Harry Carson Harold Donald Carson ( born November 26 , 1953 ) is a former American football inside linebacker who played his entire professional career for the NFL ' s New York Giants ( 1976 - 1988 ) . Carson was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2002 and the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2006 . Early life . Born in Florence , South Carolina , Carson played at Wilson High School and later at McClenaghan High School , from which he graduated . College career . Before his NFL career , Carson played college football for Willie Jeffries at South Carolina State University from 1972 – 1975 , not missing a single game in four years . He became the first Mid - Eastern Athletic Conference player to win consecutive defensive player of the year honors , and assisted the Bulldogs to consecutive conference championships . In 1975 , he was a first team selection on the AFCA College - Division All - America team and set school records with 117 tackles and 17 sacks . With Carson as their captain , the Bulldogs defense recorded six shutouts in 1975 , and held their opponents to just 29 points , an NCAA record for a ten game season . Carson ' s Bulldog teammates included former Pittsburgh Steelers safety Donnie Shell and former Kansas City Royals first baseman Willie Mays Aikens . In 2002 , Carson was enshrined in the College Football Hall of Fame . Professional career . After his college career , Carson was drafted in the fourth round of the 1976 NFL Draft by the Giants . He spent all of his 13 seasons with them , leading the team in tackles for five seasons , and more impressively , served as their captain for ten . Carson was a member of the Crunch Bunch , a team of fierce linebackers composed of Carson , Brad Van Pelt , Brian Kelley , and Lawrence Taylor . The group is widely considered one of the best defensive combos in NFL history . He was a member of the Big Blue Wrecking Crew defense and also made nine Pro Bowl appearances ( 1978 – 1979 , 1981 – 1987 ) in his career . In the 1980s he was joined by Lawrence Taylor , another Pro Football Hall of Fame linebacker . In his 13 seasons , Carson intercepted 11 passes and returned them for a total of 212 yards . He also recovered 14 fumbles , returning them for 36 yards and one touchdown . Officially , he recorded eight quarterback sack s ( sacks did not become an official NFL statistic until 1982 ) but his total is 19 sacks when the 1976 - 81 seasons are included . He retired at the end of the 1988 season , two years after helping the team win Super Bowl XXI , the Giants ' first , and Carson had seven tackles for the victors . Carson was one of the first practitioners of the " Gatorade Shower " which is when the coach of the winning team is doused with a cooler of Gatorade by some of the players following a win . The practice was started by his teammate Jim Burt in 1985 as Carson recounted in his 1987 book " Point of Attack : The Defense Strikes Back " . When Bill Parcells had Carson as a player with the Giants , he would have him at his side during the singing of the national anthem for good luck . Bill Belichick , an assistant coach for the Giants for 12 years , who as head coach , led the New England Patriots to three 21st century Super Bowl victories , considered Carson the best all - around linebacker he ever coached . Hall of Fame . Carson was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2006 . His selection came after years of outspoken criticism of the Hall of Fame selection process , where his principal criticism was that the vote is done by the media , not players and coaches . In 2004 , Carson asked to have his name taken off the ballot . Despite previously stating that due to his frustration at not being elected he wanted his name removed from the ballot , when elected to the Hall of Fame in 2006 Carson appeared and gave an induction speech . Carson later commented on the selection , saying he was humbled by the selection but noting : " The Hall of Fame will never validate me . I know my name will be in there , but I take greater pride in the fact that my teammates looked at me as someone they could count on . I still remember , and I will remember this for the rest of my life , the Super Bowl against Denver . We had three captains — me , Phil Simms and George Martin . But when it came time for the coin toss before the game , I started to go out and looked around for those guys . Bill Parcells said to me : ' No . You go . Just you . ' And that was about the coolest feeling I ' ve ever had in the world — going out to midfield for the Super Bowl , as the lone captain . There were nine Denver Broncos out there , and me . Just me . An awesome responsibility . The greatest respect . " After football . Carson remains in close involvement with the Giants . He has also had a successful career in sports broadcasting and has his own company , Harry Carson Inc . , which deals mainly in sports consulting and promotions . Carson was also part - owner of the Arena Football League ' s New Jersey Red Dogs , alongside ex - Giants Carl Banks and Joe Morris . He currently co - hosts Giants Access Blue on My 9 with Bob Papa . Since his retirement , Carson has suffered from various physical maladies brought on by injuries incurred during his playing days . He suffers from post - concussion syndrome , and estimates that he had 15 concussions during his career . In 1992 he stated : " I don ' t think as clearly as I used to . Nor is my speech , diction , selection of vocabulary as good as it used to be , and I don ' t know why . " In 2001 while he was a broadcaster with the MSG Network he said , " I would mispronounce words and lose my train of thought . Things would happen , and I ' d think I was going crazy . I ' d go to the store to get something and forget what . " Carson is a long - time resident of Franklin Lakes , New Jersey . Politics . In 2012 , Carson was said to be strongly considering a run for Congress against Republican Scott Garrett in the newly redrawn 5th congressional district .