WEATHERFORD, TX — Walt Garrison, Dallas Cowboys Legend, has died. The former Oklahoma State Cowboy died at a memory care facility in Weatherford early Wednesday morning, October 11. The Dallas Cowboys great was a fan of both football and rodeo. Garrison, 79, would play football for most of the year and then head back to the rodeo once the football season ended.
Garrison grew up in the Denton area north of Dallas, where he attended Lewisville High School. After graduation, he was heavily recruited by Oklahoma State and New Mexico before he finally decided on the Cowboys. According to Robert Allen of the Pokes Report, a media source dedicated to covering Oklahoma State, Walt was a legend.
“Garrison was a way underrated, even by himself football player, a dedicated rodeo Cowboy, a spokesperson over the year for many successful companies,” Allen wrote. “He could tell stories, whittle wood with the best, and was representative of the American Cowboy culture.”
At Oklahoma State, the linebacker-turned-fullback rushed for over 2,000 yards in three seasons with the Cowboys. Apparently, being a lifelong Cowboy was his thing because, in 1966, the Dallas Cowboys drafted Garrison in the fifth round of the NFL Draft. As a Dallas Cowboy, Garrison played in two Super Bowls and won Super Bowl VI. Garrison tallied a total of 119 games played, 5,680 rushing yards gained, and a combined 39 touchdowns scored. He was selected as part of the Cowboys’ 25th Anniversary team. He is also honored in both the Oklahoma and Texas Sports Hall of Fame.
Dallas Cowboys Walt Garrison
(Credit: star-telegram.com)
Off of the football field, Garrison was an avid Cowboy engrossed in Rodeo. Legendary Cowboys’ Head Coach Tom Landry had to eventually put a stop to Garrison competing in rodeos the night before games, but Walt continued to Rodeo every off-season. The highest Garrison ever finished at a big rodeo was a fifth-place finish in the steer wrestling average at the 1974 Cheyenne Frontier Days.
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