Recaling R. Gradishar for al who mised him
Approximately 3.7 mil-
lion of Colorado’s nearly six
million current residents
are under age 45, i.e. born
in 1978 or after.
man has participated in
our athletic program,” said
OSU athletics director Ed
Weaver back then.
He’s also tied for seventh
all-time in fumble recover-
ies with 13. Two of the six
ahead of him are quarter-
backs, who were preventing
turnovers when they fell on
loose balls.
Heisman, a Super Bowl,
and a collegiate national
championship, and be
inducted into both the
College and Pro Football
Halls of Fame. In the book,
he relates a game against
Gradishar in 1980:
“Trainers and doctors
came running onto the
field. They thought I was
dead. Hey, I thought I was
dead, too.”
Sixth in Heisman Trophy
voting after his senior sea-
son (and the only defensive
player among the top six),
Gradishar was drafted 14th
by the Broncos. Only two
That means about two-
thirds of today’s Colora-
dans were either too young
to appreciate Randy Grad-
ishar’s play for the Broncos
or weren’t born
yet when his
10-year career
ended in 1983.
A year later, SPORT
magazine named Gradishar
one of the five hardest hit-
ters in the NFL.
Gradishar set the NFL re-
cord for tackles with 2,049
and was renowned as one
of the league’s hardest hit-
ters. No better testimony to
that exists than an account
from Tony Dorsett in the
book The Truly Great.
“I ran a pass pattern and
was wide open, but Danny
White did not see me. I go
back to the huddle and tell
Danny that I am wide open.
His Hall-ness is a mem-
ber of the College Football
Hall of Fame, the Ohio
State Varsity O Hall of
Fame, the Broncos Ring of
Fame, the Colorado Sports
Hall of Fame and the GTE
Academic Hall of Fame,
among countless honors.
players cho-
sen ahead of
him—No. 1,
defensive end
Ed “Too Tall”
Jones, and
fifth pick John
Dutton, a de-
fensive tackle,
played more
NFL games
than his 145.
“I ran the same route
again, but this time, I
was almost decapitated.
My eyes were only par-
tially open when I hit the
ground.
In addi-
tion, an un-
determined
number of the
remaining two
million-plus
state residents
over the age of
45 were living
somewhere else
when Gradishar
terrorized op-
ponents in the
National Foot-
ball League.
Dorsett rushed for more
than 1,000 yards in a
season eight times in his
12-year career and is one of
two players ever to win the
“Too Tall”
played the
most—224,
all for Dal-
las—and was
named to three
Pro Bowls (to
Gradishar’s
seven). He played for the
Cowboys when they beat
Gradishar and the Bron-
cos in Super Bowl XII.
Nonetheless, he hasn’t
been voted into the Hall of
Fame.
