Walt Garrison Dies at 79; Former NFL RB Won Super Bowl VI with Cowboys

Longtime Dallas Cowboys running back Walt Garrison, known for his offseason rodeo career and his contributions to Super Bowl VI, died Wednesday. He was 79 years old.

The news was first reported on the team's website.

Garrison played 132 games for the Cowboys from 1966 to 1974. He missed only seven contests over nine seasons.

His average of 4.32 yards per rush ranks fourth among all Cowboys, and his 3,491 career rushing yards remain top 10 in franchise history.

After the Cowboys lost Super Bowl V to the Baltimore Colts, Garrison helped lead Dallas to redemption following the 1971 season with 74 rushing yards in the Super Bowl VI championship win.

The following year, Garrison was named to his first Pro Bowl after collecting a career-high seven rushing touchdowns.

Garrison began his football career at Oklahoma State as a linebacker before transferring to fullback his sophomore year, leading to him being selected in the fifth round of the 1966 draft by the Cowboys. His signing bonus was a convertible and a horse trailer, according to Pokes Report's Robert Allen.

During NFL offseasons, Garrison competed in professional rodeos, a story he detailed in his 1988 autobiography Once a Cowboy. An injury suffered during steer wrestling led to his retirement from professional football at 30 years old.

Garrison was honored with the Ben Johnson Memorial Award by the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in 2011 for his work to promote the rodeo industry. The museum described Garrison as "a true cowboy, both at heart and in fact."

Garrison has also been celebrated as a member of the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Honor, Texas Cowboy Hall of Fame, Texas Sports Hall of Fame and the Cowboys' 25th anniversary team.