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Linwood Wray Carlton (born June 18, 1937 in Wallace, North Carolina) is a former American football player who played professionally in both Canada and the U.S.
Unable to come to terms with the NFL, which had selected him in its 1959 draft, Carlton, a Duke University running back, travelled to Toronto and the Canadian Football League to play for the Argonauts. His Canadian career lasted only four games before he declined a trade to Vancouver, British Columbia, and went home. But another league and another opportunity was in his future.
In his early years with the Buffalo Bills of the American Football League, Carlton formed a virtually unstoppable backfield tandem with another Carlton, namely Carlton Chester "Cookie" Gilchrist. Wray Carlton scored the Bills' first-ever touchdown, against the Denver Broncos in 1960, and led the team in rushing that first year. Later he helped the Bills win back-to-back league championships in 1964 and 1965. Perennially among the AFL's top rushers, he led the league in rushing touchdowns in 1965 and was voted to the American Football League Eastern Division All-Star team in 1965 and 1966. Carlton was the Bills' all-time leading rusher during their AFL years, with a 4.1 yards per carry average.
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Wallace, North Carolina
