Post by nmsooner80 on Mar 21, 2012 10:50:23 GMT -7
That's Highland grad Tommy McDonald.
Kudos to anyone else who's ever been to his original hometown of Roy. I read that his family moved from Roy to Albuquerque so he could get some exposure. Roy is 93 miles by highway north of Tucumcari, but there used to be a railroad that ran from Tucumcari to the coal mine at Dawson that probably cut the actual distance down to about 70 miles.
McDonald is also the aging poster-boy for one of UNM's epic administration screw-ups back in the early 50's. He actually wanted to be a Lobo, and they were really good back then. But their hoidy-toidy school president set an official policy of de-emphasis of athletics. That included his demand that the 1952 Lobo team decline all bowl bids in the name of showing that "academics come first." Typical myopic Lobo presidential kind of thinking - and it continued with several other brain-dead decisions involving football from the early 60's into the 90's.
NFL Hall of Famer Returns to Highland
By Jessica Dyer / Journal Staff Writer on Mar. 20, 2012
NFL Hall of Famer Returns to His Highland High Roots Today
Don’t bother looking for a modern-day Tommy McDonald.
He doesn’t exist.
At least McDonald himself doesn’t seem to think there’s anybody like him in the game of football today.
“Nobody has that kind of energy,” the NFL Hall of Fame wide receiver said without hesitation in a phone interview on Monday. “I’ll tell you that right now — God only gave it to one person, and that’s Tommy McDonald.”
Known for jumping to his feet and racing back to the huddle after being tackled, McDonald spent the 1950s and 1960s cementing his star status everywhere he went. That includes his college playing days at Oklahoma and a 12-year NFL career spent mostly with the Philadelphia Eagles.
But Albuquerque is where McDonald’s legend was born and that’s where the six-time Pro Bowl selection will be today. McDonald is returning to Highland High School, his alma mater, to be recognized this afternoon by the Pro Football Hall of Fame and Allstate as part of the “Hometown Hall of Famer” program.
The 1953 Highland grad currently lives in the Philadelphia area and said he doesn’t care to travel much anymore. But the 77-year-old originally from Roy, N.M., made an exception for this visit, partly because of his gratitude to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. After 24 unfulfilled years of Hall of Fame eligibility, McDonald finally was inducted in 1998. The occasion was so satisfying that McDonald still watches the footage of his enthusiastic and entertaining induction speech at least once a month.
“I tell you, I want to relive my talk and everything that I did at the Hall of Fame,” he said.
The speech — during which McDonald danced to the BeeGees’ “Stayin’ Alive” and chest-bumped the other inductees — remains one of the most exuberant in football history. McDonald refers to it as a “super” moment.
“And make sure you spell ‘super’ with a capital ‘S,’ capital ‘U,’ capital ‘P,’ capital ‘E’ and capital ‘R,’” McDonald said.
There have been plenty of super moments in McDonald’s life. As a pro who played for Philadelphia, Dallas, Los Angeles, Atlanta and Cleveland, he recorded 495 receptions for 8,410 yards and caught 84 touchdown passes. As a running back at the University of Oklahoma, he tallied a combined 33 touchdowns in the 1955 and ’56 seasons and was a two-time All-American selection.
McDonald was a three-sport sensation during his high school days. In addition to his football prowess — he scored 44 touchdowns in his two seasons with the Hornets — McDonald also averaged 24.8 points as a senior on the basketball team and was a five-event champion at the 1953 state track meet.
He was such a star that Highland retired both his football and basketball numbers during a 2003 ceremony.
Asked what stands out from his high school days, McDonald didn’t list the honors or athletic exploits but rather the people, including former coaches Hugh Hackett and Mickey Miller as well as his teachers.
“I don’t have to have rings or anything like that,” McDonald said of his Highland experience. “The teachers that they had, the coaches and everything they had right there — that is all I needed.”
— This article appeared on page D1 of the Albuquerque Journal
Kudos to anyone else who's ever been to his original hometown of Roy. I read that his family moved from Roy to Albuquerque so he could get some exposure. Roy is 93 miles by highway north of Tucumcari, but there used to be a railroad that ran from Tucumcari to the coal mine at Dawson that probably cut the actual distance down to about 70 miles.
McDonald is also the aging poster-boy for one of UNM's epic administration screw-ups back in the early 50's. He actually wanted to be a Lobo, and they were really good back then. But their hoidy-toidy school president set an official policy of de-emphasis of athletics. That included his demand that the 1952 Lobo team decline all bowl bids in the name of showing that "academics come first." Typical myopic Lobo presidential kind of thinking - and it continued with several other brain-dead decisions involving football from the early 60's into the 90's.
NFL Hall of Famer Returns to Highland
By Jessica Dyer / Journal Staff Writer on Mar. 20, 2012
NFL Hall of Famer Returns to His Highland High Roots Today
Don’t bother looking for a modern-day Tommy McDonald.
He doesn’t exist.
At least McDonald himself doesn’t seem to think there’s anybody like him in the game of football today.
“Nobody has that kind of energy,” the NFL Hall of Fame wide receiver said without hesitation in a phone interview on Monday. “I’ll tell you that right now — God only gave it to one person, and that’s Tommy McDonald.”
Known for jumping to his feet and racing back to the huddle after being tackled, McDonald spent the 1950s and 1960s cementing his star status everywhere he went. That includes his college playing days at Oklahoma and a 12-year NFL career spent mostly with the Philadelphia Eagles.
But Albuquerque is where McDonald’s legend was born and that’s where the six-time Pro Bowl selection will be today. McDonald is returning to Highland High School, his alma mater, to be recognized this afternoon by the Pro Football Hall of Fame and Allstate as part of the “Hometown Hall of Famer” program.
The 1953 Highland grad currently lives in the Philadelphia area and said he doesn’t care to travel much anymore. But the 77-year-old originally from Roy, N.M., made an exception for this visit, partly because of his gratitude to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. After 24 unfulfilled years of Hall of Fame eligibility, McDonald finally was inducted in 1998. The occasion was so satisfying that McDonald still watches the footage of his enthusiastic and entertaining induction speech at least once a month.
“I tell you, I want to relive my talk and everything that I did at the Hall of Fame,” he said.
The speech — during which McDonald danced to the BeeGees’ “Stayin’ Alive” and chest-bumped the other inductees — remains one of the most exuberant in football history. McDonald refers to it as a “super” moment.
“And make sure you spell ‘super’ with a capital ‘S,’ capital ‘U,’ capital ‘P,’ capital ‘E’ and capital ‘R,’” McDonald said.
There have been plenty of super moments in McDonald’s life. As a pro who played for Philadelphia, Dallas, Los Angeles, Atlanta and Cleveland, he recorded 495 receptions for 8,410 yards and caught 84 touchdown passes. As a running back at the University of Oklahoma, he tallied a combined 33 touchdowns in the 1955 and ’56 seasons and was a two-time All-American selection.
McDonald was a three-sport sensation during his high school days. In addition to his football prowess — he scored 44 touchdowns in his two seasons with the Hornets — McDonald also averaged 24.8 points as a senior on the basketball team and was a five-event champion at the 1953 state track meet.
He was such a star that Highland retired both his football and basketball numbers during a 2003 ceremony.
Asked what stands out from his high school days, McDonald didn’t list the honors or athletic exploits but rather the people, including former coaches Hugh Hackett and Mickey Miller as well as his teachers.
“I don’t have to have rings or anything like that,” McDonald said of his Highland experience. “The teachers that they had, the coaches and everything they had right there — that is all I needed.”
— This article appeared on page D1 of the Albuquerque Journal