15. Drew Pearson
Position: Wide Receiver
Cowboys Career: 1973-83
Honors: Pearson is tied for first in club history for postseason touchdown catches with eight.
Highest Ranking From Panel: 10
He played 11 seasons, went to three Pro Bowls, and helped his team win numerous big games. However Drew Pearson's career could probably be summed up with just two little words:
Hail Mary.
Sure, Pearson did much more than haul in a game-winning 50-yard touchdown in the playoffs against Minnesota. In fact, he was a part of several memorable moments in Cowboys' history.
However, no play signifies the career of Pearson, Roger Staubach and the 1970s Cowboys' squad than the Hail Mary play that beat the Vikings in the 1975 playoffs.
The Cowboys were never out of games because they believed Staubach could engineer the comeback. More than that, the Cowboys knew they could rely on Pearson, who was one of the most clutch players in club history.
And Pearson didn't just catch big passes from Staubach. In fact, all three of his most clutch moments came from three different quarterbacks. In the 1974 Thanksgiving Day game against the Redskins, the Cowboys' chances were slim when little-known backup Clint Longley came off the bench for a knocked out Staubach. But with the Cowboys trailing by six in the final minute, Longley heaved a Hail Mary of his own and Pearson outran the Redskins secondary to make the game-winning touchdown.
In the 1980 Playoffs, the Cowboys trailed Atlanta by 13 with five minutes to go, but Danny White hit Pearson for two touchdown passes within three minutes of action, giving the Cowboys a remarkable comeback win on the road.
Pearson led the Cowboys in receiving four straight seasons from 1974-77 and still ranks second in club history with 489 receptions, behind only Michael Irvin (750), and third in receiving yards with 7,822, trailing just Irvin (11,904) and Tony Hill (7,988).
But Pearson did a lot of his damage in the playoffs. He is tied with Irvin for most playoff touchdown catches with eight, including one in Super Bowl X against the Steelers and an 83-yard game-clinching touchdown to beat the Rams in the 1973 playoffs.
Not bad for a player who went undrafted out of Tulsa back in1973.
Pearson is arguably the most decorated Cowboys player not in the Ring of Honor, with the possible exception of the team's more recent stars. But from the 1970s era, no player seemed to produce as many memorable moments as Drew Pearson.
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