Earl Harvey

American football player (born 1967)

American football player

Earl HarveyPersonal information

Born:|  (1967-06-26) June 26, 1967 (age 57)
Height:| 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Weight:| 210 lb (95 kg)
Career information
High school:| Douglas Byrd
(Fayetteville, North Carolina)
College:| North Carolina Central
(1985–1988)
Position:| Quarterback, wide receiver, linebacker
Undrafted:| 1989
Career history

* New Orleans Night (1991)
* San Antonio Force (1992)

Career highlights and awards

* 4× First-team All-CIAA (1985–1988)

Stats at ArenaFan.com

James Earl "Air" Harvey (born June 26, 1967) is an American former football player. As the quarterback for North Carolina Central University during the 1980s, he set NCAA Division II career records with 10,621 passing yards, 86 touchdown passes, and 10,667 yards of total offense. His team reached the quarterfinals of the 1988 NCAA Division II Football Championship. That year, he was in the top three for the Harlon Hill Trophy.

He played minor league football in 1989 before joining the Arena Football League (AFL) in 1991. He played a year each with the New Orleans Night and San Antonio Force, spending time at wide receiver, linebacker, and quarterback. From 1993 to 1994, he was the offensive coordinator for Virginia Union University. Leading up to the 2010s, Harvey was a high school football coach in New Jersey and North Carolina. Outside of football, Harvey was hired by Schwan's Consumer Brands and Ryder. He joined the CIAA Hall of Fame in 2016 and the Black College Football Hall of Fame in 2020.

## Early life

[edit]

James Earl Harvey was born on June 26, 1967.[1] He attended Douglas Byrd High School in Fayetteville, North Carolina.[2] He played on the junior varsity football team his sophomore year, did not play football at all as a junior, and joined the varsity team his senior year.[3] Harvey was offered a scholarship to play college football at North Carolina Central University.[3] Upon hearing of the scholarship offer, Harvey initially thought it was a joke because his high school team had a running oriented offense where Harvey rarely threw the ball, and he also had not even received any honorable mention honors.[3] He had originally planned to "be bagging groceries or in the army" instead of going to college.[4] Harvey also considered playing football at Fayetteville State University before deciding on North Carolina Central.[5][6] He played three years of basketball at Douglas Byrd and received offers from North Carolina Wesleyan College and High Point College to play college basketball.[7][8]

## College career

[edit]

Harvey played quarterback for the North Carolina Central Eagles from 1985 to 1988 and was nicknamed Air.[2][9][10] In 1985, Harvey set seven NCAA Division II freshman records, including for single-season passing yards with 3,190, single-season total offense with 3,008, and single-game touchdown passes with six.[2][5] He set school and Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) single-game records in pass completions with 33 against Johnson C. Smith on November 9, 1985, in passing yards with 550 against Jackson State on August 30, 1986, and also in total offense with 536 against Jackson State the same day.[2]

In 1988, his team reached the quarterfinals of the NCAA Division II Football Championship.[11] Harvey set Division II, CIAA, and school career records with 10,621 passing yards, 86 touchdown passes, and 10,667 yards of total offense.[2][12][13].[14][15] Harvey's passing yards and passing touchdowns remained as the Division II record until the 1990s.[16] He also continued to hold his total offense record until 1994.[17]

Harvey earned first-team All-CIAA honors all four seasons from 1985 to 1988.[2] [18] He was the CIAA's Offensive Player of the Year in 1985 and shared the award in 1988.[19] He garnered Kodak Division II All-American and Associated Press Little All-America team recognition in 1988.[20][21] He finished fifth in Harlon Hill Trophy voting in 1986 and third in 1988.[2][22]

Harvey was inducted into North Carolina Central's Alex M. Riveria Athletics Hall of Fame in 2004.[2] In 2009, he was named one of North Carolina Central's Centennial 100 Sports Legends.[23] Harvey joined the CIAA Hall of Fame in 2016.[24] He also became part of the Black College Football Hall of Fame in 2020 and the Fayetteville Sports Club Hall of Fame in 2022.[25][26]

## Professional career

[edit]

After going undrafted in the 1989 NFL draft, Harvey had a workout with the BC Lions of the Canadian Football League but was not signed.[27] During August 1989, he was the backup quarterback to Vince Sutton in the Minor League Football System for the Charlotte Barons.[28][29] The following month, he was playing in the Mason Dixon Semipro League as a quarterback for the Triangle Cardinals.[30] By November 1989, he was also working for a car dealer as a security guard in Durham, North Carolina.[31] Harvey attempted to join the World League of American Football in 1990.[32]

Harvey played in nine games for the New Orleans Night of the Arena Football League (AFL) in 1991.[1] He converted to wide receiver/linebacker in the AFL.[33] During the 1991 season, he recorded nine receptions for 78 yards and two touchdowns, two solo tackles, one assisted tackle, one pass breakup, one kick return for ten yards, and three completions on four passing attempts for 38 yards and one interception.[34]

In March 1992, Harvey was selected by the San Antonio Force in the 1992 AFL expansion draft.[35] He began the 1992 season as a wide receiver/linebacker but took over at quarterback late in the year after starter Ken Lutz suffered an injury.[33] Overall in 1992, Harvey played in all ten games while completing 37 of 77 passes (48.1%) for 493 yards, nine touchdowns, and no interceptions, 40 receptions for 453 yards and six touchdowns, 20 solo tackles, six assisted tackles, one pass breakup, and one fumble recovery.[36][34][1] The Force finished the season with a 2–8 record.[37]

From 1993 to 1994, he was the offensive coordinator for Virginia Union University's football team.[38][39] By 1994, Harvey ended his playing career when he did not receive a spot on the Arizona Rattlers of the AFL.[40][41] In the mid 1990s, he started working for Schwan's Consumer Brands in New Jersey.[40] He also was a high school football coach before moving to Fayetteville during the mid 2000s.[42]

In 2008, Harvey played for the Fayetteville Guard of the American Indoor Football Association.[43][44] Harvey created the Level Up Football Development Camp in 2010.[45][46] In 2017, he became the head football coach at Sandhill Titans High School of Fayetteville.[46] In Fayetteville, he primarily was a high school football coach before he joined Sandhill.[45] Harvey had 14 wins and 8 losses before he left the Titans in 2018.[47][48] While remaining at Level Up Football in 2020, he had gone to Morrisville, North Carolina and was hired by Ryder.[8]

## Personal life

[edit]

Harvey has one child and is married.[42]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b c "JAMES HARVEY". Pro Football Archives. Retrieved May 8, 2025.
2. ^ a b c d e f g h "JAMES EARL HARVEY". North Carolina Central University. Retrieved May 8, 2025.
3. ^ a b c Green, Ron (October 22, 1988). "N.C. Central Rides 'Air' Harvey To Wins". The Charlotte Observer. Retrieved May 9, 2025.
4. ^ Morris, Ron (September 8, 1985). "Central Finds Fraylon's Successor". Durham Morning Herald. p. 1C.
5. ^ a b Price, Ed (November 6, 1988). "'Duke of Air': Harvey Took Different Route To Stardom". Durham Morning Herald. p. 5C.
6. ^ "N.C. Central Lands 12 Players". Durham Morning Herald. February 15, 1985. p. 4C.
7. ^ Potter 1986, p. 3-D
8. ^ a b Batten, Sammy (January 25, 2020). "Fayetteville's Earl "Air" Harvey lands in Black College Football Hall of Fame". The Fayetteville Observer. Retrieved January 6, 2024.
9. ^ Morris, Ron (September 8, 1985). "Bears Dim Lights On Eagles". Durham Morning Herald. p. C1.
10. ^ "Pirates' Freeman ties for CIAA's top coach". Richmond Times-Dispatch. Associated Press. November 15, 1985. p. C-2.
11. ^ Van Vilet, Jim (November 27, 1988). "Hornets crush NC Central 56-7, gain Final Four". The Sacramento Bee. p. C1.
12. ^ "Harvey passes NCCU to win". The News and Observer. The Associated Press. September 4, 1988. p. 3B.
13. ^ "Harvey breaks record in win". The News and Observer. The Associated Press. September 11, 1988. p. 4B.
14. ^ "NCCU Gains 47-0 Win". Statesville Record & Landmark. The Associated Press. October 9, 1988. p. 10-B.
15. ^ "2017 CIAA Football Media Guide". Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association. September 25, 2018. pp. 112–113.
16. ^ "NCAA Division II Football Records" (PDF). GUIDE FOR THE COLLEGE-BOUND STUDENT-ATHLETE National Collegiate Athletic Association. 2000. pp. 161–162. Retrieved January 7, 2024.
17. ^ "'Air' Harvey record falls". The Herald-Sun. Associated Press. November 6, 1994. p. D7.
18. ^ "2017 CIAA Football Media Guide". Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association. September 25, 2018. p. 119. Retrieved January 6, 2024.
19. ^ "All-Time Football Players of the Year". Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association. September 25, 2018. Retrieved April 8, 2023.
20. ^ "Kodak Div. II All-America Football". The Hartford Courant. December 2, 1988. p. B9.
21. ^ Nissenson, Herschel (January 8, 1989). "Ball-toters spice Little All-America". The Montana Standard. Associated Press. p. 13.
22. ^ "Texas A&I back named top player". The Daily Item. Associated Press. December 11, 1988. p. 4C.
23. ^ "North Carolina Central University Centennial 100 Sports Legends" (PDF). North Carolina Central University Centennial 100 Sports Legends. July 11, 2014. Retrieved April 8, 2023.
24. ^ "Earl Harvey (2016) - CIAA Hall of Fame Members". Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association. Retrieved April 8, 2023.
25. ^ "Inductees of the Black College Football Hall Of Fame". Black College Football Hall of Fame. Retrieved January 7, 2024.
26. ^ Holland, Monica (April 13, 2022). "Fayetteville Sports Club Hall of Fame inductees share stories of overcoming challenges". The Fayetteville Observer. Retrieved January 6, 2024.
27. ^ Morris, Ron (November 1, 1989). "Harvey Battles Long Odds In NFL Bid". The Herald-Sun. pp. 1D, 3D.
28. ^ Rollins, Glenn (August 26, 1989). "Unbeaten Barons Host Riverboat Gamblers". The Charlotte Observer. p. 3C.
29. ^ "Air Harvey Grounded". The Charlotte Observer. November 2, 1989. pp. 2C. Retrieved May 9, 2025.
30. ^ "Et Cetera". Durham Morning Herald. Staff and wire reports. September 12, 1989. p. 2B.
31. ^ "Former N.C. Central star quarterback waits, wonders". The Daily Times. Salisbury, Maryland. Associated Press. November 2, 1989.
32. ^ Alexander, Chip (November 12, 1990). "Old hands vie to catch an eye". The News and Observer. Raleigh, North Carolina. p. 5D.
33. ^ a b Obert, Richard (July 23, 1992). "Top receiver also not bad at quarterback". The Arizona Republic. pp. C7. Retrieved May 8, 2025.
34. ^ a b "James Harvey". ArenaFan.com. Retrieved May 9, 2025.
35. ^ "San Antonio Force Makes Lutz First Expansion Pick". Tyler Morning Telegraph. Associated Press. March 28, 1992. p. 6. Retrieved May 8, 2025.
36. ^ "James Harvey". Stats Crew. Retrieved May 9, 2025.
37. ^ "1992 San Antonio Force (Arena)". Pro Football Archives. Retrieved May 8, 2025.
38. ^ Myatt, Al (November 10, 1993). "Season finale drama builds as Eagles plot a happy ending". The News and Observer. p. 2C.
39. ^ Armstrong Jr., Elson (August 7, 1994). "CIAA coaches tight-lipped". The Herald-Sun. p. D1.
40. ^ a b Batten, Sammy (March 5, 2008). "He can still throw it". The Fayetteville Observer. p. 1.
41. ^ "Arizona Rattlers Team History - 1994". ArenaFan. Retrieved January 6, 2024.
42. ^ a b McGhee, Khary K. (July 22, 2004). "Passing on the torch". The Fayetteville Observer. p. 1.
43. ^ "2008 Fayetteville Guard Roster". Fayetteville Guard. Archived from the original on May 24, 2008. Retrieved January 7, 2024.
44. ^ Pitts, John L. (March 23, 2008). "MudCats roll in opener". Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal. Retrieved January 27, 2024.
45. ^ a b "Sandhills Titans name new head coach". The Sanford Herald. March 9, 2017. Retrieved January 7, 2024.
46. ^ a b Batten, Sammy (March 25, 2017). "Record-setting quarterback Harvey to take over Sandhill Titans football". The Fayetteville Observer. Retrieved January 6, 2024.
47. ^ "Sandhills Titans Football History". MaxPreps. Retrieved January 6, 2024.
48. ^ "Sandhills Titans Football (2018) Schedule". MaxPreps. Retrieved January 7, 2014.