Fullback Maurice Carthon Was a Human Truck — and the Giants' Super Bowl Run Proved It

The unsung fullback never chased touchdowns or carries, but Maurice Carthon's selfless blocking was at the center of New York's Super Bowl XXI championship.

Unknown Date; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; FILE PHOTO; New York Giants running back Maurice Carthon (44) carries the ball at Giants Stadium. | Lou Capozzola-Imagn Images

It's unlikely that anyone in the NFL held Maurice Carthon in higher regard than New York Giants Hall of Fame head coach Bill Parcells, who insisted on hard-working, selfless, no-nonsense players who would do anything to get the job done.

Enter Carthon, a 6-foot-1, 225-pound fullback who pulverized defenders while not only blocking for Herschel Walker, but rumbling with the ball, himself as a force on the USFL's New Jersey Generals, who just happened to play spring football at Giants Stadium from 1983-85,

The Generals successfully split the carries between Carthon (1,042 rushing yards, 11 TDs) and Walker (1,139, 16 TDs) in 1984.

The Giants were so impressed that they signed Carthon to an NFL contract the following March—a month into the Generals' season—and required him to report following the conclusion of the USFL schedule.

He finished his spring slate with 726 rushing yards and six TDs while blocking for Walker's historic campaign of 2,411 rushing yards and 21 TDs.

Parcells worked Carthon into the lineup with fellow fullback Rob Carpenter and halfback Joe Morris in 1985. That year,  the Giants' rushing attack finished fourth in the league, and Morris was named to the Pro Bowl.

Carpenter was traded to the Rams the following spring, allowing Carthon to take over as the full-time fullback, and he cleared the path for the league's sixth-rated rushing attack during a 14-2 season, Morris' second Pro Bowl trip, and a Super Bowl XXI victory.

During the 1986 season, Carthon rushed just 72 times for 260 yards and caught 16 passes for 67. He did not score a touchdown, and his three-game postseason totals were modest: 16 carries for 49 yards and 8 receptions for 38 yards—again, without any touchdowns.

Carthon, one of the most underrated yet key members of the Giants’ Super Bowl XXI team, which, by the way, celebrates its 40th anniversary this fall, understood what Parcells needed from him.

Carthon selflessly put aside any aspirations to run the ball and focused on becoming the league's best blocking back, while also being able to pick up the blitz to protect quarterback Phil Simms.

"He's a truck," Parcells told reporters the week of the NFC Championship game against Washington.

“He's a good, solid, unselfish preparer, and I'm really glad he's on our team. He's a nice, pleasant kid, but he's got a really mean streak in him. He doesn't like the guys on the other team.”

Sign up for our free newsletter and follow us on Facebook and X for the latest news, and send your mailbag questions to us.