Gary Glick

Gary Galen Glick (May 14, 1930 – February 11, 2015) was an American professional football safety, cornerback and placekicker who played six seasons in the National Football League (NFL) before he concluded his career in the American Football League (AFL) for one season, where he won the 1963 AFL championship with the San Diego Chargers. He was the number one overall selection in the 1956 NFL draft. To date, Glick is still the only defensive back ever to be picked first overall in any NFL draft.

Glick was born on May 14, 1930, in Grant, Nebraska. The family moved to Colorado not long after, and Glick grew up in a dairy farm in Laporte, Colorado, near Fort Collins, Colorado. He graduated from Cache la Poudre High School before entering the United States Navy in 1948, seeing service in the Korean War along with playing service football, basketball and softball. He cited his service as one that honed his skills as a player, as he went from roughly 160 pounds as a high school graduate to over 190 when he left the Navy. He spent four years in the Navy, and played three years of football (1949 to 1951) for the Alameda Naval Air Station Hellcats. Glick was the Navy's Athlete of the Year in 1952.

While in the Navy, he played in exhibition football games against NFL players. His play drew the attention of Bob Davis, head coach of Colorado State College of Agricultural and Mechanic Arts (then known as Colorado A&M and later Colorado State University), located in Fort Collins.

Glick elected to play near home with the Colorado A&M Rams (also known as the Aggies). He was a two-way player on the football team. In addition to defensive back, he also starred at quarterback and linebacker and served as a place-kicker for the Rams. He was one of four Glick brothers that played football for the Rams (Ivan, Leon, and Fred), with each receiving letters in football. Glick graduated with Bachelor of Arts (1956) and master’s degrees (1959) in physical education.

Glick led the team in rushing and scoring in 1954. On defense, Glick recorded eight interceptions in 1954, among his fourteen career interceptions at Colorado A&M, both records at the time. The career total record has since been surpassed, but the season record of eight is still a team record. In 1954, his eight interceptions was the best in college football. He also holds the school record for pass completion percentage in a game as a quarterback; going 12 of 14 (87.5%) against Utah State on October 23, 1954.

The highlight of the team's and Glick's 1954 season was his last-minute game-tying touchdown run against the University of Utah, which had won the Skyline Conference title the last three seasons. He also kicked the game-winning extra point after that touchdown run. Glick scored all 14 Rams points in the 14–13 victory. Glick had earlier blocked a Utah extra point attempt, which gave his team the one point-margin of victory.

In 1955, Glick led the team in rushing (579 yards) and touchdowns (eight), and was second on the team in passing yards. His 66 total points led the Skyline Conference in scoring, with 15 extra points and one field goal in addition to the eight touchdowns. He led A&M (as coached by Bob Davis in his final season) to the Skyline Conference title, with a 6–1 conference record and 8–2 overall record, with Davis named the conference's Coach of the Year. The Rams' conference title was the Rams' last one for 39 years, until the Colorado State Rams won the Western Athletic Conference title in 1994.

In the last game of the 1955 season, the Rams clinched the title with a 10-0 victory over the University of Colorado. Glick scored all 10 points. He had a rushing touchdown, after which he kicked the extra point, and a field goal. The two Colorado teams’ rivalry went back to 1892, and this was A&M’s first victory against Colorado in the 1950s. The only other Rams' win that decade against Colorado would come in 1958, behind his brother Fred Glick, the last game in the schools’ rivalry until the 1980s.