Gold Jacket Spotlight: Tony Dorsett ‘runs like water’

TONY DORSETT grew up in Aliquippa, Pa., along the Ohio River, and played college football in a city that sits at the confluence of the Monongahela and Allegheny rivers.

So the way Jack Butler of the BLESTO scouting firm described Tony’s rushing style seems appropriate: “He runs like water.”

Tony, who this week steps into the Gold Jacket Spotlight, shared or held 18 NCAA records after four seasons (1973-76) at the University of Pittsburgh and amassed 6,082 rushing yards in 43 regular-season games. That total stood as an NCAA record for more than 20 years.

Pittsburgh won the NCAA national championship in 1976, and Tony was the first Pitt player to receive the Heisman Trophy. He collected 701 first-place votes. Ricky Bell of USC was the next-highest finalist in voting, receiving 73. 

Upon accepting the recognition, Tony paid homage to his local connections.

“It’s nice to bring this trophy back to the city of Pittsburgh, the University of Pittsburgh and a small town called Aliquippa,” he said.

Quoting an “NFC East man” prior to the 1977 NFL Draft, Jack Clary wrote, “The worst thing that could happen to us would be for the Cowboys to work out a way in which they could get Tony Dorsett. We’re all chasing Dallas right now, but Dorsett would put them so far out in front, it would be all but impossible to beat them in 1977, or maybe for a few years after that. It would make life pretty discouraging for all four (NFC teams) of us.”

And then it happened.

Dallas negotiated a trade with the Seattle Seahawks that provided the Cowboys with Seattle’s first pick in the draft, the second overall selection. After Tampa selected Bell with the draft’s opening pick, Dallas proceeded to select Dorsett, making Clary’s source’s worst scenario become reality.

Tony was the only future Pro Football Hall of Famer selected in the 1977 draft. 

GIL BRANDT (Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2019), the vice president of personnel for the Dallas Cowboys observed, “There are some questions about his size. But he never gets hurt. He has super quickness, super vision, he just knows when to cut. He’s amazing that way. And the big play is his history.”

Coach TOM LANDRY (Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 1990) offered, “What Dorsett will bring to the Cowboys is an unstinting resolve to score a touchdown on every play. He showed us that you may contain him for three quarters, but he never stops trying, and sooner or later, he has the ability to break a big gain or score from far out. That is the mark of a great running back.”

Big gains and scoring from far out were certainly part of Tony’s legacy. His long list of accomplishments included a record-setting 99-yard touchdown scamper against the Minnesota Vikings in January 1983. Derrick Henry tied that record in 2018.

“I could see him in the backfield taking off, and he was in fourth gear by the time he hit the hole. He hit it flying. Before anyone realized anything, he was down the field 50 yards. There was nothing we could do,” Viking defensive end Doug Martin said regarding the record-setting run.

Although Tony did not become a starting running back until late in his rookie season, he was named the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year after rushing for 1,007 yards.

The “Hawk,” Tony’s nickname, also is recognized as the first player to win the college championship one year and the Super Bowl the next. The Cowboys defeated the Denver Broncos 27-10 in Super Bowl XII to close out Tony’s first NFL season. 

Tony became the first player to gain 1,000-plus yards in each of his first five seasons and earned more than 1,000 yards in eight of his first nine seasons, falling short only in the strike-shortened 1982 season. His career totals: 2,936 rushing attempts for 12,739 yards and 77 rushing touchdowns. Also a threat in the passing game, he caught 398 passes for 3,554 yards and 13 touchdowns.

In reviewing the numerous achievements Tony earned throughout his 12 seasons in the NFL, St. Paul Pioneer Press writer Eric Nelson might have summarized them best.

“His list of honors and awards is about the size of the Dallas phone book,” Nelson declared.

The ultimate honor was Tony’s enshrinement into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1994. Landry, as Tony’s presenter, reiterated what he previously said in an NFL Films documentary: “The things he did were special.”