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Eric Dickerson

 

football player; television sportscaster

Personal Information

Born Eric Dimitric Dickerson on September 2, 1960 in Sealy, Texas.
Education: Southern Methodist University.

Career

Los Angeles Rams, 1983-87; Indianapolis Colts, 1987-92; Los Angeles Raiders, 1992-93; Atlanta Falcons, 1993; retired, 1993; appeared in six Pro Bowls; sideline reporter, ABC-TV's "Monday Night Football," 2000.

Life's Work

Perhaps the most prolific running back of all time, especially in the 1980s, Eric Dickerson spent his career successfully eluding tackles. His success allowed him to not only run rampant through football's record books, but straight to the game's Hall of Fame.

Born on September 2, 1960 in Sealy, Texas, Dickerson had a startling revelation when he was 15. It was then he learned that the woman he thought to be his mother was actually his great-great aunt and the woman he knew as his sister, Helen, was actually his biological mother. At Sealy High School, Dickerson was a phenomenal athlete. His prep career wrapped up in 1978, when the team went unbeaten at 15-0 and won the state championship game. Dickerson ran 296 yards and scored four touchdowns in that game. His speed paid off on the track as well when, in 1977, he won two state championship titles. Dickerson ran the 100-meter in 10.3 seconds and clocked a time of 20.9 in the 200-meter sprint.

Dickerson went on to attend Southern Methodist University where he ran 4,450 yards and scored 48 touchdowns. He finished his college football career as an All-American, taking third place in the Heisman Trophy balloting in 1982. He was named Second Team All-American his junior year, and was also named Offensive Player of the Year in the Southwest Conference in his junior and senior years. Dickerson broke the conference yardage and rushing attempt records of Earl Campbell.

Drafted by the then Los Angeles Rams in 1983, Dickerson wasted no time establishing himself among the league's best running backs. He would also set the tone for what would be another staple in career: being dogged by controversy. In the Texas Monthly, writer Annie Dingus illustrated that Dickerson's introduction to the pros rankled many fans in the south, especially Texas. "In April 1983 Dickerson was the first-round pick for the Los Angeles Rams and the second pick overall, after John Elway," Dingus wrote. "He angered Houston fans by stating flatly that he didn't want to play for the Oilers and later irritated many more Texans by asserting that he hated the Dallas Cowboys."

In his inaugural season, Dickerson scored a career-high 20 touchdowns, while running 1,808 yards, one of which was a career-high 85-yard touchdown run. At the end of the season, he was named NFL Rookie of the Year, NFC Rookie of the Year, and Offensive Rookie of the year. He set rookie records in yardage gained, rushing attempts (390), and touchdowns (18).

During his time in Los Angeles, Dickerson ran a total of 8,533 yards and scored 62 rushing touchdowns. In 1984 and 1986, he lead the league in rushing yardage. Additionally, he made three Pro Bowl appearances. During the 1984 season, he ran 2,105 yards, setting a single-season record. In 1987, just before he would be traded to the Indianapolis Colts, Dickerson signed a lucrative, four-year, $10.65 million contract.

Then came the critics. If he had an unproductive day on the field, fans in the stands wasted little time letting him know. Due to poor vision, Dickerson's on-the-field goggles became his trademark. Dingus remarked that wasn't the only thing fans would associate with Dickerson. "Because his vision was poor, he habitually wore goggles on the field. He also had trouble seeing his fans' point of view," Dingus wrote. "He alienated many by grousing about his low pay and his dissatisfaction with his chosen sport."

Viewed as an overpaid jock, some fans continually used his high-salary as a base for criticism. Following his 1987 trade to Indianapolis, when he first returned to Anaheim to play against the Rams, Dickerson was greeted with a shower of Monopoly play money and chants of "Eric the Ingrate." But Dickerson would shake it off and continue to put up impressive numbers. Showing Colts ownership they made a good decision, Dickerson ran 1,011 yards and scored five touchdowns in nine games. His first full, 16-game season yielded 1,659 yards.

The 1989 season would be the last year Dickerson would run more than 1,000 yards. He finished the 1989 campaign with 1,311 yards run and seven touchdowns scored, earning his fifth Pro Bowl appearance. Over the next four seasons, Dickerson's productivity would taper off, despite running 677 yards in his fifth and final Pro Bowl in 1990. He ran one more season in Indianapolis, netting 537 total rushing yards and two touchdowns.

In 1992, Dickerson was traded to the then Los Angeles Raiders for one season. In 16 games, he ran 729 yards and scored two touchdowns. The following season, he was traded to the Atlanta Falcons, where he played for four games before being traded to Green Bay. While with the Packers, Dickerson went in for a physical only to discover a painful, bulging disc in his lower back. He retired from football shortly thereafter.

However, when his career wound up and the numbers were tallied, Dickerson had solidified himself as one of the greatest running backs in the NFL. His 13,259 yards rushing rank him third on the all-time rushing list, behind Detroit's second-place Barry Sanders and the all-time leader himself, Chicago's Walter Payton. With 96 touchdowns, Dickerson ranks 13th on the all-time touchdown list. He was inducted in to the NFL Hall of Fame in 1999.

His success on the field, despite the distractions off it--contract-related criticisms, previous allegations that he once hit a woman he was dating--appeared to come naturally for the man many called Mr. Fourth Quarter. In a 1992 Sport magazine interview with John Czarnecki, Dickerson said he just lets instincts take over when on the field. He said he relies on quick-thinking reaction when on the field, a characteristic no coach can really enforce. "To a back, unlike a quarterback, it just comes natural," Dickerson told Czarnecki. "It's a gift. A coach cannot teach you how to run a football. The only thing they can teach you is the plays."

Having attained superstar status in the league did little to discourage Dickerson from immersing himself in the respective communities where he has played. His charities and foundations have reached out to help at risk schoolchildren, those suffering from diabetes, muscular dystrophy, and bone marrow patients. In Woodland Hills, California, Dickerson established The Second Byte Foundation (Bettering Youth Through Education), in association with the Public Relations class at Pierce College. That collective helped present 20 state-of-the-art computers to students there.

On May 8, 2000, Dickerson coordinated a charity golf tournament to benefit the American Diabetes Association. Dickerson was busy behind the scenes, conducting pre-event telephone interviews for various media outlets and hosting radio call-in shows with local stations. The event, held at the Deerwood Golf Club in Kingwood, Texas, raised more than $100,000 for the ADA. The celebrity guest list was a professional sports who's who, with Dickerson putting out the call to athletes for a little help. Those in attendance included Emmit Smith, comedian Eddie Griffin, Hall of Famers Franco Harris and Lawrence Taylor, heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield and basketball coach Rudy Tomjanovich.

In August of 2000, Dickerson helped spearhead the Courage 4 Life Cause in Simi Valley, California. Nineteen-year-old Troy Mikolyski, who had been fighting leukemia since age 12, needed a bone marrow transplant. Those donating sports memorabilia for the cause included hockey legends Wayne Gretzky, Bobby Orr and Brett Hull; football standouts Steve Young, Deion Sanders and Jerry Rice; as well as baseball stars Ricky Henderson, Mike Piazza and Gary Sheffield.

Dickerson has a knack for gathering his professional friends to raise money for charity. In March of 2000 he hosted the Eric Dickerson Celebrity Golf Tournament in Bel Air, California. The event featured the likes of Michael Jordan, boxer Tommy Hearns, Dan Marino and Charles Barkley. After a 12-year career where he saw highs and lows, Dickerson's explosive speed not only helped propel him to the football Hall of Fame, but to an impressive standing in the charity community as well.

Awards

Rookie of the Year; MVP, 2 years; Daniel F. Reeves Memorial award; inducted to the Football Hall of Fame, 1999;

Further Reading

Periodicals

  • Sport, September 1992, pg. 69.
  • Texas Monthly, September 1999, pg. 216.
Other
  • Additional information was obtained online at Eric Dickerson's Web site, http://www.ericdickerson.com

— John Horn

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Wikipedia on Answers.com:

Eric Dickerson

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Eric Dickerson

Dickerson in August 2010.
No. 29     
Running Back
Personal information
Date of birth: September 2, 1960 (1960-09-02) (age 51)
Place of birth: Sealy, Texas
Height: 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) Weight: 220 lb (100 kg)
Career information
College: Southern Methodist
NFL Draft: 1983 / Round: 1 / Pick: 2
Debuted in 1983 for the Los Angeles Rams
Last played in 1993 for the Atlanta Falcons
Career history
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics as of 1993
Rushing yards     13,259
Rushing average     4.4
Rushing TDs     90
Stats at NFL.com
Pro Football Hall of Fame

Eric Demetric Dickerson (born September 2, 1960) is a former American college and professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL) for eleven seasons during the 1980s and 1990s. Dickerson played college football for Southern Methodist University, and was recognized as an All-American. He was selected in the first round of the 1983 NFL Draft, and played professionally for the Los Angeles Rams, Indianapolis Colts, Los Angeles Raiders, and Atlanta Falcons of the NFL. During his NFL career, he rushed for over 13,000 yards.

Contents

College career

Dickerson committed to Texas A&M before reconsidering and decided amongst Oklahoma, Southern California and SMU before his grandmother talked him into staying in the state of Texas to attend Southern Methodist University because she liked SMU coach Ron Meyer. Dickerson was the subject of recruiting controversy when he started driving a new Pontiac Trans-Am during his senior year.[1] At the time he said his grandmother from Mexico bought it for him.[2]

Initially, Dickerson shared carries with Craig James and Charles Waggoner, all three blue-chip recruits in 1979. Waggoner was hurt returning a kickoff their freshman season, leaving Dickerson and James to lead SMU's running attack, called the "Pony Express." Dickerson gained 4,450 yards on 790 carries to break Earl Campbell’s Southwest Conference record for yards and attempts. His 48 career touchdowns tied Doak Walker’s SMU total for career scoring. In his senior year despite splitting time with James, Dickerson finished third in the Heisman Trophy voting, behind Herschel Walker and John Elway.[3] He was also a First-team All-American in 1982 and a Second-team All-American in 1981.[4]

NFL career

1983–1987: L.A. Rams era

While he considered going to the Los Angeles Express in the United States Football League, Dickerson decided to go into the National Football League. He was selected second overall in the 1983 NFL Draft by the Los Angeles Rams. An immediate success, he established rookie records for most rushing attempts (390), most rushing yards gained (1,808) and most touchdowns rushing (18), including another two receiving touchdowns. His efforts earned him All-Pro, Pro Bowl, Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year honors.[5]

In his second season, Dickerson continued his onslaught on the NFL record book becoming a member of the 2000 rushing yards club. Eleven times in 1984 he gained more than 100 yards rushing, breaking the record of 100-yard games in a season held by O.J. Simpson. His 2,105 total yards rushing beat Simpson’s 1973 NFL season record of 2,003 yards (Dickerson having reached 2,007 yards after 15 games), but since the NFL expanded the regular season from 14 to 16 games in 1978, Dickerson had the benefit of playing in two additional games. No one has since rushed for more yards in a single NFL season. Dickerson's 5.6 yards per carry led the Rams to a playoff berth in 1984.

Week Team Carries Yards Average
1 DAL 21 138 6.6
2 CLE 27 102 3.8
3 at PIT 23 49 2.1
4 at CIN 22 89 4.0
5 NYG 22 120 5.5
6 ATL 19 107 5.6
7 at NO 20 175 8.8
8 at ATL 24 145 6.0
9 SF 13 38 2.9
10 at STL 21 208 9.9
11 CHI 28 149 5.3
12 at GB 25 132 5.3
13 at TB 28 191 6.8
14 NO 33 149 4.5
15 HOU 27 215 8.0
16 at SF 26 98 3.8
1984 TOTAL 379 2105 5.6

Although he rushed for 1,234 yards in 1985 while missing the first two games while in a contract dispute, he missed the Pro Bowl for the first time in his short NFL career. He did, however, go on to rush for a playoff record 248 yards against the Dallas Cowboys in post-season play.[6]

1987–1991: Indianapolis Colts Era

1985 marked the beginning of on-going contract disputes between Dickerson and the Rams, and after playing just three games for the Rams during the strike-shortened 1987 season, Dickerson was traded to the Indianapolis Colts in one of the NFL's biggest trades ever, a three-way deal between the Rams, the Buffalo Bills and the Colts which saw the Rams receive RB Greg Bell, three 1st round picks, the Bills receive LB Cornelius Bennett and the Colts getting Dickerson. Although he played in just nine games with the Colts that year, he still managed to gain 1,011 yards to finish the season with 1,288.[7] Also, he spearheaded a late season Colts run that helped the team to their first winning season (and first playoff berth) in 10 years.

In 1988, Dickerson, with 1,659 yards rushing, became the first Colt to lead the league in rushing since Alan Ameche in 1955. This would mark the apogee of Dickerson's career with the Colts (although he would gain 1,311 yards rushing in 1989). Also, 1989 was the year that he passed the 10,000 yard mark, and was the fastest player ever to do so (91 games), accomplishing the feat faster than greats like Jim Brown (98 games), Barry Sanders (103 games), Emmitt Smith (106 games), and LaDainian Tomlinson (106 games).[8] By 1989, he had set a new NFL record with seven straight seasons of more than 1,000 yards rushing, and led the league for four of those seasons.

However, injuries, further contract disputes, and suspensions clouded his final 2 seasons with the Colts. Dickerson, at 29, was the highest paid running back in the NFL, receiving an annual reported salary of $1.4 million. Following prolonged contract disputes, the fed-up Colts placed him on the inactive list before the start of the 1990 season where he stayed for 7 weeks and lost more than $600,000 in salary. In his sixth game back from suspension, Eric blasted the Bengals defense with 143 yards on 22 attempts - this effort lifted him past Jim Brown to third place on the NFL career rushing list behind Walter Payton and Tony Dorsett. But 1991 was to be dismal and Eric's last year as a Colt. He was again suspended, this time for three games, and amidst injuries and age, managed to run for only 536 yards. The abysmal Colts finished the year bottoming out with a 1-15 record.[9]

1992–1993: The Final Years

On April 26, 1992, Dickerson was traded by the Colts to the Los Angeles Raiders for their fourth and eighth round picks in the 1992 draft. There were occasional flashes of greatness - 107 yards against the Broncos, 103 against the Chargers, where he recorded his 63rd and 64th career 100 yard games - but those would unfortunately be his last. Dickerson also scored on a 40 yard TD run, reminiscent of his prime, in front of a nationally televised Monday Night audience in a game against Kansas City. That year he led the team in rushing attempts and yards.

The following season, Dickerson was traded to the Atlanta Falcons on July 7, 1993 for a sixth round draft pick. He played in a backup role, making his final national televised appearance during the Monday Night Football game on September 27, 1993 when the Falcons hosted the Pittsburgh Steelers in a losing effort. The Falcons traded Dickerson and third-year cornerback Bruce Pickens to the Green Bay Packers for running back John Stephens on October 13, 1993.

The trade came a week after Dickerson said he had been told that the Falcons were waiving him because Coach Jerry Glanville wanted to use younger players. The next day, Falcons officials said that there had been a misunderstanding and that Dickerson had not been placed on waivers. Dickerson retired as the 2nd leading rusher of all-time after failing a physical with the Packers.

Career rushing statistics

Year Team Games Attempts Yards YPC TDs
1983 Los Angeles Rams 16 390 1,808 4.6 18
1984 Los Angeles Rams 16 379 2,105 5.6 14
1985 Los Angeles Rams 14 292 1,234 4.2 12
1986 Los Angeles Rams 16 404 1,821 4.5 11.
1987 Los Angeles Rams 3 60 277 4.6 1
1987 Indianapolis Colts 9 223 1,011 4.5 5
1988 Indianapolis Colts 16 388 1,659 4.3 14
1989 Indianapolis Colts 15 314 1,311 4.2 7
1990 Indianapolis Colts 11 166 677 4.1 4
1991 Indianapolis Colts 10 167 536 3.2 2
1992 Los Angeles Raiders 16 187 729 3.9 2
1993 Atlanta Falcons 4 26 91 3.5 0
Career 146 2,996 13,259 4.4 90

Honors

Dickerson became the seventh back to gain more than 10,000 yards and the fastest ever to do so, reaching the milestone in just 91 games. During his 11-year career, Dickerson gained 13,259 yards rushing, which was second all-time at the time of his retirement, and rushed for 90 touchdowns. He gained another 2,137 yards and 6 touchdowns on 281 pass receptions. A six-time Pro Bowl selection, Dickerson was All-Pro in 1983, 1984, 1986, 1987 and 1988. In 1999, his first year of eligibility, Eric Dickerson was selected to become a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Also in 1999, he was ranked number 38 on The Sporting News' list of the 100 Greatest Football Players. The following year, he provided on-field commentary during Monday Night Football broadcasts.[10]

The Rams number 29 has been retired.

After pro football

In 1999, he was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.[11] During the 2007 football season, Dickerson worked as a broadcaster for KCBS television in Los Angeles, providing commentary for NFL pregame and postgame shows. He recently started a sports memorabilia company, with former Los Angeles Rams teammate LeRoy Irvin, called Original Mini Jerseys. The company received their NFL license in 2006 and sells authentic miniature replica jerseys.

References

  1. ^ "Sealy Gridder Reneges On Pledge To Ink Aggie Pact". The Galveston Daily News. 1979-02-15. http://www.newspaperarchive.com/LandingPage.aspx?type=glpnews&img=45216308. Retrieved 2008-02-11. 
  2. ^ "Pony Exce$$". 30 for 30. ESPN. 10 April 2009. No. 30.
  3. ^ Eric's College Days at SMU, http://www.ericdickerson29.com/college.htm
  4. ^ Eric Dickerson: Pro Football Hall of Fame, http://www.profootballhof.com/hof/member.jsp?PLAYER_ID=55
  5. ^ Eric Dickerson: Pro Football Hall of Fame, http://www.profootballhof.com/hof/member.jsp?PLAYER_ID=55
  6. ^ Eric Dickerson: Pro Football Hall of Fame, http://www.profootballhof.com/hof/member.jsp?PLAYER_ID=55
  7. ^ Eric Dickerson: Pro Football Hall of Fame, http://www.profootballhof.com/hof/member.jsp?PLAYER_ID=55
  8. ^ NFL Game Center: Game Recap - Baltimore Ravens at San Diego Chargers - 2007 12
  9. ^ An Unbridled Colt, http://www.ericdickerson29.com/colts.htm
  10. ^ Eric Dickerson: Pro Football Hall of Fame, http://www.profootballhof.com/hof/member.jsp?PLAYER_ID=55
  11. ^ http://www.answers.com/topic/dickerson-eric-demetric - Eric Dickerson: Biography from Answers.com

External links


 
 

 

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