TCU alum Mike Renfro says SWC Hall of Fame honor special
Mike Renfro played on bad TCU football teams during his college career. The Frogs won only four games in his four seasons.
But that didn’t stop Renfro from putting up big numbers and being the one bright spot the Frogs had going for them. Renfro finished his college career with 2,739 receiving yards, leaving TCU as the school’s all-time leader in receiving touchdowns (17) and career receptions (162).
He made the All-Southwest Conference team in 1975, 1976 and 1977, and was a second-team All-America selection in 1977.
So it’s no surprise that Renfro headlined the list of the nine-member 2016 Southwest Conference Hall of Famers during an induction ceremony Monday afternoon at the Hilton Fort Worth.
The SWC Hall of Fame is housed within the Texas Sports Hall of Fame in Waco, and Renfro called it an honor to be joining his dad, Ray, with a plaque in the same building.
Ray Renfro was inducted into the Texas Sports Hall of Fame in 1995.
“Obviously it’s a special honor for myself and my family,” Mike Renfro said. “I’m going to get to join Ray, my father, and get a plaque on the wall somewhat close to Ray will be awesome.
“It’s a real honor. The Southwest Conference, if you grew up in Texas and had any athletic ability in high school, you certainly wanted to play in the Southwest Conference.”
Renfro recalled his recruiting days coming out of Fort Worth Arlington Heights, and not being thrilled by the notion of going to TCU and staying in his hometown. But his dad had played with TCU’s new coach, Jim Shofner, with the Cleveland Browns, and pushed his son to go to TCU.
“I knew we weren’t great and had a lot of recruiting to do to be able to compete with the UTs and Arkansas and other great schools,” Renfro said. “But I knew we’d at least throw the football a lot and that’s what I was interested in.
“So I stayed home and didn’t win many games. It wasn’t the most exciting time in my life, but we threw the football. We were always trying to catch up, so that was fun.”
Renfro played a decade in the NFL, spending six seasons with Houston (1978-82) and four with Dallas (1984-87).
He and his father are considered among the best father-son wide receiving duos in NFL history. His father played 12 seasons with the Browns in the NFL and was a three-time Pro Bowl selection.
Renfro considers himself blessed to play college football in Texas, and then spend his professional career in the state as well playing under legendary coaches such as Bum Phillips and Tom Landry.
“I feel like a Texan,” Renfro said, smiling.
Renfro still keeps a close eye on the Cowboys, of course, and feels as though he’d be a Cole Beasley-type receiver in today’s game. The slot receiver wasn’t much of a thing during Renfro’s playing days, although that is what his size and speed would correlate to best nowadays.
“I would probably be in the slot and doing things like [Wes] Welker has done and Cole has done,” Renfro said. “We rarely brought a receiver in [the slot] and there was never four receiver sets that I remember. But, of course, I had two Hall of Fame running backs in the backfield and that was priority one to get them the ball — Tony Dorsett and Earl Campbell.”
Some of the other inductees in the nine-member class included former Cy Young winner Doug Drabek, who played at Houston, as well as Joe Kleine, Arkansas’ two-time All-SWC center who was part of the 1984 men’s gold medal team, and Travis Mays, the Texas standout basketball player who is now the women’s coach at SMU.
“I was surprised when I got the call that I was nominated and it’s a great honor cause I’ve got to admit I miss having the Southwest Conference,” Drabek said.
Drew Davison: 817-390-7760, @drewdavison
This story was originally published September 26, 2016 at 4:16 PM with the headline "TCU alum Mike Renfro says SWC Hall of Fame honor special."