While Bob Lilly has long been known as “Mr. Cowboy”, the Dallas Cowboys had an actual cowboy on their roster for nine years.
Walt Garrison spent his off-seasons on the rodeo circuit. It was a hobby that the Cowboys frowned on.
But Garrison managed to be a successful rodeo cowboy.
As well as a critical piece of the Cowboys’ drives for the Super Bowl as a fullback.
Garrison passed away earlier this week at the age of 79, according to the Dallas Cowboys website.
A Cowboy For Life
A Denton, Texas native, Garrison played college football for the Oklahoma State Cowboys.
He was drafted by both the Cowboys and the then AFL’s Kansas City Chiefs — who used to call Dallas home.
Garrison landed with team still in Dallas in 1966 and played through 1974. He played in two Super Bowls, winning one.
Ironically, it was a rodeo injury that ended his football career just as Tom Landry and the Cowboys had feared.
Before the 1975 season began, Garrison announced his retirement from football due to that injury.
A Steer Wrestler
While Garrison loved rodeo more than football he earned more accolades on the gridiron. He was best at steer wrestling.
In 1973 his performance at the Cheyenne Frontier Days rodeo was his best in the sport.
It was an accomplishment he rated equal to finally winning a Super Bowl in Dallas in 1971.
A Star Is Pinched
He was being filmed by NFL Films at a rodeo when the stars aligned for his other notable accomplishment.
“Just a pinch between my cheek and gum,” was the line Garrison spoke in a tobacco commercial during the 1970s.
An ad agency had seen the NFL Films piece on Garrison. Instantly, they knew they’d found their new pitch man.
But his best success came on the football field in Dallas.
Top 10 Five Decades Later
In nine seasons Garrison had 3,886 yards and 30 touchdowns rushing.
He ranks eighth in touchdowns and ninth in yardage among all Dallas Cowboys running backs. Its been nearly 50 years since he last played.
In the Cowboys’ Super Bowl loss to Baltimore, Garrison led the team in rushing with 65 yards on just 12 carries.
The next year, in Dallas’ dominating win over the Dolphins, Garrison had 74 yards on 14 carries.
The 1972 season that followed Dallas’ first championship, Garrison would earn his only Pro Bowl selection.
Garrison had 784 yards rushing and added a career-high seven touchdowns. His career-high in rushing came in 1969 when he had 818 yards.
With Garrison’s retirement at the age of 30, Robert Newhouse would move to fullback in Garrison’s place.
Newhouse would lead the team in rushing with 930 yards. Dallas would return to the Super Bowl and lose to Pittsburgh.
Honors For A Full Life
Garrison would continue to be a part of the rodeo scene in his post-football years.
He has been enshrined into the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Honor, Texas Cowboy Hall of Fame, and the Texas Sports Hall of Fame.
He was named to the Dallas Cowboys’ 25th anniversary team. But he is not enshrined on the Cowboys Ring of Honor.
