Charlie Joiner played 11 seasons with the San Diego Chargers, with whom he earned all three of his Pro Bowl selections, and was named first-team All-Pro in 1980.
36 Facts About Charlie Joiner
2.
Charlie Joiner was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1996.
3.
Charlie Joiner played four seasons each for the Oilers and Cincinnati Bengals before joining the Chargers.
4.
Charlie Joiner retired with the most career receptions, receiving yards, and games played of any wide receiver in NFL history.
5.
Charlie Joiner was born in Many, Louisiana, the only child in a low income family.
6.
Charlie Joiner did not play football until his junior year, but excelled as an all-state receiver and earned a scholarship to Grambling State University to play for coach Eddie Robinson.
7.
At Grambling, Charlie Joiner played with quarterback James Harris and was a three-time, first-team All-SWAC selection.
8.
Charlie Joiner was the team's leading receiver from 1966 to 1968 with 2,066 yards.
9.
Charlie Joiner started his career as a defensive back, but he made the switch to wide receiver in his rookie year after being carted off the field from a hit by Denver Broncos running back Floyd Little.
10.
Charlie Joiner played for Houston until 1972, when he was traded to the Cincinnati Bengals.
11.
Charlie Joiner had his best season to date in 1975, when he had career bests of 37 receptions for 726 yards, an average of 19.6 yards per catch.
12.
Charlie Joiner was happy to reunite with new Chargers offensive coordinator Bill Walsh, who had been his coach in Cincinnati.
13.
Charlie Joiner had 50 receptions for 1,056 yards, averaging 21.1 yards per reception in 1976, when he was named second-team All-Pro by the Newspaper Enterprise Association.
14.
The trade for Charlie Joiner was the rare swap that benefited both teams, as both he and Bacon were named to the Pro Bowl that year.
15.
In 1977, Charlie Joiner was often double covered, as newly acquired receiver Johnny Rodgers was injured, and their No 1 draft pick from the year before, Joe Washington, was recovering from knee issues.
16.
Charlie Joiner had just 35 catches, which still led all Chargers wide receivers.
17.
Charlie Joiner emphasized running back Lydell Mitchell as a possession receiver and rookie No 1 pick John Jefferson as the deep threat.
18.
Charlie Joiner phased out Joiner, who finished with 33 receptions.
19.
Charlie Joiner was forced back to the locker room twice during the game with injuries, but returned to the field bandaged both times.
20.
Charlie Joiner finished second in the AFC in receptions to Baltimore's Joe Washington, his former Chargers teammate, with a career-high 72 catches for 1,008 yards and four touchdowns.
21.
Charlie Joiner was named to the Pro Bowl, replacing an injured Lynn Swann, who himself was a replacement for Steve Largent.
22.
Charlie Joiner had a career-high 1,188 yards receiving in 1981, when the Chargers won their third consecutive AFC West title.
23.
Charlie Joiner caught 7 passes for 108 yards, including a 39-yard reception on the penultimate play of the game set up Rolf Benirschke's game-winning 29-yard field goal.
24.
Charlie Joiner surpassed Maynard's all-time record of 11,834 receiving yards in Week 5 of 1986 against Seattle.
25.
Charlie Joiner finished the year with 34 catches, his least productive season since 1978, and retired from playing after the season.
26.
Charlie Joiner caught 586 passes in 11 seasons with San Diego after totaling 164 in seven seasons with Houston and Cincinnati.
27.
Charlie Joiner had 50 or more catches in seven seasons, five with 60 or more, and three with at least 70 with the Chargers.
28.
Charlie Joiner retired as the then-NFL leader in career receptions and receiving yards.
29.
At age 39, Charlie Joiner retired as the oldest wide receiver in NFL history, broken by Jerry Rice.
30.
Charlie Joiner had 530 receptions after he was 30 years old, including 396 after turning 33.
31.
Charlie Joiner excelled despite neither being among the quickest nor most talented receivers in the NFL.
32.
Charlie Joiner was inducted into the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame in 1990.
33.
Charlie Joiner was voted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1996, becoming the third Grambling player to be selected.
34.
Charlie Joiner was inducted into the Black College Football Hall of Fame in 2013.
35.
Charlie Joiner was later an assistant for the Buffalo Bills and Kansas City Chiefs.
36.
Charlie Joiner returned to San Diego as receivers coach from 2008 to 2012 before retiring after 44 years as a player and coach in football.