Charlie Justice ( American football player ) Charles Ronald " Choo - Choo " Justice ( May 18 , 1924 – October 17 , 2003 ) was an American football halfback in the National Football League for the Washington Redskins . He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame . Early life . Born in Asheville , North Carolina , Justice attended and played high school football at Lee H . Edwards High School ( now Asheville , N . C . , High School ) , where he was a part of two undefeated seasons . He averaged 25 yards per rush his last year in high school . His senior year , his team outscored the opposition 400 - 6 . World War II . After high school , Justice spent four years in the Navy in World War II . During that time , he played on the football team at Bainbridge Naval Center . His nickname Charlie " Choo Choo " was given to him because of the way he dodges tackles . One of the officers remarked , " He looks like a runaway train , we ought to call him Choo Choo . " College career . After the war , Justice was heavily recruited by Duke , North Carolina , and South Carolina . He was quoted as saying that he believed that an athlete should play in the state that he is going to make his career in , so he chose the University of North Carolina . Being a war veteran , he knew he had no need of an athletic scholarship . Justice sent a proposal to both universities asking each to allow him to attend on his G . I . tuition money and give the scholarship to his wife . Only North Carolina accepted this . Thus Justice attended and played college football at the University of North Carolina under Carl Snavely , where he played tailback for four years . Justice was also an active member of the Beta Theta Pi fraternity in his years at UNC . While there , he was named an All - America n in 1948 and 1949 , and finished second in the Heisman Trophy voting both years . While at North Carolina , Justice ran or threw for 64 touchdowns and set a team total - offense record of 4 , 883 yards , which stood until 1994 . He was named the Most Valuable Player in the 1950 College All - Star Game , when he led the college team to a 17 - 7 win over the Philadelphia Eagles . He ran for 133 yards which was 48 yards more than the entire Eagles Team . He had runs of 33 and 45 yards and caught a pass for 40 yards . During college , Johnny Long and his Orchestra recorded the song " All the Way , Choo Choo . " Professional career . Justice was drafted in the sixteenth round of the 1950 NFL Draft by the Washington Redskins , but his professional career was hampered and ultimately cut short by injuries . In an exhibition game in 1952 in the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Justice rushed 11 times for 199 yards ( 18 . 1 average ) , with runs of 46 , 65 and 54 yards . He sustained a broken arm in the third quarter . After football . After football , Justice owned an insurance firm . He and his wife , Sarah , had a son , Ronnie , and a daughter , Barbara . He died in 2003 . In 1970 , the University of North Carolina dedicated a section of its athletic center in his name , calling it the Charlie Justice Hall of Honor . He was also named one of the all time 70 Greatest Redskins . In 1999 , " Sports Illustrated " named Justice the 14th Greatest North Carolina Sports Figure .