Drew Pearson

Drew Pearson: Hall of Fame wide receiver for the Dallas Cowboys, known as 'Mr. Clutch'.

Drew Pearson (born January 12, 1951) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver for 11 seasons with the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Tulsa Golden Hurricane. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2021.

Quick Facts

Position: Wide receiver
Born: 12 January 1951
Birthplace: South River, New Jersey, U.S.
High school: South River
College: Tulsa
Teams: Dallas Cowboys (1973–1983)

Lore & Background

Pearson was born and raised in South River, New Jersey, and began his football career at South River High School as one of the wide receivers of Joe Theismann. As a junior, he succeeded Theismann as the starting quarterback. He also lettered in baseball and basketball, graduating in 1969. He accepted a football scholarship from the University of Tulsa.

As a sophomore in 1970, he was the backup quarterback behind John Dobbs. As a junior in 1971, he was converted into a wide receiver. He finished his college career with 55 receptions for 1,119 yards, 8 touchdowns and a 20.3-yard average per reception. In 1985, he was inducted into the Tulsa Athletics Hall of Fame.

In 1998, he received the NCAA Silver Anniversary Award. In 1973, Pearson was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Dallas Cowboys. He helped the Cowboys to three Super Bowl appearances and a victory in Super Bowl XII in 1978. He also scored a touchdown in Super Bowl X. Pearson was known as 'Mr. Clutch' for his numerous clutch catches in game-winning situations, especially the Hail Mary reception from Roger Staubach that sealed the victory over the Vikings in a 1975 playoff game.

He rose to become one of the NFL's greatest wide receivers, earning career records of 489 receptions and 7,822 receiving yards, along with 189 rushing yards, 155 yards returning kickoffs, and 50 touchdowns (48 receiving and two fumble recoveries). Pearson was named one of the Top 20 Pro Football All-Time wide receivers, he was also recognized for his achievements by being named to the NFL 1970s All-Decade Team. Despite this fact, he was the only player from the team to not be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame at the time, including the only one from the offensive first team category.

Pearson was named All-Pro three times (1974, 1976–77), All-NFC in 1975 and second Team All-NFC in 1978. In addition, Pearson was a Pro Bowler in 1974, 1976 and 1977. He was named The Football Digest NFL receiver of the year in 1977. He led the National Football Conference (NFC) in pass receptions in 1976 with 58.

He served as offensive captain for the Cowboys in 1977, 1978, 1982 and 1983. In 1984, he was named to the Dallas Cowboys' 25th-anniversary team. On August 19, 2011, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones announced that Pearson had been selected for inclusion into the Dallas Cowboys Ring of Honor.