While appearing at an Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame event in Tulsa in 2019, Drew Pearson modeled the Super Bowl XII title ring he won with the Dallas Cowboys. Pearson was announced Saturday night as a member of the latest Pro Football Hall of Fame class.
Finally, Drew Pearson is headed to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
The Dallas Cowboys legend received the call Saturday night after years of waiting, joining a 2021 class that includes Peyton Manning, Charles Woodson and Calvin Johnson. They will be enshrined in Canton, Ohio, in August.
Pearson, 70, is the fourth University of Tulsa alumnus selected to the Hall of Fame. He joins Bob St. Clair, who was inducted in 1990, and Jim Finks and Steve Largent, who were inducted in 1995.
A New Jersey native, Pearson chose to attend TU so he could play football and baseball. He was a quarterback who moved to wide receiver as a junior, catching 55 passes for 1,119 yards and six touchdowns in two seasons.
Signed as an undrafted free agent by the Cowboys in 1973, Pearson enjoyed an accomplished 11-year career in the NFL and totaled 489 receptions and 7,822 yards. He was a three-time Pro Bowler and played on three Super Bowl teams, including Dallas’ victory in Super Bowl XII in 1978.
Photos: Drew Pearson's Hall of Fame career
Drew Pearson
Drew Pearson played at the University of Tulsa from 1970-72. He started as a quarterback but converted to wide receiver in his second season. He is pictured here in 1971. Photo provided by the University of Tulsa
Drew Pearson
Drew Pearson pictured in his final season at the University of Tulsa in 1972. Photo provided by the University of Tulsa
Drew Pearson
Pictured here is football player Drew Pearson, wide reciever for the Dallas Cowboys, 1975. (AP Photo)
Drew Pearson
In this Dec. 28, 1975, file photo Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Drew Pearson (88) nears the end zone with the game-winning 50-yard touchdown pass late in the fourth quarter as the Cowboys defeated the Minnesota Vikings in the NFC playoff NFL football game in Bloomington, Minn.
Wonder about the phrase "Hail Mary?" Credit Hall of Famer Roger Staubach with this. After the Cowboys quarterback completed the late pass to Pearson, Staubach said: "I guess you could call it a Hail Mary. You throw it up and pray." (AP Photo/File)
Drew Pearson
Diagrams show key offensive plays for the Dallas Cowboys and Pittsburgh Steelers Jan. 12, 1976.
In the Harris counter, Steeler's fullback Franco Harris takes a step toward the weak side then takes a handoff from quarterback Terry Bradshaw and cuts to the opposite side between tackle and guard.
The Cowboys use the Staubach Shotgun, quarterbach Roger Staubach deep in backfield and moving to his left while receivers Golden Richards, Drew Pearson and Jean Fugett head downfield and Rober Newhouse heads for the sideline. (AP Photo)
Drew Pearson
Dallas Cowboys receiver Drew Pearson (88) lifts ball in the air as he heads into end zone for touchdown after taking a Roger Staubach pass in the first quarter of Super Bowl X against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Miami, Fla., Jan. 18, 1976. (AP Photo)
Drew Pearson
Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Drew Pearson and his wife Marsha are shown trying to get out of the parking lot at Love Field, Dallas, Tex., Jan. 5, 1976, after the team arrived from their victory over the Los Angeles Rams in Los Angeles. Thousands of fans braved the cold night to welcome the Cowboys. Pearson signed autographs in his car for several minutes while waiting for the crowd to clear. (AP Photo/Harold Waters)
Drew Pearson
Pittsburgh Steelers running back Franco Harris (32) moves in close to defend Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Drew Pearson during action in a charity basketball game in Pittsburgh, April 4, 1976. (AP Photo/Harry Cabluck)
Drew Pearson
Roger Staubach and Drew Pearson, right, exchange smiles after their fourth quarter pass play set up for the winning field goal by the Dallas Cowboys in the last three seconds of their game with the New York Giants at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey on Sunday, Nov. 5, 1979. The 16-14 win kept the Cowboys' Super Bowl hopes alive, coupled with the Philadelphia Eagles loss to the Cleveland Browns. (AP Photo/Bill Kostroum)
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Drew Pearson (88) hurls a pass 49 yards to Tony Hill in the fourth quarter in Irving, on Jan. 16, 1983, setting up a Dallas touchdown, to clinch their win over Green Bay 37-27. Dallas advances in the Super Bowl Tournament, and will play Washington for rights to go on to the Super Bowl. (AP Photo/Roger Dewberry)
Drew Pearson
Drew Pearson (88) of the Dallas Cowboys holds the ball after scoring their first touchdown against the Washington Redskins on Saturday, Jan. 22, 1983 at RFK Stadium in Washington in the NFC Championship game. Skins Jeris White sits on ground. (AP Photo)
Drew Pearson
Former Dallas Cowboys players bow in prayer during a memorial service for former coach Tom Landry in Dallas, Thursday, Feb. 17, 2000. From left are Rayfield Wright, Drew Pearson, Randy White, Dan Reeves and Roger Staubach. (AP Photo/Ron T. Ennis, Pool)
Drew Pearson
Former Dallas Cowboy All-Pro wide receiver Drew Pearson, left, poses with World Wrestling Federation chairman Vince McMahon at a news conference at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., Thursday, Aug. 3, 2000, to announce that Pearson will be the general manager of the as yet unnamed NY/NJ team in the XFL professional football team. AP File Photo
Drew Pearson
Bruce Burke, left, Oneworld Communications, Drew Pearson, New York-New Jersey Hitman Vice President, and Basil DeVito, XFL President, right, show off the new helmets, names and logos of some of the eight XFL football teams Thursday, Aug. 24, 2000, in New York. AP File Photo
Drew Pearson
Photo of former Dallas Cowboy and Fox Analyst, Drew Pearson at Skelly Stadium. Tulsa World File photo
Drew Pearson
From left, Drew Pearson and Steve Largent two of the honorees of the Jim Thorpe Legends in Sports Award, March 18, 2003. STEPHEN PINGRY/Tulsa World File
Drew Pearson
Former Dallas Cowboys player Drew Pearson gestures during an induction ceremony into the Cowboys Ring of Honor at halftime of an NFL football game against the Seattle Seahawks, Sunday Nov. 6, 2011, in Arlington, Texas. Pearson played on the team from 1973-1983. (AP Photo/Jim Cowsert)
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Drew Pearson, sportscaster and former American football wide receiver for the Dallas Cowboys, arrives at ESPN The Magazine's "Next" Event on Friday, Feb. 1, 2013 in New Orleans. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)
Drew Pearson
(L to R) Former Dallas Cowboy Drew Pearson, Susan G. Komen Founder Nancy Brinker and former Dallas Cowboy Tony Casillas pose for a photo before the start of the first half of an NFL football game against the Houston Texans, Sunday, Oct. 5, 2014, in Arlington, Texas. Dallas won 20-17 in overtime. (AP Photo/Tim Sharp)
Drew Pearson
Former University of Tulsa wide receivers Drew Pearson and Steve Largent were together at the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame on Tuesday. While Pearson went on to star for the Dallas Cowboys, Largent during his Pro Football Hall of Fame career had 842 catches, 13,523 receiving yards and 104 TD catches for the Seattle Seahawks. BILL HAISTEN/Tulsa World
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Philip Montgomery’s opening statement before SMU
Kelly Hines
Sports Writer
I have covered college football and college basketball for the Tulsa World since 2012. I spend my spare time as an animal rescue volunteer, focusing on spaying and neutering community cats in the Tulsa area. Phone: 918-581-8452
