OSU, Dallas Cowboys mourn loss of Walt Garrison
STILLWATER — Former Oklahoma State and Dallas Cowboys standout Walt Garrison passed away last week at the age of 79.
STILLWATER — Former Oklahoma State and Dallas Cowboys standout Walt Garrison passed away last week at the age of 79.
After growing up in Lewisville, Texas, Garrison arrived at OSU in the fall of 1962 and played football for the Cowboys from then through the 1965 season.
Coming to the university as a linebacker, he played that position for one year and was then moved to the backfield where he stayed for the rest of his career.
His junior year in 1964, Garrison led the Big 8 Conference in rushing with 730 yards, beating out Jim Grisham and Gale Sayers, and was named to the conference all-academic team.
During his senior year in 1965 he was named to the All-Big 8 team after finishing the season with 924 rushing yards, 107 receiving yards and five touchdowns, and he helped the Cowboys defeat the Oklahoma Sooners for the first time in 20 years in the last game of his OSU career.
After that season, he played in the East-West Shrine Game, the Senior Bowl, the Coaches All-America Game and the College All-Star Game. He finished his OSU career with seven 100yard rushing games, including a career-best 173 yards against Kansas State.
Following his career in Stillwater, Garrison was selected by the Dallas Cowboys in the fifth round of the 1966 National Football League Draft and played a nine-year NFL career entirely with the Cowboys, winning the Super Bowl in 1972 and playing a vital role on the team in each year of his career. He retired from Dallas as the third-leading rusher and fourth-leading receiver in team history and was part of the generation of Cowboys that launched Dallas as “America’s Team.”
Away from the football field, Garrison also spent time on the professional rodeo circuit during football off-season.
He was inducted into the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame in 1993 and in 2000 he was inducted into the OSU Athletics Hall of Honor. He was also named to the Dallas Cowboys’ 25th anniversary team and was inducted into the Texas Cowboy Hall of Fame and the Texas Sports Hall of Fame in 2012.
