Charlie Carman
William Charles “Charlie” Carman, also nicknamed Chili, was an American football guard who played college football at Vanderbilt and briefly in the NFL’s early days. He was born January 13, 1895, in rural McNairy County, Tennessee, near Bethel Springs, the second child of George Jefferson Carman and Laura (Lockman) Carman. He stood 5 feet 10 inches tall and weighed 215 pounds. Carman attended Clinton High School in Kentucky before playing for Vanderbilt University.
During World War I, Carman served in the U.S. Army and reached the rank of captain, including time as a student officer in the ROTC at Fort Sheridan in 1917.
In professional football, Carman played in the NFL’s first seasons (then called the American Professional Football Association). He appeared in one game for the Detroit Heralds in 1920 and in six games for the Detroit Tigers in 1921, playing the guard position.
After his football career, Carman settled in Detroit and became a police officer with the Detroit Police Department. He married Margaret around 1928. By 1930 they lived in Detroit’s 17th precinct, and in 1940 they resided at 131 West Chicago Boulevard, with Carman working as a real estate broker and his wife working as a schoolteacher.
Charlie Carman died on October 30, 1976, in Saint Petersburg, Florida, at age 81. He is buried at Norway Township Cemetery in Norway, Michigan.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 08:05 (CET).