Earl Campbell

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Earl Campbell
Earl campbell shaggybevo.jpg
Position (s):
running back
Jersey numbers:
20 (college), 34, 35
born March 29, 1955 in Tyler , Texas
Career information
Active : 1978 - 1985
NFL Draft : 1978 / Round: 1 / Pick: 1st
College : University of Texas at Austin
Teams
Career statistics
Rushing yards     9,407
Rushing Average     81.8
Rushing TDs     74
Stats at NFL.com
Stats at pro-football-reference.com
Career highlights and awards
Pro Football Hall of Fame
College Football Hall of Fame

Earl Christian Campbell (* 29. March 1955 in Tyler , Texas ), and The Tyler Rose called, is a former American American football poker players in the position of running backs .

Campbell played at the University of Texas for the Longhorns and in 1978 became the NFL Draft in the first place by the Houston Oilers selected. He spent most of his career there and won many important individual awards. He then moved to the New Orleans Saints and ended his career there after a year. His football career has sustained many injuries which he will continue to suffer long after his playing career.

college

From 1974 Campbell attended the University of Texas at Austin . There he was accepted into the football team directly in his freshman year with other newcomers such as Raymond Clayborn (later New England Patriots ). Under coach Darrell Royal , he played his first game on September 14, 1974 in front of his own audience and defeated the Boston College Eagles 42:19. In his debut as well as in the following games, he performed well and gained 928 yards by the end of the regular season. Therefore, he was voted Newcomer of the Year at the Southwest Conference , which was dissolved in 1996 . He remained successful in his second year with the Longhorns and achieved even more space (1118 yards) than before through his runs. At the end of the season, the Longhorns and the Texas A&M Aggies were champions of the Southwest Conference and had won the Bluebonnet Bowl. Campbell's year as a junior was less successful, as he missed four games due to an injury and could no longer build on his previous performances. That seemed to affect the rest of the team, which also played less successful football. These failures also got coach Darrell Royal into trouble and led to his dismissal as coach of the Longhorns. Royals successor was Fred Akers , who came from the University of Wyoming . Under him, Campbell started the season well with Longhorns. At the end of the regular season, the Longhorns had won all games, including the match against arch-rivals the Aggies, which was televised nationwide. Thus the Longhorns were masters of their conference and took part in the Cotton Bowl Classic . There they were subject to the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at 10:38. Earl won the Heisman Trophy at the end of the season by a large margin over second-placed Terry Miller .

NFL

Houston Oilers

On April 24, 1978, the Houston Oilers traded Jimmie Giles and the rights to four draft picks with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for the future number one pick . This was Earl Campbell, as the Oilers selected him at this point in the draft. As the number one pick, Campbell was able to exceed expectations placed on him. The running back led the Oilers together with quarterback Dan Pastorini confidently into the AFC Championship Game. The Oilers lost to Campbell with 5:34 against the Pittsburgh Steelers and thus narrowly missed the Super Bowl . Despite the elimination, Campbell had shown exceptional performance throughout the season and even led the NFL as the first rookie ever in rushing yards (1450). Therefore, he was voted All-Pro and NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year . Campbell was able to confirm these achievements in the following season . Through his runs he gained even more space than before and at the end of the regular season was even voted the officially most valuable player in the NFL (MVP) . But in the play-offs, both Campbell and the Oilers, who with a lot of luck reached the AFC Championship Game again, weakened. Opponent there was again the eternal division rival from Pittsburgh. This time the team did better than the year before, but could not defeat the Steelers around superstar Terry Bradshaw . In his third year as a professional Campbell was again the best offensive player in the league and was again able to achieve the greatest space gain through his runs. But in the postseason the Oilers failed again and could not reach the Super Bowl , as they failed in the AFC Wild Card Game at the eventual winner, the Oakland Raiders around superstar Jim Plunkett . Therefore, the current owner of the franchise, Bud Adams , decided to fire Bum Phillips as the Oilers' trainer. Therefore, the Oilers sank into chaos and missed the play-offs for the first time in three years. Campbell's exceptional achievements could not change that either. With the end of the Luv Ya Blue era , Campbell's successful era seemed to be coming to an end. Because in the following three years Campbell could only gain more than 1000 yards of space and also not reach the play-offs with the Oilers.

New Orleans Saints

During the 1984 season, Campbell was surprisingly traded to the New Orleans Saints . There he first met his old trainer from Houston , Bum Phillips. Campbell was not happy in New Orleans . As a running back, he only played eight games, as he was unable to oust his rival in this position, George Rogers . Overall, it did not work for the Saints either, as they missed the play-offs this season. In the following preseason Campbell was injured and ended his career after Phillips was dismissed as a coach.

Acting after football

After Campbell finished his football career, he first worked at his alma mater, the University of Texas . For his former university he was initially responsible as an ambassador and mentor for new athletes.

In 1990, Campbell founded his own company, Earl Campbell Meat Products, Inc. This company produces and sells sausages and barbecue sauces. The products are now produced by J Bar B Foods , whose headquarters are in Waelder , Texas .

literature

  • Sam Blair: Earl Campbell, the Driving Force. Word Books, Waco TX 1980, ISBN 0-8499-0259-2 .
  • Earl Campbell, John Ruane: The Earl Campbell Story. A Football Great's Battle with Panic Disorder. ECW Press, Chicago IL 1999, ISBN 1-55022-391-7 .
  • Paddy Joe Miller: Tyler Rose. The Earl Campbell Story. An Authorized Aiography. Schuromil Publishing, Spring TX 1997, ISBN 0-9659563-0-X .
  • Betty Lou Phillips: Earl Campbell. Houston Oiler Superstar. D. McKay Co., New York NY 1979, ISBN 0-679-20603-5 .

Web links

Commons : Earl Campbell  - Collection of Images, Videos and Audio Files

Individual evidence

  1. Texas Longhorns at Boston College Eagles - Sep 14, 1974 . fanbase.com. Archived from the original on October 31, 2014. Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved June 18, 2011. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.fanbase.com
  2. ^ 1978 NFL Draft Pick Transactions . prosportstransactions.com. Retrieved June 19, 2011.
  3. This is the name given to the successful period of the Oilers in the late 1970s (in which Campbell played a large part).