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Stony Doorstep's former incarnation was Tony Dorsett who rewrote the NCAA record book during a spectacular four-year career at the University of Pittsburgh that was highlighted by a national championship and a landslide victory in the 1976 Heisman Trophy balloting.
Dorsett ended his career at Pittsburgh as the most productive runner in the history of college football, compiling a record 6,082 yards. That mark stood until it was broken by the 1998 Heisman winner, Ricky Williams of Texas.
Dorsett's record with the Panthers was legendary. He was named to an All-America team as a freshman and again as a junior and senior. Playing under Coach Johnny Majors, Dorsett became the first college back to run for 1,000 or more yards four seasons and the first to gain more than 1,500 yards three years. He established an all-time NCAA record of 6,082 yards. His best season as a senior saw him running for 1,948 yards and 21 touchdowns.
By the 1970s, Dallas Cowboys' General Manager Tex Schramm had developed a reputation for making spectacular draft-day trades that led to the acquisition of highly rated potential superstars. Three exceptional defensive linemen - Bob Lilly, Ed "Too Tall" Jones and Randy White - all were acquired by the utilization of this strategy.
Just before the 1977 draft, Schramm struck for a fourth time. That year the coveted collegian was Tony Dorsett, an All-America running back from the University of Pittsburgh. The only problem was that the Seattle Seahawks had the second pick in the first round and they had made no secret of the fact they would pick Dorsett.
So Schramm made the proverbial offer "that was too good to turn down" - Dallas' first-round pick (No. 24) and three second-round choices. While the trade gave the Seahawks, in only their second year of operation, an unusual opportunity to build their young team, it gave the Cowboys even more, an explosive running back that could add still another dimension to an already-powerful offense generalled by Roger Staubach.
Even the Cowboys could not have envisioned the impact that the 5-11, 185-pound 1976 Heisman Trophy winner would make in the NFL. He became the first player ever to gain more than 1,000 yards in each of his first five seasons. He had 1,000-yard campaigns eight times in nine years. His only miss came in the strike-shortened 1982 season.
Dorsett played for the Cowboys for 11 seasons through 1987 and then finished off his brilliant career with the Denver Broncos in 1988. He rushed for 12,739 yards and accounted for 16,326 combined net yards in 12 seasons. Tony not only passed Jim Brown in both categories but ranked second behind only Walter Payton at the time of his retirement early in 1989. And the effect he had on his team can be gauged by the fact that he rushed for more than 100 yards in 46 games. The Cowboys won 42 of those 46 games.
What they got was a player who had it all . . . the swift, smooth strides; the sharp, crisp cuts; the uncanny knack of finding daylight in the chaos along the line of scrimmage. Every time he touched a football, opponents shuddered. He turned small gainers into big gainers and routine plays into touchdowns.
As a rookie, he rushed for 1,007 yards and 12 touchdowns and added 273 yards and a touchdown on 29 receptions. Tony was named the NFL's Offensive Rookie of the Year. The Cowboys marched all the way to Super Bowl XII against the Denver Broncos.
As the years marched by and the 1,000-yard seasons continued to come in an almost automatic fashion, Dorsett clearly showed his capabilities of making the game-breaking, long-distance gains both by running and receiving. In his 12 years, he had runs of 75 or more yards five times. In 1978, he scored against the Baltimore Colts on a 91-yard screen pass.
Dorsett capped off the 1982 season even though the game was played before a Monday night television audience on January 2, 1983 - with a 99-yard touchdown run against the Minnesota Vikings. This unbreakable record was interestingly, established on a play that saw the Cowboys have only 10 men on the field. Dorsett's running back companion, Ron Springs, unaware of the play being called, watched the record run from the sidelines.
The former University of Pittsburgh star reached the peak of his career in his fifth season in 1981, when he rushed for a team-record 1,646 yards. He also caught 32 passes for 325 yards that year. Tony had been reluctant in his earlier NFL years to get too involved in summer training regimes but, before the 1981 campaign, he decided to turn over a new leaf. As a result, he reported to the Cowboys in the best shape of his career and it showed in the outstanding season that would follow.
As brilliant as he was, Dorsett was named All-NFL only once, in 1981. He did gain All-NFC honors in 1978, 1981 and 1982. He played in only four Pro Bowls following the 1978, 1981, 1982 and 1983 seasons.
Dorsett retired from the National Football League in 1990 after a stellar career that saw him earn numerous All-Pro honors. He was elected to the National Football Foundation and College Football Hall of Fame in 1994 and later was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio.
As the Tombstone Cowboys newly dug up Wight, Stony should be able to reach new heights in the Monday Night Fourball League.