Gilchrist was signed to (what had to be an illegal) contract by the Cleveland Browns to a contract when he was still in high school. The Browns reneged, and he would forego college to play in an amateur league in Canada before he was old enough to play in the Canadian Football League. He played there for five years, winning a Grey Cup with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, and in 1961 he would finally play pro in the United States when he traveled around Lake Ontario to play for the Buffalo Bills of the American Football League.
Gilchrist was an absolute phenom in his first three seasons in the AFL, where he would win the Rushing Title in 1962 and 1964 and led the league in Rushing Touchdowns in all three years. Both the AP and UPI named him the MVP, and in 1964 he rushed the Bills into an AFL Championship. After '64, he would join the Denver Broncos for two seasons (1965 & 1967), where in ‘65 he would again finish first in Rushing Touchdowns. He played one final year in Miami before retiring for good in 1968.
Any story on Gilchrist has to mention that he was an early civil rights leader, and he led a successful boycott of having the AFL All-Star Game in New Orleans, where segregation still occurred. He also refused induction to the Canadian Football League Hall of Fame, citing racist policies.
The only thing better than Cookie on the field was Cookie showing his character off of it.
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