Tony Dorsett: Hall of Fame

[Hostile]

[superpunk]

Just reposting the blurb from the Main site about Dorsett in the ROH

Tony Dorsett arrived in Dallas in 1977 via a draft-day deal the Cowboys swung with the Seattle Seahawks for the sole intention of selecting the Heisman Trophy winner from the University of Pittsburgh. Then Cowboys president and General Manager Tex Schramm paid what seemed like a bundle for the right to draft Dorsett: One first-round, and three second-round choices.

As his 11-career turned out in Dallas, a steal of a deal for an eventual Pro Football Hall of Fame player.

The Dorsett deal paid dividends in his very first year with the Cowboys, the four-time All-American picking up where he left off in college, rushing for 1,007 yards to earn NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year honors and set the rushing bar for rookie running backs in Dallas.

"A lot of the people said I wouldn't last in this league," Dorsett said in 1987. "I was the skinny little kid from Aliquippa, Pa., who wasn't supposed to make it."

[View Full Quote]Dorsett did make it, in fact he became one of the greatest running backs in NFL history. On Sept. 26, 1988 while playing his final NFL season with the Denver Broncos, Dorsett moved into second place on the NFL all-time rushing list with 12,306 rushing yards, and eventually finished his career with 12,739 yards. At the time, Dorsett trailed only Walter Payton when he retired after suffering a knee injury the following summer, but now ranks fifth behind Payton, Emmitt Smith, Barry Sanders and Eric Dickerson.

By the time Dorsett completed his 12-year career, he had collected a victory in Super Bowl XII, four Pro Bowl selections, one All-Pro honor and three All-NFC selections.

One of the most notable moments of Dorsett's career came on Jan. 2, 1983, before a Monday Night Football television audience playing against the Minnesota Vikings. Dorsett received a handoff from quarterback Danny White and proceeded to run 99-yards for a touchdown, thus recording an unbreakable NFL record. Dorsett's greatest season came in 1981 when he rushed for 1,646 yards, a franchise record at the time, a total that now ranks third to only Emmitt Smith's two, 1700-yard seasons.

"When he came to us, we hadn't had a strong running attack for about three years," Hall of Fame quarterback Roger Staubach once said. "Tony Dorsett is one of the greatest backs in NFL history."

Dorsett was the Heisman Trophy winner in 1976 and was the first Pitt football player to have his jersey retired. Dorsett left Pitt as a four-time All-American and four-time 1,000-yard rusher. His final collegiate highlight was a 27-3 victory over Georgia in the Sugar Bowl to claim the national title.

In 1994 Dorsett became the ninth Cowboys player inducted into the Ring of Honor, and that same year he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Born April 7, 1954, in Rochester, Pa.

Honor Roll
# 4-Time Pro Bowl
# 1-Time All-Pro
# NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year
# 3 All-NFC selections
# 1 Super Bowl Title
# NFL Record 99-yard TD Run (1/3/83 @ Minnesota)
# 4th All-Time NFL Career Rushing (12,036)
# 3rd All-Time Franchise Career Points (516)
# 2nd All-Time Franchise Career Touchdowns (86)
# 2nd All-Time Franchise Career Rushing Yards Gained (12,036)
# 1st All-Time Franchise Rookie Rushing Yards Gained (1,007)
# 1976 Heisman Trophy (University of Pittsburgh)

[DallasCowpoke]

Originally Posted by Hostile

Psst.

33.

:sshhh:

nooooo, he was just a visionary.

[superpunk]

The Run.

We've all seen it, but hey. I'm struggling finding video highlights for Dorsett here.

[ConcordCowboy]

Originally Posted by superpunk

The Run.

We've all seen it, but hey. I'm struggling finding video highlights for Dorsett here.

His Converse shoes that he wore on that play are in the Hall Of Fame.

[GimmeTheBall!]

In John Facenda vocce:

It was a dark and overcast day. The type of day when the warriors from Mount Olympus decend on consecrated turf to play what is called NFL football.
The visegoths from the North were in battle-ready array, mammoths like throwbacks to the ghosts of early 20th century football when blood, sweat, spit and heart-and-body piercing assassins thread the earth.
A seemingly underweight Tony Dorsett took the field as a thousands voices roared their approval, like Romans seeing their best lion-killer.
Tony Dorsett, mink-wearing disco-dancing, mirror-dropping soon to be great executed an eye-popping cut to right tackle, lost in the grunts and mud and detritous of a man's game.
Off right tackle. Toward the 30, the 40, the 50. Driven out of bounds. But on his way to legend. To the pantheon of greats on the team of Landry, Lombardi, the Gipper and St. Paul.

(end of Facenda vocce)


Well done, Tony!

[smarta5150]

What the hell, I am too young for these threads.

[bbgun]

Originally Posted by smarta5150

What the hell, I am too young for these threads.

Some days I feel like Walter Brennan around here.

"Who's Walter Brennan?"

*sigh*

[bbgun]

Lots of little things:

1) great acceleration
2) the 180 spin move he put on in St Louis
3) dropping a mirror on his toe in 1979, missing Roger's last reg season game
4) the phenomenal game he had against the Rams in the 1980 playoffs
5) his early bout of fumblitis
6) his long run for a TD vs Philly in 1977
7) Darrell Green running him down on MNF
etc.

[smarta5150]

Originally Posted by bbgun

Some days I feel like Walter Brennan around here.

"Who's Walter Brennan?"

*sigh*

Did he do music like Mike Jones?

Balllllllin'

[WoodysGirl]

Originally Posted by smarta5150

Did he do music like Mike Jones?

Balllllllin'

Please tell me you know the difference between Jim Jones and Mike Jones?

Nice pics everybody...and thanks for the vid link SP.

[azcowboy]

Originally Posted by bbgun

Lots of little things:

1) great acceleration
2) the 180 spin move he put on in St Louis
3) dropping a mirror on his toe in 1979, missing Roger's last reg season game
4) the phenomenal game he had against the Rams in the 1980 playoffs
5) his early bout of fumblitis
6) his long run for a TD vs Philly in 1977
7) Darrell Green running him down on MNF
etc.

great one!! i love all these stories about his playin, but i was thinkin the same thing...cause to this day i still want to know what and how he dropped somethin on his toe and couldnt play?
anyone remember the full story to that?