Walt Garrison, who played for Cowboys in college and NFL and was a real rodeo cowboy, dies at 79

DALLAS (AP) — Walt Garrison, a prolific rusher for the Oklahoma State Cowboys in the Big 8, a Super Bowl-winning fullback for the Dallas Cowboys, and a renowned rodeo cowboy, has passed away at the age of 79.

The NFL team announced in a statement on its website on Thursday that Garrison had passed away. The cause of death was not specified.

Garrison, standing at 6-foot and weighing 205 pounds, was selected as a fifth-round draft pick from Oklahoma State. He played nine seasons in Dallas before retiring in 1974, leaving as the team’s third-leading rusher and fourth-leading receiver in franchise history. He still holds the fourth-highest yards per carry average at 4.32 and ranks ninth in rushing yards with 3,491.

However, it was Garrison’s rodeo career that truly defined him as the ultimate cowboy. Additionally, he served as a long-time spokesman for U.S. Tobacco and its Skoal smokeless brand, famously promoting the catchphrase “Just a pinch between your cheek and gum is all it takes” in his television ads during the 1970s.

During his rookie season, while serving as a backup player, Garrison would compete in local rodeos as a steer wrestler after team meetings, making sure to return to the hotel before the 11 p.m. curfew. He stated, “I wasn’t starting, I was returning punts and kicks and covering on the kamikaze squad, that’s all I was doing. And hell, you could get hurt worse on them than you can rodeoing. I didn’t think much about it, but the Cowboys did.”

Soon after, Dallas coach Tom Landry prohibited Garrison from participating in rodeos during the NFL season, but he continued his rodeo career in the offseason. Garrison recalled, “Coach Landry pointed out that there was a clause in my contract that if I got hurt doing another sport, that my contract would be null and void. And I said, ‘OK.’ I didn’t think rodeo was that dangerous.”

Garrison showcased his talent on football’s biggest stage in the Super Bowl, gaining 65 rushing yards in a 16-13 loss to the Baltimore Colts in the fifth Super Bowl after the 1970 season. The following year, he rushed for 74 yards in the Super Bowl, helping Roger Staubach lead the Dallas Cowboys to a 24-3 victory over the Miami Dolphins. In 1972, Garrison earned a Pro Bowl selection after amassing 784 rushing yards, seven rushing touchdowns, 390 receiving yards, and three receiving touchdowns.

Unfortunately, Garrison suffered a knee injury in 1975 while steer wrestling during an exhibition run at the U.S. Tobacco-sponsored national college rodeo in Bozeman, Montana. This injury ultimately forced him to retire from the NFL at the age of 30.

Garrison acknowledged the similarities between rodeo and football, comparing the quickness of wrestling a steer to the ground in a few seconds to the typical length of an NFL play. He remarked, “And the amount of energy and the amount of focus you need to have in bulldogging is the same as in football.”

Born in Denton, Texas, Garrison excelled in football, basketball, and baseball at Lewisville High School. After transitioning from linebacker to running back at Oklahoma State, he led the Big 8 in rushing in 1964, surpassing Kansas’ Gale Sayers. In 1965, Garrison recorded 924 rushing yards and five touchdowns in 10 games.

He is honored as a member of the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame, the Oklahoma State Athletics Hall of Honor, the Dallas Cowboys’ 25th anniversary team, the Texas Cowboy Hall of Fame, and the Texas Sports Hall of Fame.

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