Charles "Charlie" McKee averaged 16 points a game for Phoenix Union's 1968 state championship basketball team and intended to be a basketball player when he accepted a scholarship to Arizona from basketball coach Bruce Larson.
But McKee was such a remarkable athlete that, after playing for the UA freshman basketball team in '69 — freshmen were not eligible to play on the varsity then — he became the top receiver on the UA football team.
Sadly, McKee died last week in Phoenix at 75.
When he completed his UA football career, he had caught a UA-record 19 touchdown passes. His 1,652 receiving yards were also No. 1 in school history. McKee was a second-round draft pick of the Dallas Cowboys in 1972. A series of injuries kept him from a productive NFL career, but he returned to Tucson to be an assistant coach at Sunnyside High School and become a sports agent, representing, among others, ex-Sunnyside and UA standouts Jon Horton and David Adams.Ìý
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The Arizona Wildcats exit the stadium following their win against the Texas Tech Red Raiders during a game at Arizona Stadium Saturday, Sept. 14, 2019.
In 1971, McKee won the Bear Down Award as Arizona's most inspirational football player. He will be missed.
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