Why is Dallas Cowboys legend Drew Pearson crying again? His Hall of Fame dream is near
The long wait for official football immortality might be finally over for former Dallas Cowboys receiver Drew Pearson.
He was selected Tuesday as the Senior Finalist for the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Class of 2021 by the Hall’s senior committee, which met virtually.
The senior committee finalists are usually voted in and that point wasn’t lost on Pearson.
“Thank you for the call. You made my day, and you made my life,” an emotional Pearson said near the end of a call from Hall of Fame President and CEO David Baker telling him the news.
“How can I thank you? I’m crying, and I haven’t cried in a long time. Happy tears. I’ve been waiting for this call for so long. I know there is one more hurdle to get over, but this is the closest I’ve been. This is a dream come true.”
Pearson now must receive 80% voting support from the 48-member selection committee on Selection Saturday, Feb. 6, 2021 in Tampa, Florida, to be inducted next August.
It could be a Cowboys convention in Canton for the 2021 induction ceremony. The Class of 2020, which includes former Cowboys coach Jimmy Johnson and safety Cliff Harris, will also be inducted then as it had its ceremony postponed due to COVID-19.
Pearson just missed out on being part of the Centennial Class of 2020 for the Pro Football Hall of Fame last January. It was a moment that saw his lash out in disappointment, telling the Hall of Fame committee that they broke his heart.
He is happy now.
“I am excited,” Pearson added in an interview with the Star-Telegram. “I feel like I would feel if I got the news as a first ballot Hall of Famer. It doesn’t matter if you have to wait 30 something years. Once you hear the news you know you are one step closer. I am the only senior on the ballot. How can they say no this time? I’m more confident that I won’t have to go through the experience again from last January.
“Anything can happen. But I’m the closest I have been. I’m excited.”
Pearson entered the league as an undrafted free agent out of Tulsa. He played his entire 11-year career with the Cowboys, making 489 receptions for 7,822 yards and 48 touchdowns. He was a three-time Pro Bowler and three-time All-Pro and a member of the All-Decade Team of the 1970s.
The 1977 Cowboys won Super Bowl XII with Pearson leading the NFL in receiving yards (870) that season.
He is the only member of the 1970s All-Decade team not yet in the Hall of Fame. And the only receiver on the All-Decade teams of the 1970s, 1980s, 1990s not in the Hall of Fame.
Pearson, the original No 88 with the Cowboys, would join Michael Irvin as members of the team’s famed No. 88 club in the Hall of Fame.
This story was originally published August 18, 2020 at 4:03 PM.
