Walt Garrison

Lore & Background

Garrison was born in Denton, Texas, and attended Lewisville High School, where he played linebacker, basketball, and baseball. He accepted a football scholarship from Oklahoma State University, initially playing linebacker before being moved to running back in 1963. He led the Big Eight Conference in rushing in 1964 and finished his college career with 924 rushing yards as a senior. He was selected by the Dallas Cowboys in the fifth round of the 1966 NFL draft and also by the Kansas City Chiefs in the 17th round of the 1966 AFL draft. Garrison played in the NFL for nine seasons, all with the Cowboys, and retired as the third leading rusher and fourth-leading receiver in team history. He also competed in rodeo during off-seasons and was a long-time spokesman for Skoal smokeless tobacco.

In Their Own Story

It recounts Whitman's experiences during the American Civil War, where he worked in Washington, D.C. hospitals caring for the wounded, and his reactions to the assassination of Abraham Lincoln through poems like 'O Captain! My Captain!' and 'When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd'. The text also details Whitman's health decline after a stroke and his move to Camden, New Jersey, prior to his death in 1892.

Reader's Guide

Walt Garrison was a fullback for the Dallas Cowboys from 1966 to 1974. He was known for his toughness, playing through injuries such as a cracked collarbone and ankle injury in the 1970 NFC Championship Game. He led the team in receptions in 1971 and was named to the Pro Bowl in 1972. He retired in August 1975 after a knee injury sustained in a steer wrestling accident. He was inducted into the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame in 1993 and the Oklahoma State Athletics Hall of Honor in 2000, as well as the Texas Cowboy Hall of Fame and the Texas Sports Hall of Fame in 2012.

Did You Know?

• Garrison was a 'real' cowboy who spent time on the professional rodeo circuit during football off-seasons; his signing bonus with the Cowboys included a horse trailer.
• He was one of only two cowboys to ever complete a ride on the famous rodeo bull named Oscar.
• In 1972, he was featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated for its pro football preview issue.
• He published his biography Once a Cowboy in 1988.