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A star player in high school, he signed a pro football contract with the Cleveland Browns just after graduation but left training camp at Hiram College, in Hiram, Ohio and went to Canada to play where he was team MVP for the Sarnia Imperials and the Kitchener-Waterloo Dutchmen of the Ontario Rugby Football Union. He joined the Canadian Football League’s Hamilton Tiger-Cats who he helped lead to a 1957 Grey Cup victory, and played for the Saskatchewan Roughriders and Toronto Argonauts. Gilchrist played fullback, linebacker and placekicker, and gained over 4,800 yards (4389 m) rushing in the Canadian Football League.
Traded to the Buffalo Bills of the fledgling American Football League, Gilchrist played fullback and kicked, though he insisted he could have played both ways. He was the first American Football League player to rush for 1,000 yards (914 m) in a season: 1,096 in a 14-game schedule in 1962; earning him league MVP honors. Gilchrist rushed for a professional football record 243 yards and five touchdowns in a single game against the New York Jets in 1963. Though he was only with the Bills for three years (1962-1964), he remains the team's fifth leading rusher all-time, and led the league in scoring in each of his three years as a Bill. Gilchrist ran for 122 yards (112 m) in the Bills' 1964 American Football League championship defeat of the San Diego ChargersThe San Diego Chargers are a National Football League team based in San Diego, California. Founded 1959 (charter American Football League member) Formerly known as Los Angeles Chargers Home stadium Qualcomm Stadium (formerly Jack Murphy Stadium) Uniform c, 20-7. His 4.5 yd/rush (4 m) average is second as a Bill only to O.J. Simpson.
In an early civil rights victory for black athletes, Gilchrist led a successful boycott of New OrleansAfter the 1964 American Football League season, the AFL All-Star Game had been scheduled for early 1965 in New Orleans' Tulane Stadium. After numerous black players were refused service by a number of New Orleans hotels and businesses, black and white pla as the site of the 1965 American Football League All-Star game. He is the only athlete to turn down being enshrined into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame and Museum, because of what he described as racism and exploitation by management. Gilchrist frequently was at odds with team management, the American ones working for Canadian teams, he told a reporter from the London Free PressThe London Free Press is a daily newspaper based in London, Ontario, Canada. The London Free Press began as the Canadian Free Press founded by William Sutherland in 1847. It first began printing as a weekly newspaper in 1849. In 1852, it was purchased for, saying that most of the problems he encountered were a result of his standing up for principles at a time when black athletes were expected to remain silent.
Gilchrist also played for the Denver BroncosThe Denver Broncos are a National Football League team based in Denver, Colorado. A charter member of the American Football League, they were a backwater small-market team that met with little success in their early years but have since become one of the in 1965 and 1967, and the Miami DolphinsThe Miami Dolphins are a National Football League team based in Miami, Florida. Founded 1966, as an American Football League expansion team. Entered the NFL as part of the 1970 merger. Home stadium Pro Player Stadium (formerly Joe Robbie Stadium), Miami U in 1966.
Cookie Gilchrist was selected to the second unit of the All-Time All-American Football League Team, and he is a member of the American Football League Hall of Fame