DORSETT, Anthony Drew ("Tony")

(b. 7 April 1954 in Rochester, Pennsylvania), outstanding running back and Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee who won the 1976 Heisman Trophy at the University of Pittsburgh and played in two Super Bowls with the Dallas Cowboys.

Dorsett, the son of West and Myrtle Dorsett, was born in Rochester, Pennsylvania. Playing two seasons for Hopewell High School in western Pennsylvania, he was a Parade magazine consensus All-American. His 212 yards gained in one game was a high school record that stood for twelve years.

Dorsett was five feet, eleven inches tall and weighed only 160 pounds when he started as a freshman running back at the University of Pittsburgh in 1973. He finished that year with 1,586 yards and twelve touchdowns in eleven games, on his way to his first selection as an All-American. His accomplishments included gaining 265 yards against Northwestern University.

The sophomore jinx saw his production drop to just over 1,000 yards and eleven touchdowns during the next season. Still, he averaged 4.6 yards per carry. In his third season Dorsett was back over 1,500 yards with an amazing average of 6.8 yards per carry. The highlight of that year was his 303 yards gained against Notre Dame in just twenty-three carries. He capped off his college career with a remarkable senior year in which he gained 1,948 yards while scoring twenty-two touchdowns. In the Sugar Bowl, he added another 202 yards to his totals. A candidate for the Heisman Trophy all four years, Dorsett earned that coveted award in 1976.

At the end of his college career, Dorsett had set more than a score of records at the university and national level. He helped the University of Pittsburgh win the national championship in 1976. He was a first-team All-American all four years.

Dorsett was the first player to gain more than 1,000 yards each of his four college seasons—his total was 6,082 yards rushing (he gained another 406 yards as a receiver and 127 on kick returns). His three seasons with more than 1,500 yards was another record. He tied Glenn Davis (of Army) with fifty-nine touchdowns, but set a record with 356 total career points. His average of 141.1 yards per game over a four-year career is still impressive. He tied Archie Griffin (of Ohio State University) with thirty-three (out of a total of forty-three games played) 100-yard games; eleven of his 100-yard games were accomplished in a single season, also a record.

Dorsett, whose weight by then had climbed to 189 pounds, was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys in the first round of the 1977 professional draft. He rewarded the Cowboys with a season of more than 1,000 yards gained and thirteen touchdowns scored; his running average was an impressive 4.8 yards per carry. The National Football League (NFL) recognized him as Rookie of the Year. In the playoffs, Dorsett scored two touchdowns in Dallas's 37–7 victory over the Chicago Bears. In the conference championship, he scored the final touchdown as the Cowboys beat the Minnesota Vikings 23–6. Though only a first season player, Dorsett got Dallas off to a lead with a three-yard touchdown run in the Super Bowl; Dallas defeated the Denver Broncos 27–10 as he carried fifteen times for sixty-six yards.

In his second season as a pro, Dorsett improved to over 1,300 yards gained on 290 carries. He added an additional 378 yards on thirty-seven receptions. Dallas again made it to the playoffs. Dorsett did not score in the Cowboys' 27–20 victory over the Atlanta Falcons, but had one touchdown in their 28–0 shutout of the Los Angeles Rams in the conference championship. Super Bowl XIII was against the powerful Pittsburgh Steelers. Pittsburgh edged Dallas 35–31 despite Dorsett's ninety-six yards gained on sixteen carries. He added another forty-four yards on four receptions.

In his first nine seasons with the Cowboys, Dorsett was over 1,000 yards each year except for the strike-shortened season of 1982. His best performance was in 1981 when he gained more than 1,600 yards on 342 carries. In three other years, he went over 1,300 yards rushing, though he never again scored more than the thirteen touchdowns of his rookie season.

In postseason play, Dorsett scored one touchdown running and one receiving in Dallas's 34–13 victory over the Rams in the 1980 wild card game. In the conference championship game, he scored the only Dallas touchdown against the Philadelphia Eagles, who won 20–7. The next year, he scored touchdowns in both playoff games, but after beating the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the first round the Cowboys were edged 28–27 by the San Francisco 49ers.

Nagged by injuries, Dorsett's production deteriorated in the last three years of his career. He missed three full games in 1986 and four the next year. For his last season, 1988, he was traded to Denver. Though he played in all sixteen games, he fell below 4.0 yards per carry for only the third time in his career.

In twelve NFL seasons, Dorsett played in 173 games. He gained almost 1,300 yards, an average of 4.3 yards per carry putting him among the all-time leading rushers in NFL history. Adding the additional 3,500 yards on receptions, his all-purpose total was more than 16,000 yards. He scored ninety touchdowns, seventy-seven by rushing. In seventeen postseason contests, he added close to 1,400 yards rushing and more than 400 receiving. He played in five National Conference title games and two Super Bowls. He was picked for the Pro-Bowl on four different occasions.

Dorsett is married to Julie Dorsett. They have two children and reside in the Dallas area. Their son, Anthony, also played in the NFL.

Not big by the standards of his day for running backs, Dorsett was an elusive runner who excelled in changing speed and direction to find holes in the defense. In 1993, against Minnesota, he scored on a ninety-nine-yard run from scrimmage. Under NFL rules, that is a record that can be tied but never broken. He was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1994.

An article in the Evening News (Buffalo, New York) (30 Nov. 1976) summarizes Dorsett's college career. Other information can be found in Bob Caroll et al., Total Football (1997), David L. Porter, ed., Biographical Dictionary of American Sport: Football (1987), and the Pro Football Hall of Fame Archives in Canton, Ohio.

Art Barbeau