88 of Drew Pearson was donated to the next Cowboys receiver with ambitions to meet his legendary standard this spring, and Pearson would soon be able to see this standard preserved forever in Canton.
Pearson was selected as the senior finalist for the 2021 Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Class, the Hall announced Tuesday. Tom Flores, who led the Raiders to two Super Bowl titles as head coach, was also announced as a senior finalist from the coaching ranks.
In a career-high, 11-season career, Pearson stepped up from draft free agent to become a three-time All-Pro, three-time Pro Bowler, member of the 1970 All-Decade Team and Super Bowl XII champion. He did so by catching 489 passes for 7,822 yards – both good for fourth-most in Cowboys history – and 48 touchdowns in 156 career games, all spent with Dallas. Pearson was equally efficient in the offseason, essentially matching his yards per game mark and picking up eight extra touchdowns in 22 playoff games.
“Thank you for the call. You made my day, and you made my life,” said an emotional Pearson Hall of Fame President and CEO David Baker, per the Hall’s release. “How can I thank you? I’m crying, and I haven’t cried in a long time. Happy tears. I’ve been waiting so long for this call.”
Pearson’s receiving totals pale in comparison to the grit of later years mainly because the time in which he played was still dominated by a first approach. Pearson’s yard per receiving mark of 16 falls in line with that of Hall of Famer Steve Largent, and edge colleague named No. 88 Michael Irvin by one-tenth of a yard, illustrating his effectiveness in another era of football.
Pearson emerged from a group of 12 senior nominees whose careers ended at least 25 years ago, with the Hall’s First Committee deciding on Pearson as their choice for 2021. Pearson will need 80 percent support through the 48-member full selection committee. members voted on February 6, 2021 in Tampa, Florida.
Also announced Tuesday as senior finalist was Flores.
The former Raiders signalman became the first Latino head coach to win a Super Bowl in January 1981 when his Oakland Raiders defeated the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl XV. He won the title in his first playoff appearance as head coach, and became just one of seven coaches to do so in NFL history.
Flores portrayed the early Raiders as much as anyone, going from the team’s starting quarterback in his first game in 1960 as part of the AFL’s launch, to the second winning coach in franchise history, trapping only the coach for whom he played: John Madden. As his players have often said, Flores’ quiet, confident style contrasted with that of Madden, but they both found success on the sidelines as leaders of the Silver and Blacks. Flores’ 8-3 mark in the postseason stands as proof that his way worked, despite the team being in Oakland or Los Angeles, where he led the Raiders to another title in 1983 (Super Bowl XVIII).
Flores is one of eight head coaches to win a Super Bowl within his first two seasons, and one of three head coaches to win a Super Bowl with the team he played for. He ended his head coaching career by patrolling the Seattle Seahawks’ 1992-1994 sideline.
The committee will select from 18 finalists, including Pearson, Flores and a senior contributor to nominate, and 15 modern-day finalists on February 6, 2021. Like Pearson, Flores will also need 80 percent of the selection committee’s vote. .
