Walt Garrison
Encyclopedia
Walter Benton Garrison (born July 23, 1944, in Denton
, Texas
) is a former American football
fullback
in the National Football League
for the Dallas Cowboys
. Garrison was drafted
in the fifth round of the 1966 NFL Draft
out of Oklahoma State University where he was a two-time All Big Eight Conference
choice.
in Lewisville
, near Denton.
In 1962 he attended Oklahoma State University and started his freshman year on defense as a linebacker
, until Phil Cutchin
became OSU head coach in the spring and moved him to running back
.
He finished his sophomore season only 12 yards behind rushing leader George Thomas Jr.
As a junior in 1964, he led the Big Eight Conference
in rushing with 730 yards and was named All Academic Big 8.
He completed his senior season as OSU's leading rusher with 924 yards and the first win over Oklahoma University in 20 years. He was named to the All Big 8 team and his post-season highlights included appearances in the East–West Shrine Game in San Francisco, the Senior Bowl
in Mobile, Alabama, where he was voted the Outstanding Back of the North team, the Coaches All-America Game in Atlanta and the College All-Star Game
in Chicago against the Green Bay Packers
.
Garrison was inducted into the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame and the Oklahoma State University Hall of Honor.
by the Dallas Cowboys
in the fifth round of the 1966 NFL Draft
.
Known for his toughness and blocking, Garrison took over at fullback
after the retirement of Don Perkins
in 1969
and had a career high 818 yards rushing and 2 touchdown
s.
In 1971
he showed what an excellent receiver he was, by leading the team in receiving with 40 catches and a 9.9 per catch average.
Garrison made the Pro Bowl
after the 1972 season
when he rushed for 784 yards and 7 touchdown
s. That year he was a major part of the Cowboys three-headed rushing attack that also included Calvin Hill
and Duane Thomas
. The previous year, the Cowboys had ridden these 3 backs all the way to a Super Bowl VI
victory.
A "real" cowboy, Garrison spent time on the professional rodeo
circuit during the football off-seasons. His signing bonus with the Cowboys in 1966 season
included a horse trailer. A knee injury he sustained in an exhibition steer wrestling
accident at the College National Rodeo Finals in 1974 ended his pro football career.
He played in the NFL for 9 seasons, all of them with the Cowboys. He finished his career with 3,886 yards rushing and 1,794 yards receiving. Garrison retired as the third leading rusher and fourth leading receiver in Cowboys history.
One of the more humorous sports quotes was attributed to Cowboy quarterback Don Meredith
speaking about Garrison's dependability, "If it was third down, and you needed four yards, if you'd get the ball to Walt Garrison, he'd get ya five. And if was third down and ya needed 20 yards, if you'd get the ball to Walt Garrison, by God, he'd get you five."
smokeless tobacco, and is the current television spokesman for Bill Utter Ford near Denton, Texas
. In 1988 he published his biography "Once a Cowboy" with writer John Tullius. The title is a reference to not only his rodeo cowboy career, but also his career with the Dallas Cowboys, and his college career as one of the Oklahoma State Cowboys. He is an inductee of the Texas Cowboy Hall of Fame
in Fort Worth
.
Garrison has established the Walt Garrison Multiple Sclerosis
Foundation.
Walt Garrison has also been known to recite humorous poems http://videolicio.us/2007/03/walt-garrison-recites-people-are-funny-critters/
He currently resides in Argyle, Texas
Denton, Texas
The city of Denton is the county seat of Denton County, Texas in the United States. Its population was 119,454 according to the 2010 U.S. Census, making it the eleventh largest city in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex...
, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
) is a former American football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
fullback
Fullback (American football)
A fullback is a position in the offensive backfield in American and Canadian football, and is one of the two running back positions along with the halfback...
in the National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
for the Dallas Cowboys
Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football franchise which plays in the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League . They are headquartered in Valley Ranch in Irving, Texas, a suburb of Dallas...
. Garrison was drafted
NFL Draft
The National Football League Draft is an annual event in which the National Football League teams select eligible college football players and it is their most common source of player recruitment. The basic design of the draft is each team is given a position in the drafting order in reverse order...
in the fifth round of the 1966 NFL Draft
1966 NFL Draft
The 1966 National Football League Draft was held on November 27, 1965. It was the last draft in which the NFL and the AFL drafted their players separate of one another. As a result, many players selected by teams from both leagues would choose to play for the more established NFL, or in a rarer...
out of Oklahoma State University where he was a two-time All Big Eight Conference
Big Eight Conference
The Big Eight Conference, a former NCAA-affiliated Division I-A college athletic association that sponsored football, was formed in January 1907 as the Missouri Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Association by its charter member schools: the University of Kansas, University of Missouri, University...
choice.
Early years
Garrison attended Lewisville High SchoolLewisville High School
Lewisville High School, the oldest of five high schools in the Lewisville Independent School District, is located in Lewisville, Texas. It was opened in 1897, making it the only school in the district to have celebrated its 100th anniversary....
in Lewisville
Lewisville, Texas
Lewisville is a city in Denton County in the U.S. state of Texas. The 2010 United States Census placed the population at 95,290 within . The city also includes of Lewisville Lake....
, near Denton.
In 1962 he attended Oklahoma State University and started his freshman year on defense as a linebacker
Linebacker
A linebacker is a position in American football that was invented by football coach Fielding H. Yost of the University of Michigan. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up approximately three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage, behind the defensive linemen...
, until Phil Cutchin
Phil Cutchin
-External links:...
became OSU head coach in the spring and moved him to running back
Running back
A running back is a gridiron football position, who is typically lined up in the offensive backfield. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback for a rushing play, to catch passes from out of the backfield, and to block.There are usually one or two running...
.
He finished his sophomore season only 12 yards behind rushing leader George Thomas Jr.
As a junior in 1964, he led the Big Eight Conference
Big Eight Conference
The Big Eight Conference, a former NCAA-affiliated Division I-A college athletic association that sponsored football, was formed in January 1907 as the Missouri Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Association by its charter member schools: the University of Kansas, University of Missouri, University...
in rushing with 730 yards and was named All Academic Big 8.
He completed his senior season as OSU's leading rusher with 924 yards and the first win over Oklahoma University in 20 years. He was named to the All Big 8 team and his post-season highlights included appearances in the East–West Shrine Game in San Francisco, the Senior Bowl
Senior Bowl
The Senior Bowl is a post-season college football exhibition game played in Mobile, Alabama which showcases the best NFL Draft prospects of those collegiate players who have completed their eligibility. First played in 1950 in Jacksonville, Florida, the game moved to Mobile's Ladd Peebles Stadium...
in Mobile, Alabama, where he was voted the Outstanding Back of the North team, the Coaches All-America Game in Atlanta and the College All-Star Game
College All-Star Game
The Chicago Charities College All-Star Game was a preseason American football game played annually from 1934 to 1976 between the National Football League champions and a team of star college seniors from the previous year...
in Chicago against the Green Bay Packers
Green Bay Packers
The Green Bay Packers are an American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Packers are the current NFL champions...
.
Garrison was inducted into the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame and the Oklahoma State University Hall of Honor.
Professional career
He was draftedNFL Draft
The National Football League Draft is an annual event in which the National Football League teams select eligible college football players and it is their most common source of player recruitment. The basic design of the draft is each team is given a position in the drafting order in reverse order...
by the Dallas Cowboys
Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football franchise which plays in the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League . They are headquartered in Valley Ranch in Irving, Texas, a suburb of Dallas...
in the fifth round of the 1966 NFL Draft
1966 NFL Draft
The 1966 National Football League Draft was held on November 27, 1965. It was the last draft in which the NFL and the AFL drafted their players separate of one another. As a result, many players selected by teams from both leagues would choose to play for the more established NFL, or in a rarer...
.
Known for his toughness and blocking, Garrison took over at fullback
Fullback (American football)
A fullback is a position in the offensive backfield in American and Canadian football, and is one of the two running back positions along with the halfback...
after the retirement of Don Perkins
Don Perkins
Donald Anthony Perkins is a former American football halfback who spent eight seasons with the NFL's Dallas Cowboys.-Early years:...
in 1969
1969 NFL season
The 1969 NFL season was the 50th regular season of the National Football League, and the last one before the AFL-NFL Merger. To honor the NFL's 50th season, a special anniversary logo was designed and each player wore a patch on their jerseys with this logo throughout the season.As per the...
and had a career high 818 yards rushing and 2 touchdown
Touchdown
A touchdown is a means of scoring in American and Canadian football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone.-Description:...
s.
In 1971
1971 NFL season
The 1971 NFL season was the 52nd regular season of the National Football League. The season ended with Super Bowl VI when the Dallas Cowboys defeated the Miami Dolphins...
he showed what an excellent receiver he was, by leading the team in receiving with 40 catches and a 9.9 per catch average.
Garrison made the Pro Bowl
Pro Bowl
In professional American football, the Pro Bowl is the all-star game of the National Football League . Since the merger with the rival American Football League in 1970, it has been officially called the AFC–NFC Pro Bowl, matching the top players in the American Football Conference against those...
after the 1972 season
1972 NFL season
The 1972 NFL season was the 53rd regular season of the National Football League. The Miami Dolphins became the first NFL team to finish a championship season undefeated and untied when they beat the Washington Redskins in Super Bowl VII.-Major rule changes:...
when he rushed for 784 yards and 7 touchdown
Touchdown
A touchdown is a means of scoring in American and Canadian football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone.-Description:...
s. That year he was a major part of the Cowboys three-headed rushing attack that also included Calvin Hill
Calvin Hill
Calvin G. Hill is a retired American football running back who had a 12-year NFL career from 1969 to 1981. He played for the Dallas Cowboys, Washington Redskins and Cleveland Browns...
and Duane Thomas
Duane Thomas
Duane Julius Thomas is a former American football running back in the National Football League who played four seasons for the Dallas Cowboys, San Diego Chargers and Washington Redskins from 1970 to 1974....
. The previous year, the Cowboys had ridden these 3 backs all the way to a Super Bowl VI
Super Bowl VI
Super Bowl VI was an American football game played on January 16, 1972, at Tulane Stadium in New Orleans, Louisiana to decide the National Football League champion following the 1971 regular season...
victory.
A "real" cowboy, Garrison spent time on the professional rodeo
Rodeo
Rodeo is a competitive sport which arose out of the working practices of cattle herding in Spain, Mexico, and later the United States, Canada, South America and Australia. It was based on the skills required of the working vaqueros and later, cowboys, in what today is the western United States,...
circuit during the football off-seasons. His signing bonus with the Cowboys in 1966 season
1966 NFL season
The 1966 NFL season was the 47th regular season of the National Football League, and the season after which was played Super Bowl I, though it was called the AFL-NFL World Championship Game. The league expanded to 15 teams with the addition of the Atlanta Falcons, thus an odd number of teams...
included a horse trailer. A knee injury he sustained in an exhibition steer wrestling
Steer wrestling
Steer wrestling, also known as bulldogging, is a rodeo event in which a horse-mounted rider chases a steer, drops from the horse to the steer, then wrestles the steer to the ground by twisting its horns. Like all rodeo events, there are concerns from the animal rights community that the competition...
accident at the College National Rodeo Finals in 1974 ended his pro football career.
He played in the NFL for 9 seasons, all of them with the Cowboys. He finished his career with 3,886 yards rushing and 1,794 yards receiving. Garrison retired as the third leading rusher and fourth leading receiver in Cowboys history.
One of the more humorous sports quotes was attributed to Cowboy quarterback Don Meredith
Don Meredith
Joseph Don "Dandy Don" Meredith was an American football quarterback, sports commentator and actor. He spent all nine seasons of his professional playing career with the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League . He was named to the Pro Bowl in each of his last three years as a player...
speaking about Garrison's dependability, "If it was third down, and you needed four yards, if you'd get the ball to Walt Garrison, he'd get ya five. And if was third down and ya needed 20 yards, if you'd get the ball to Walt Garrison, by God, he'd get you five."
Life after football
Garrison was a long-time spokesman for SkoalSkoal
Skoal may refer to:* Skoal, skål, or skál, exclamation in a toasting ceremony* Skoal tobaccoSee also:* Skoll * Skol beer...
smokeless tobacco, and is the current television spokesman for Bill Utter Ford near Denton, Texas
Denton, Texas
The city of Denton is the county seat of Denton County, Texas in the United States. Its population was 119,454 according to the 2010 U.S. Census, making it the eleventh largest city in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex...
. In 1988 he published his biography "Once a Cowboy" with writer John Tullius. The title is a reference to not only his rodeo cowboy career, but also his career with the Dallas Cowboys, and his college career as one of the Oklahoma State Cowboys. He is an inductee of the Texas Cowboy Hall of Fame
Texas Cowboy Hall of Fame
The Texas Cowboy Hall of Fame, a museum in Fort Worth, Texas, "pays tribute to the cowboys and cowgirls of the Lone Star State." Most of the exhibits are male-oriented, as there is a separate National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame in the Cultural District of Fort Worth.The museum, which offers...
in Fort Worth
Fort Worth, Texas
Fort Worth is the 16th-largest city in the United States of America and the fifth-largest city in the state of Texas. Located in North Central Texas, just southeast of the Texas Panhandle, the city is a cultural gateway into the American West and covers nearly in Tarrant, Parker, Denton, and...
.
Garrison has established the Walt Garrison Multiple Sclerosis
Multiple sclerosis
Multiple sclerosis is an inflammatory disease in which the fatty myelin sheaths around the axons of the brain and spinal cord are damaged, leading to demyelination and scarring as well as a broad spectrum of signs and symptoms...
Foundation.
Walt Garrison has also been known to recite humorous poems http://videolicio.us/2007/03/walt-garrison-recites-people-are-funny-critters/
He currently resides in Argyle, Texas