Earl Campbell

Early life

Earl Christian Campbell was born to Ann and Bert "B.C." Campbell, on March 29, 1955, in Tyler, Texas, leading to the nickname "the Tyler Rose" later in his career. He was the sixth of 11 siblings. B.C. died when Earl was 11 years old. Campbell began playing football in fifth grade as a kicker, but moved to linebacker in sixth grade after watching Dick Butkus, whom he modeled his playing style after. Ann Campbell attempted to persuade Earl not to play football in high school. "I dis-encouraged Earl," she said. "But he always loved football." In 1973, Campbell led the Corky Nelson–coached John Tyler High School to the Texas 4A State Championship (4A then was the largest classification in the state). That season, he was named Mr. Football USA as he was adjudged the national high school player of the year.

While heavily recruited, Campbell narrowed his choices to Houston, Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas, and Baylor. After in-home visits from Barry Switzer from Oklahoma and Darrell Royal from Texas, Campbell ultimately chose Texas. Switzer, who unsuccessfully recruited Campbell, said in his 1989 book that Campbell was the only player he ever saw who could have gone straight from high school to the NFL and immediately become a star.

College career

Campbell attended the University of Texas at Austin, where he played college football for the Texas Longhorns from 1974 to 1977.

As a freshman in 1974, Campbell played in all 11 games and had 162 carries for 928 yards and six touchdowns.

As a sophomore in 1975, Campbell was a first-team All-America selection at fullback by the American Football Coaches Association after leading the Southwest Conference with 1,118 rushing yards, 13 rushing touchdowns, and 78 points scored.

In 1976, leg injuries kept Campbell out of four games during his junior season, and he rushed for 653 yards and three touchdowns in seven games as Texas finished with a 5–5–1 record.

Campbell led the nation in rushing as a senior in 1977, with 1,744 yards and 19 touchdowns. In the third game of the season, against the Rice Owls, Campbell scored four touchdowns during a 72–15 blowout in which Texas kicker Russell Erxleben set an NCAA record with a 67-yard field goal. In his final regular-season game, Campbell rushed for a career-high 222 yards in a 57–28 victory over rival Texas A&M, and the Longhorns finished the regular season undefeated. After clinching the Southwest Conference championship, the top-ranked Longhorns then faced No. 5 Notre Dame, led by quarterback Joe Montana, in the Cotton Bowl Classic. Campbell carried 29 times for 116 yards in the game, but Notre Dame was victorious, 38–10, and claimed the national championship. Texas was ranked fourth in the final AP Poll.

Campbell was awarded the Heisman Memorial Trophy as the most outstanding college player after the season, becoming the University of Texas' first winner of the award. He also became the first recipient of the Davey O'Brien Memorial Trophy which was awarded to the outstanding player in the Southwest Conference. The Sporting News and United Press International each named Campbell the college football player of the year. He was a unanimous All-American, being named to the first team by every major selector.

Campbell finished his college career with 4,443 rushing yards and 40 rushing touchdowns in 40 games through four seasons.

Professional career

Houston Oilers

Campbell was the first overall draft pick in the 1978 NFL draft, selected by the Houston Oilers, who signed him to a six-year, $1.4 million contract. The Oilers obtained the pick from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers by trading tight end Jimmie Giles, their first and second round picks in the 1978 Draft, and their third and fifth round picks in the 1979 Draft. "This is a commitment to excellence," said Oilers head coach Bum Phillips. "It takes a great running back to have a winning football team and this kid is a great running back." After rushing for a league-leading and rookie record 1,450 yards, Campbell was named the Offensive Rookie of the Year by the Sporting News and Associated Press (AP). He was also named the AFC Offensive Player of the Year by United Press International (UPI), NFL Offensive Player of the Year by the AP, and the NFL Most Valuable Player (MVP) by the Newspaper Enterprise Association (NEA) and Pro Football Writers of America (PFWA). Campbell's emergence contributed to the start of the Luv Ya Blue era in Houston.

With quarterback Dan Pastorini nursing a mid-season shoulder injury, Campbell carried the Oilers to a five-game winning streak in 1979, which concluded with a 30–24 victory over the Dallas Cowboys on Thanksgiving Day, in which he rushed for 195 yards and two touchdowns. He finished the season with 1,697 rushing yards and 19 touchdowns, leading the league in both categories. Campbell also set NFL records with 11 100-yard rushing games, seven consecutive 100-yard games, and 368 carries. He was named NFL MVP by the AP, NEA, and PFWA. Campbell also repeated as the AP Offensive Player of the Year, and won the Bert Bell Award as the league's most outstanding player.

With his aggressive running style which favored running over players instead of around them, questions began to arise over how long Campbell could stay healthy. "He runs with a lot of reckless abandon," said Ron Johnson, a former running back whose own career was cut short. "You can run like that in college. But you can't do that for 10 years and hope to survive." Pittsburgh Steelers running back Franco Harris said, "Knocking over people can look very good but you can't do it forever. Sometimes it's going to be somebody else who knocks you over ... so the most important thing I think isn't to get a few extra yards every time but to make sure you're healthy enough to play." Bum Phillips, though, favored Campbell's running style. "I've been looking for a back like Earl," he said. "I'm not going to change his style. Why would I? You don't want a guy who gets hit and then flops on the ground. Earl does the same thing other backs do, only better."

New Orleans Saints

The Saints received Campbell in exchange for their first-round draft pick in 1985, with which Houston selected cornerback Richard Johnson. The trade came as a surprise in New Orleans; the team already had the young George Rogers, the 1981 No. 1 overall draft pick and that year's Rookie of the Year and rushing champion. With Campbell and Rogers, the Saints now had two Heisman Trophy winners in the backfield. In his first game with New Orleans, Campbell carried five times for 19 yards, and continued to have a diminished role in the offense throughout the rest of the season. He rushed for a total of 468 yards and four touchdowns in 1984, and failed to record a 100-yard game during the season.

Campbell's final 100-yard game was his only one in 1985: a 160-yard outburst against the Minnesota Vikings in which he scored his only touchdown of the season. Campbell finished the year with 643 rushing yards on 158 carries.

Retirement

After considering a return for one more season to reach 10,000 career rushing yards, Campbell retired during the 1986 preseason, feeling that the beating he had taken during his career had taken too much of a toll. Campbell stated: "I'm a man; I'm not a little boy. I believe this is the best thing—not only for myself, but for the Saints." He finished his career with 2,187 carries for 9,407 yards and 74 touchdowns to go along with 121 receptions for 806 yards in the regular season.

Career statistics

Awards and honors

NFL

NFL Most Valuable Player (1979)

3× NFL Offensive Player of the Year (1978–1980)

NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year (1978)

3× First-team All-Pro (1978–1980)

5× Pro Bowl (1978–1981, 1983)

Bert Bell Award (1979)

Joe F. Carr Trophy (1978)

3× NFL rushing yards leader (1978–1980)

2× NFL rushing touchdowns leader (1979, 1980)

NFL 1970s All-Decade Team

NFL 100th Anniversary All-Time Team

No. 55 on The Top 100: NFL's Greatest Players

PFWA All-Rookie Team (1978)

Titans/Oilers Ring of Honor

Houston Oilers No. 34 retired

College

Heisman Trophy (1977)

Davey O'Brien Memorial Trophy (1977)

SN Player of the Year (1977)

Chic Harley Award (1977)

Unanimous All-American (1977)

First-team All-American (1975)

Legacy

Campbell is widely acknowledged as one of the best power running backs in NFL history, and was highly regarded by his peers. "Every time you hit him you lower your own IQ," said Redskins linebacker Pete Wysocki. Cornerback Lester Hayes of the Raiders said, "Earl Campbell was put on this earth to play football." Cliff Harris, safety for the Cowboys, recalled Campbell as "the hardest-hitting running back I ever played against. He didn't have the elusiveness of an O. J. Simpson. But when you finished a game against Earl, you had to sit in a tub with Epsom salts." Bum Phillips, when asked if Campbell was in a class by himself, quipped, "I dunno. But if he ain't, it don't take long to call the roll."

Campbell is considered one of the greatest running backs in Texas Longhorns and college football history. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1990, along with fellow Heisman winner Jim Plunkett of Stanford. Campbell became the first Texas Longhorns football player to have his jersey retired by the university, his number 20 being retired in 1979. In 2000, an internet poll of Longhorns fans voted Campbell to Texas' All-Century team. He received the most votes, beating out recently graduated Ricky Williams.

On July 27, 1991, Campbell was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Others inducted in the 1991 class were John Hannah, Stan Jones, Tex Schramm, and Jan Stenerud. He was introduced at the ceremony by Bum Phillips. Campbell's jersey number 34 was retired by the Oilers in 1987. He was inducted as one of six charter members into the Titans Hall of Fame in 1999, although Campbell declined an invitation to the induction ceremony, stating, "I was a Houston Oiler, not a Tennessee Titan."

In 1999, Campbell was ranked number 33 on The Sporting News' list of the 100 greatest football players, the highest-ranked player for the Houston Oilers franchise. In 2010, NFL Network ranked Campbell the 55th greatest player of all time in The Top 100: NFL's Greatest Players, and he was ranked by the sportswriter Max Bertellotti of the Turner Sports Network as the number 3 "power back" of all time, behind Jim Brown and John Riggins.

Campbell was honored at halftime against Ohio State on September 9, 2006, including the unveiling of a 9-foot (2.7 m) bronze statue of Campbell in the southwest corner of Royal-Memorial Stadium. The same year, he was featured on the cover of Dave Campbell's Texas Football, an honor that eluded him during his playing days.

Personal life

While at the University of Texas, Campbell was a member of the honorary men's service organization, the Texas Cowboys.

In 1980, Campbell married his high school sweetheart Reuna Smith, and they have two sons: Christian and Tyler. Christian played high school football with Drew Brees, the nephew of his father's former Longhorns teammate Marty Akins, at Westlake High and ran track for the University of Houston. Tyler was a running back for Pasadena City College and San Diego State but was forced to give up the sport due to multiple sclerosis (MS). He returned to Texas after graduation and divides his time between the family business and raising awareness of MS with his father.

In 1990, Campbell founded Earl Campbell Meat Products, Inc. which manufactures and sells Earl Campbell's Smoked Sausage and other food products and barbecue sauce. Campbell and his associates also opened a restaurant in 1999 on Sixth Street in Austin called Earl Campbell's Lone Star BBQ, which closed in 2001.

As of 2016, he still actively participated in University of Texas athletics, serving as special assistant to the football team.

Health

Campbell has experienced various physical ailments in his later life. By 2001, at age 46, Campbell could barely close his fist due to arthritis in his hands. He developed foot drop due to nerve damage in his legs, and has difficulty bending his back and knees. Campbell was diagnosed with spinal stenosis in 2009. Because of his difficulty walking, Campbell uses a cane or a walker, and a wheelchair for longer distances. At first, he maintained the ailments were genetic, but said in 2012, "I think some of it came from playing football, playing the way I did."

In 2009, Campbell became addicted to painkillers prescribed for his spinal stenosis, taking as many as ten OxyContin pills a day with Budweiser. He went through rehabilitation and broke his addiction the same year. Since publicizing the incident in 2013, he has spoken out about the dangers of substance abuse.