The death of an Oklahoma State Cowboys world level player is another heartbreaking piece of news.
Walt Garrison, a ProRodeo Hall of Fame member and a hard-nosed running back for the Dallas Cowboys in the 1960s and 1970s who developed a cult following in his native state of Texas as the uncommon Cowboy who was truly a cowboy, has passed away. He was seventy-nine.
On Thursday, the Cowboys made the announcement of his passing on their website. His death was not stated in the notice, nor was there a cause given.
Born in Denton, Texas, Garrison was as Texan as the blue star that marked the 50-yard line on the Cowboys stadium turf. He was an iron-willed ball carrier and the de facto mascot of his team.
Wearing cowboy hats appearing as wide as the Rio Grande, Garrison spoke in an accent that twanged like a pedal-steel guitar in his long-running television commercials for Skoal smokeless tobacco. He also carried a sharp knife in his back pocket for whittling sticks.
In a career-focused documentary, he stated, “I would have to describe myself as being a country boy; not a city slicker by any means.” “I dislike living in a city; I dislike the traffic and throng of people in downtown Dallas. It’s out to my liking.
Picture Garrison in a black and white image seated and donning street clothes while putting on a gigantic cowboy boot that appears enormous as it is captured in the very foreground of the
Frequently with a bit of tobacco between his gums and cheek, as can be photograph of Garrison following a drill in the Cowboys’ locker room in 1972. He previously remarked, “I would have to describe myself as being a country boy—not a city slicker by any means.”Give credit…Charles Bennett and the Associated Press
Garrison was not a flashy football player. He was chosen by the Cowboys in the fifth round of the 1966 NFL draft, but he saw just 40 carries in his first two seasons. He subsequently quipped that Tom Landry, the head coach of the Cowboys, mistook his name for Number 32 during those seasons due to his anonymity.
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He said, “I don’t think Tom knew my name until my third year in the league.”
Though it is usually accepted that a 1,000-yard season is the benchmark for a standout running back, Garrison never accomplished it in his nine years with the Cowboys; his best effort came in 1969 with 818 yards on 176 tries.
