Facts and information about the Carolina Panthers

• Came into the league the same year as the Jacksonville Jaguars, 1995

• First player drafted was Penn State Quarterback Kerry Collins

• The Panthers first Head Coach was Dom Capers who would later become the first Head Coach of the Houston Texans.

• The Panthers were preceded in the Raleigh area by another professional football team, the World League of American Football’s Raleigh-Durham Skyhawks.

• The first player cut by the Carolina Panthers was future professional wrestling star Bill Goldberg who had been claimed off the Atlanta Falcons roster.

• During the Panthers first season they won their first game, had a four game winning streak, and became the first expansion team to beat the defending Super Bowl Champions.

• In the Panthers second season they came one game short of the Super Bowl.

• The first former Carolina Panther to make it to the Hall-of-Fame was Defensive End Reggie White.

• Their first year in the league, the Carolina Panthers played at Clemson University’s Memorial Stadium.

• While still an active player, former Wide Receiver Rae Carruth was convicted and sentenced to jail for being involved in the murder of his girlfriend.

• The first former Carolina Panther to be elected to the Hall-of-Fame was Defensive End Reggie White who came out of retirement to play one last season (2000) in the NFL with the Panthers.