Chuck Muncie Harry Vance " Chuck " Muncie ( March 17 , 1953 − May 13 , 2013 ) was an American football running back who played for the New Orleans Saints and San Diego Chargers in the National Football League from 1976 to 1984 . He was selected to the Pro Bowl three times , and tied the then - NFL season record for rushing touchdowns in 1981 . Muncie played college football for the California Golden Bears , setting numerous school records . In his senior year , he was the runner - up for the Heisman Trophy , given annually to the most outstanding college football player . Muncie was drafted by New Orleans in the first round in the 1976 NFL Draft with the third overall pick . He became the first member of the Saints to be named to a Pro Bowl , and he was their first player to rush for 1 , 000 yards . He was traded to San Diego in 1980 , starring in their high - scoring offense known as Air Coryell while being named to two additional Pro Bowls . Muncie was considered one of the best running backs of his era until cocaine problems forced him into retirement . His drug problems eventually landed him in prison . Afterwards , he turned his life around by helping others through mentoring programs . He founded the Chuck Muncie Youth Foundation . Early life . Muncie was born and raised in the Pittsburgh area town of Uniontown , Pennsylvania , as one of six children in a football - playing family . His three brothers called him " Chuck " because they did not like " Harry " . When he was six , Muncie was hit by a truck , breaking his thigh , leg , hip , and arm . He was in a cast from his neck to his toes for six months , and doctors warned that he might never be able to walk properly again . Muncie recovered to become a multi - sport athlete , but the accident left his left leg shorter than his right . He compensated by playing with a shoe with an extra - thick sole . With Muncie ' s father disabled , Muncie ' s mother led the household and ensured that her kids were educated . After seeing many of his relatives suffer from black lung disease and severe burns , Muncie had no desire to work in coal mines or the steel mill s . He viewed athletics as his way out of Uniontown . In his sophomore year at Uniontown Area High School , Muncie played football . However , he quit playing after three games during his senior year when he suffered a concussion and his mother wanted him to stop playing . He turned to basketball , averaging 18 points per game for the Uniontown Red Raiders and earning an athletic scholarship to play basketball for Arizona Western Junior College ( now Arizona Western College ) . College career . While at Arizona Western , the football coach convinced Muncie to try out for football as well , and Muncie made the team . He never played basketball for the school , and he received a scholarship from the University of California , Berkeley after one year . At Berkeley , Muncie was a star running back for the California Golden Bears during the 1970s . He was big , fast and elusive , and was a good receiver . He was instrumental in Cal ' s NCAA - leading offense which propelled the team to the co - championship of the Pac - 8 in 1975 , and he became the first Golden Bear to appear on the cover of " Sports Illustrated " . Muncie set then - school single - season records for rushing yards ( 1 , 460 ) , all - purpose yards ( 1 , 871 ) , and rushing touchdowns ( 13 ) . He was a runner - up for the Heisman Trophy behind two - time winner Archie Griffin of Ohio State . Muncie outrushed and outscored Griffin ( 1 , 357 yards and 4 touchdowns ) , but Ohio State was 11 – 0 and ranked No . 1 at the time . Muncie was awarded the 1975 W . J . Voit Memorial Trophy as the outstanding football player on the Pacific Coast . He finished his college career with then - school career records for rushing yards ( 3 , 052 ) , rushing touchdowns ( 32 ) , 100 - yard rushing games ( 15 ) and all - purpose yards ( 4 , 194 ) . In his senior year in 1976 , Muncie began using cocaine . He graduated from Berkeley with a Bachelor of Arts degree in social studies with a minor in business . Muncie was inducted into the Cal Athletic Hall of Fame in 1995 . NFL career . New Orleans Saints . Muncie was selected by the New Orleans Saints in the first round with third overall selection of the 1976 NFL Draft . Muncie teamed with Saints ' second round pick Tony Galbreath to form a backfield dubbed by then - coach Hank Stram as " Thunder and Lightning " . Muncie played in the Pro Bowl after the 1979 season with the Saints and was selected as the Most Valuable Player of the game . He was the first Saints player named to the Pro Bowl and also was the first Saints player ever to reach the 1 , 000 - yard rushing plateau when he ran for a then - team record of 1 , 198 yards in 1979 . Coming from the tolerant environment in Berkeley , it was a culture shock for Muncie in New Orleans , where his house and car were regularly vandalized by racists despite his living in a nice neighborhood . He frequently expressed his unhappiness in New Orleans . Saints coach Dick Nolan grew tired of Muncie being late for meetings and practices . After the Saints began the 1980 season with an 0 – 4 record , they traded Muncie to the 4 – 0 San Diego Chargers . San Diego Chargers . With the Chargers , Muncie was selected for the Pro Bowl twice as a member of their high - scoring Air Coryell offense . He also appeared on the cover of " Sports Illustrated " two additional times during the NFL Playoffs . He enjoyed his best season in 1981 , when he ran for 1 , 144 yards and 19 touchdowns , tying the then - NFL season record for rushing touchdowns . He went on to rush for 120 yards and a touchdown in San Diego ' s 41 - 38 win over the Miami Dolphins in a famous playoff game known as The Epic in Miami , and 94 yards in the AFC title game , known as the Freezer Bowl . Muncie also helped lead the team to two AFC West division championships . After the 1982 season , former New Orleans teammate Don Reese said he used cocaine with Muncie during their time with the Saints . Muncie said that he had cut down on his cocaine since his trade to San Diego . He admitted he still had a problem with alcohol and marijuana , and he underwent an initial round of rehabilitation . However , after missing a bed check and a practice during training camp , he underwent three weeks of additional rehabilitation , and returned for the start of the 1983 season . Before the second game of 1984 against the Seattle Seahawks , Muncie missed the team ' s charter flight from San Diego . He told Chargers coach Don Coryell that he was late because vandals slashed the four tires on his car , but the coach did not believe him . Muncie arrived in Seattle , but he was sent back to San Diego and did not play . Two days later , Muncie was traded to the Miami Dolphins for a second - round draft pick . At the time , he was the NFL ' s 13th leading rusher of all - time with 6 , 702 yards ; however , a urinalysis given by Miami detected cocaine , and the trade was voided . Afterwards , Muncie entered an Arizona drug rehabilitation center for a month . On November 15 , he was suspended indefinitely by the NFL ; he never played another NFL game . In March 1985 , Chargers owner Alex Spanos said Muncie would never play for San Diego again , even if his suspension was lifted . Retirement . After being reinstated later in 1985 , Muncie was traded to the Minnesota Vikings . He started and performed well in the final exhibition game , but he served a one - game suspension in the season opener after failing to attend two aftercare therapy sessions that were one of the conditions of his reinstatement . He retired three days later , citing his need to make his life his first priority and the difficulty with balancing drug rehabilitation with playing football . Legacy . Muncie finished his nine - season career with 6 , 702 rushing yards , 263 receptions for 2 , 323 yards , 20 kickoff returns for 432 yards , and 74 touchdowns . He completed four passes in his career , all for touchdowns with three of them to Wes Chandler , and he had a 141 . 4 passer rating . Muncie ' s rushing yards were the seventh - most in the NFL from 1976 though 1984 , while his touchdowns ranked fourth . His 71 rushing touchdowns ranked ninth in NFL history at his retirement . At his death in 2013 , he ranked fifth in Saints history in career rushing yards , and his 19 touchdowns in a season and 43 in his career with the Chargers had been surpassed only by LaDainian Tomlinson . He was named to the Saints Hall of Honor , and he was a member of the Chargers ' 40th and 50th anniversary teams . The " Los Angeles Times " wrote that Muncie " was gifted with size , speed and power " , while " The Miami News " said he possessed the strength of a fullback and the elegance of a halfback . " U - T San Diego " added that he was " widely considered the most talented running back of his era " , and the " San Francisco Chronicle " said Muncie " could have been the greatest running back in NFL history , a 2 . 0 version of Jim Brown " if he had the discipline of running backs like Walter Payton or Roger Craig . " His head is the only thing holding him back " , said Jim Brown . " If he had total dedication , he could achieve any goal . " Muncie was frustrated that he was not in the Pro Football Hall of Fame nor the San Diego Chargers Hall of Fame , acknowledging that " I ' m not there because of the choices I made . " He described himself as a " functioning addict " during his Chargers tenure . He did cocaine after games , and sometimes would be high for days leading up to game day . In 1982 , Reese said Muncie had to be " superman " to perform at his high level in spite of his addiction . Muncie was one of the first players to wear glasses or goggles while playing . He began wearing glasses at Arizona Western , when he wore them at practice one day and realized they improved his nearsightedness . Muncie wore thick black frames throughout his career , switching to sports goggles late in his career . While with the Saints , he was featured in a full - page ad by glassmaker PPG for shatter - resistant glasses . Decades later in the 2010s , National Basketball Association ( NBA ) players were considered hipsters for wearing thick black glasses . Later life . In the late 1980s , Muncie was found unwashed and homeless by a police officer outside of Memorial Stadium in Berkeley . In 1989 , Muncie was sentenced to 18 months in a federal prison in California after he pleaded guilty to intending to sell of cocaine to a friend . He turned his life around after prison , pursuing business interests and sharing stories of his drug problems with at - risk youths . Muncie said his time in prison likely saved his life . " I was behind bars , pointing fingers at everybody but myself . I finally realized that I ’ m in charge , that it ’ s me with the addiction , " he said . Muncie worked with the Boys & Girls Clubs of America . In 1997 , he established the Chuck Muncie Youth Foundation in Antioch , California . The nonprofit organization mentored at - risk youth and provided free medical services , childhood immunizations , tattoo removal for gang members , and camps for chronically ill children . Muncie also led a program that mentored athletes at his alma mater in Berkeley . In his later years , he also ran a recruiting service evaluating high school football players . " Everything I did and everything I went through in my life has allowed me to do the things I ' m doing now , " Muncie said . He died of a heart attack on May 13 , 2013 , in Perris , California , near Los Angeles . Personal life . Muncie was formerly married to Robyn Hood . He had one daughter , Danielle Ward . Muncie ' s other siblings spell their surname as " Munsey " . According to George Von Benko , the executive co - chairman and co - founder of Fayette County Sports Hall of Fame , Muncie ' s father used various names to avoid paying bills , and used " Muncie " on hospital forms when Muncie was born . Muncie ' s three brothers also played professional football . George Munsey was on the taxi squad for the Minnesota Vikings , Bill Munsey played running back for the British Columbia Lions in the Canadian Football League , and Nelson Munsey was a cornerback for the Baltimore Colts .