Charlie Joiner

Charlie Joiner Jr. was born on October 14, 1947, in Many, Louisiana, and grew up as the only child in a low-income family; his father drove a truck for a living. He attended W. O. Boston High School in Lake Charles, Louisiana, where he didn’t pick up football until his junior year—baseball was his first love—but quickly became an all-state receiver and also played defensive back. As a senior, he scored 110 points, the most in his area, and also played basketball and won a district championship in the javelin throw.

His parents couldn’t afford college, but his high school coach pointed him toward football as a path to a scholarship. That led him to Grambling College (now Grambling State University), where he played for legendary head coach Eddie Robinson. Future NFL starter James Harris was the Tigers’ quarterback during Joiner’s entire college career, and Grambling won the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) championship each year. After splitting time on offense and defense as a freshman, Joiner broke out as a sophomore receiver, catching 34 passes for 822 yards and 9 touchdowns, earning the team’s MVP award from his teammates.

He kept up that production, setting a school record with 42 catches as a senior (733 yards, 8 touchdowns), and added two more scores in his final game, a win in the 1968 Pasadena Bowl. He was a three-time first-team All-SWAC selection (1966–1968) and finished with 2,066 career receiving yards. Robinson pushed him to finish his accounting degree, and Joiner later called him a major inspiration. In 2013, he was inducted into the Black College Football Hall of Fame.

Joiner was drafted in the fourth round of the 1969 NFL/AFL draft (93rd overall) by the AFL’s Houston Oilers, who planned to use him as a defensive back. That upset Robinson, who issued a press release arguing Joiner could beat any defensive back one-on-one. Joiner himself figured he’d play a few years, earn an NFL pension, and then move on. As a rookie, the Oilers played him both ways as their fourth wide receiver, but his season ended in week 7 when he suffered a compound fracture of his right arm after a tackle following a catch.

Head coach Wally Lemm called him a “fine young prospect.” In 1970, the Oilers joined the NFL as part of the merger, and Joiner broke an arm in the first preseason game, missing the first five regular-season games. He returned against the San Diego Chargers, catching 5 passes for 100 yards and scoring his first professional touchdown on a 46-yard pass from Jerry Rhome. Later that season, he scored twice against the Cincinnati Bengals, including an 87-yard touchdown catch, the longest of his career.

Before the 1971 season, Houston traded starting receiver Jerry LeVias, moving Joiner up the depth chart; general manager John W. Breen cited Joiner’s preseason scrimmage performance as a reason for the trade. That year, the Oilers had one of the AFC’s top passing attacks, and Joiner led the team in receiving yards and touchdowns.

Six games into the 1972 season, the Oilers traded Joiner to the Cincinnati Bengals. He played three and a half seasons each for the Oilers (1969–1972) and Bengals (1972–1975), missing significant time with injuries for both teams. In 1976, Cincinnati traded him to the San Diego Chargers, where he would spend the next 11 seasons. He made the Pro Bowl in his first year with the Chargers, but his role shrank over the next two seasons, nearly prompting him to retire in 1978. Then head coach Don Coryell installed the “Air Coryell” passing offense, and Joiner’s career took off. He posted three straight 1,000-yard receiving seasons from 1979 to 1981, earned two more Pro Bowl selections (1979–1980), and was named first-team All-Pro by the Associated Press in 1980. In total, he made all three of his Pro Bowls with the Chargers.

When he retired, Joiner held the NFL records for most career receptions, receiving yards, and games played by a wide receiver. He was known for precise route running, remarkable longevity, and a late-career surge—586 of his 750 regular-season catches came after he joined the Chargers. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1996. After his playing days, Joiner spent 26 years as a wide receivers coach, retiring for good after the 2012 season.