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Connie Carberg (née Nicholas; born 1950/1951)[1] is a former American football executive. In 1976, she became the first female scout in the National Football League (NFL), working in the New York Jets' scouting department from 1976 to 1980.
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born: | 1950 or 1951 (age 73–74) |
| Career information | |
| College: | Ohio State |
| Career history | |
| As an executive: | |
| |
Carberg's father, Calvin Nicholas, was the Jets' team doctor from 1962 to 1987,[2] and her uncle, James A. Nicholas, was a team orthopedist credited with saving Joe Namath's career.[3]
Carberg grew up in Babylon, New York, and made mock drafts as a hobby.[2] She played college basketball at Wheaton College for two years before transferring to Ohio State University.[4] While at Ohio State, she received permission from head football coach Woody Hayes to attend team practices.[2] She graduated in 1974 with a degree in home economics.[4]
Carberg intended to become a high school teacher after graduation,[2] but Hayes recommended that she consider a career in sports.[4] New York Jets head coach Charley Winner met her at a party hosted by her father Calvin and convinced her to join the team as a receptionist.[2] The team allowed her to make the final selection in the 1975 NFL draft, and she chose tight end Mark Bartoszek from Ohio State in the 17th round.[4]
After seeing her abilities to judge players on their skills, in 1976, the Jets' general manager Al Ward gave her a full-time position in the scouting department and she became the NFL's first female scout.[5][2] She worked under directors of player personnel Homer Edington, Mike Holovak, and Mike Hickey during her time with the team.[2] She was known as "The Girl Scout" by other Jets front office staff members.[3] In her first season, Carberg was assigned to scout Big Ten Conference football players for the Jets,[3] and traveled to games and practices.[2] Beginning in 1977, she was unable to scout on the road like the other members of the department due to owner Leon Hess' hesitation in having a woman continue to perform those tasks. Instead, she graded players' game film and interviewed prospects from the team offices as a personnel assistant.[5]
Carberg helped the Jets evaluate Mark Gastineau before the 1979 NFL draft. The team was coaching in the Senior Bowl and needed another defensive lineman on the roster due to a vacancy, so Carberg called several prospects before suggesting Gastineau to be the replacement based on a phone conversation with him. He was projected to be an eighth round draft pick at the time, but due to his performance in the Senior Bowl and other pre-draft processes, the Jets selected him in the second round and he became the NFL's all-time sack leader.[2] She was also credited with helping the Jets in their selection of two-time Pro Bowl selection Wesley Walker, who was blind in one eye, in the second round of the 1977 NFL draft.[6]
After the 1980 NFL season, she married John Carberg. She moved with him to Coral Springs, Florida, so he could take a job with Toyota, and she became a housewife.[5][2] She has two children.[7]
In July 2000, Carberg was named director of public relations for the Toyota dealership in Coconut Creek, Florida.[8] She was the director of the Coral Springs Basketball Recreation League for 15 years and worked as a counselor at a youth basketball camp.[9] In 2017, she wrote a book titled X's and O's Don't Mean I Love You about her experiences as the first female NFL scout.[1]
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