night Football Game against the Green Bay Packers. With performances like that he was selected by his peers to play in the NFC-AFC Pro Bowl9 times. He is among the top 250 players to ever play professional football with his induction as the 231st member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Bill Belichick an assistant coach for the Giants for 12 years considers Carson “the best all-around linebacker” he ever coached!
Carson set the pace for his outstanding career while a student at South Carolina State University where he earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Education. He continued his graduate studies at South Carolina State and Fairleigh Dickinson University. Before college Harry Carson attended Wilson Senior High and McClenaghan High Schools in Florence, South Carolina. There he served as Senior Class President, Co-Chairman of the school’s Bi-Racial Committee and Air Force ROTC Commander.
While at South Carolina State the two-time Captain never missed a game during his four seasons as a defensive lineman for the Bulldogs. During his college football career, Harry received honors for the Kodak All-American Football Team, NAIA All-American Team, Pittsburgh Courier All-American Team, All-State (South Carolina), All Mid-Eastern Athletic Conferenceand MEAC Defensive Player of the Year twice. He excelled off the field academically as well, winning awards for the highest academic average amongst Black College All-Americans.
Carson has been named to the Sheridan Broadcasting Network 100 Year Anniversary Black College All-American Team. He is a member of the All Division II College Football Team of the Quarter Century (1975-1999)and he has been recognized as the South Carolina College Athlete of the Millenniumby The State Newspaperof South Carolina. Harry Carson has also been recognized as a Kentucky Coloneland he has been presented The Order of the Palmetto, the highest honor given to a native of South Carolina.
Some of Carson’s post football careers honors include inductions into:
•The Wilson High School Alumni Hall of Fame
•The South Carolina State University Athletic Hall of Fame
•The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Hall of Fame
•The Florence South Carolina Athletic Hall of Fame
•The South Carolina Athletic Hall of Fame
•The Sports Hall of Fame of New Jersey
•The New Jersey Sportswriter’s Hall of Fame
•The Black College Alumni Hall of Fame
•The College Football Hall of Fame (Division II)
•The College Football Hall of Fame (2002)
•The Black College Football Hallof Fame (2012)
•New York Football Giants Ring of Honor (2010 –Inaugural Class)
•The Professional Football Hall of Fame
The end of Carson’s football career marked the beginning of his career in Sports Broadcasting. Retiring from the NFL after the 1988 season, Carson co-hosted CNN’s NFL Previewappeared on WCBS as a Broadcast Analyst and he was a Special Correspondent for playoff and Super Bowl on ABC-TV’s Good Morning America. Carson has worked as a Broadcast Analyst with ABC Sports College Footballas well as New York’s Madison Square Garden Network. He is currently a co-host of the New York Giants game day magazine program Giants 1st & 10.
Carson is CEO and President of Harry Carson Inc.a Sports Consulting and Promotions Company. In that role, his company works with media outlets, educational sources and corporations on sports as well as non-sports related issues. Harry Carson Inc. provides expert television, radio, print media and internet commentary on sports-related matters. His company is a provider of former professional athletes to schools and corporations to deliver motivational and inspirational sports theme presentations.
In 2019, Carson was named as the Chairman of the Fritz Pollard Alliance. Carson previously servedas Executive Director. The Alliance is an organization that represents all National Football League Minority Coaches, Coordinators, Scouts, Player Personnel and Game Day Officials dedicated to creating a greater sense of racial and gender diversity in non-player roles within the National Football League.
Carson is the author of twobooks. Point of Attackwas published in 1985 by McGraw-Hill, his second and more comprehensive book reflecting on his career and life after football Captain for Lifewas published by St. Martin’s Press in August 2011.
He is affiliated with many organizations and is involved with numerous charities such as The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis, The United Way, The United Way’s Celebrity Read Program, The Boys & Girls Clubs of America, Boys Scouts of America, The Young Father’s Program (at UMDNJ), The Literacy Council of New Jersey, Habitat for Humanity, The Tomorrow’s Children Fund, MANetc, Inc. and The Autism Coalition.
He is an honorary member of Phi Theta Kappa International Society and he currently serves as an Advisory Board Member of New York University Law School Sports and Society Program.
Mr. Carson has represented the United States as a Special Goodwill Ambassador to France and was appointed by former New Jersey Governor Jim Florio to serve as Executive Director and Chairman of the New Jersey Governor’s Council on Sports and Fitness. Carson has also worked with Bill Clinton, the former President of the United States, on his Teen Anti-Smoking Campaign. He has also been honored by Robert Morgenthau, the former District Attorney of the County of New York for his participation in helping to prevent child abuse in New York City. He has worked with former South Carolina’s Attorney General Travis Medlock’s “Be Drug Free to Succeed” Program.
Utilizing his education background, Harry Carson has long been an advocate on health-relatedissues. He has served as a spokesperson for the Bergen County, New Jersey Cancer Education and Early Detection Program and he has teamed with the Professional Football Hall of Fame to help increase the awareness of prostate cancer among men, especially Asian, Latino and African American Men.
Currently Harry is partnering with Hackensack Meridian Health in the role of a spokesperson to createawareness for prostate health traumatic brain injury and general health through the “Game Plan For Health” program which featured PSA videos instructing the general public to know their stats. Previously Harry partnered with Meridian Neuroscience Health System Inc. in the role of spokesperson to increase traumatic brain injury awareness nationally but more specifically in Ocean and Monmouth counties in New Jersey. His role with MHS included working with community groups in regard to neurological education promoting prevention, early detection and treatment (if necessary) by the Meridian Neuroscience program. Carson is credited with being one of the very first former professional athletes to draw attention to the association of concussions (mild traumatic brain injuries) with neurological abnormalities in those who have participated in contact sports or have served in the military. In past years he has served as an Adviser to the Congress of Neurological Surgeons and as a member of the Brain Injury Association’s Sports Injury Prevention Council. Former NJ Governor Christine Whitman appointed Carson as a member of the New Jersey Advisory Council on Traumatic Brain Injury. Through education and his own personal experiences,he has established himself as an open,extremely honest, very knowledgeable internationally recognized source on Concussions in Sports.
In a “lifetime” effort to “make a difference” in the lives of others, Harry Carson has worked with organizations like the Aplastic Anemia Foundation to help provide scholarships to young people who have battled rare blood disorders much like his son Donaldin 2006. He has given his time and energies hosting charity golf tournaments to benefit other “various” causes. From 2006 –2008 he hosted the Harry Carson Celebrity Golf Tournamentbenefiting The School Foundation, a charity that supports educational programs in his hometown of Florence, South Carolina. He has hosted the Rival Golf Challengein New Jersey benefiting the Congressional Medal of Honor Foundation Scholarship Fund. He is currently supporting the Community FoodBank of New Jerseyinaugural golftournament.
Recently he was named a David Awardrecipient by Networking Magazine, Man of the Yearby the Walter Camp Football Foundation. He was also honored by the Mental Health Association of New York City and he was the recipient of the 2012 MVP Awardhonoring Lifetime Achievementby the United Way of New York City.
Aside from shining a light on specific health related issues Carson has also been a very strong advocate toward the plight of his National Football League brethren. Instead of focusing on his own career achievements, he used his 2006 Pro Football Hall of Fameinduction speech as an opportunity to highlight the issues of inadequate pensions and the need for improved benefits for retired NFL players.
Carson is a lecturer and motivational speaker to diverse groups that range from juvenile and prison inmates to high school scholars, from college athletes to corporate executives and political leaders.
In his spare time, he enjoys enhancing his own wellness and physical fitness as well as mentoring young people and current athletes. His ultimate goal is to live life to the fullest!
Harry Carson is married to Maribel and is the father to Aja Carson-Gurley (m/Andrew, Jamison & Kellen), Dr. Donald Carson andUnited States Marine Corp Corporal Lucky Carson.
