Pettis Norman

Pettis Burch Norman is a former professional American football tight end in the National Football League for the Dallas Cowboys and the San Diego Chargers. He played college football at Johnson C. Smith University.

Pettis Norman
No. 84, 88
Position:Tight end
Personal information
Born: (1939-01-04) January 4, 1939
Lincolnton, Georgia
Height:6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Weight:222 lb (101 kg)
Career information
High school:West Charlotte (NC)
College:Johnson C. Smith
AFL draft:1962 / Round: 16 / Pick: 123
Career history
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics
Games:162
Player stats at NFL.com
Player stats at PFR

Early years

Norman was born in Lincolnton, Georgia on January 4, 1939[1] to Fessor and Elease "Eloise" Norman (née Booker) as the youngest of nine siblings. He attended West Charlotte High School in Charlotte, North Carolina where he made the team in his junior season and became a starter in his final year. He enlisted in the Air Force but was granted a release before attending boot camp due to a football scholarship offer from Johnson C. Smith University by then coach Eddie McGirt, without ever having seen him play[2]

He was named the starter and team MVP at split end as a freshman.[3] He was a two-way player and became a two-time All-CIAA selection. As a senior he had a game with 5 receptions for 133 yards, 2 touchdowns and was credited with 14 tackles.

He also lettered in track and field, once posting a 9.7 seconds 100-yard dash. The university's annual Pettis Norman Male and Female Athlete of the Year Award is given to the school's most outstanding student-athletes.[4][5]

In 1977, he was inducted into the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association Hall of Fame.

Professional career

Dallas Cowboys

Norman was selected by the Dallas Texans in the 16th round (123rd overall) of the 1962 AFL Draft, but wasn't chosen in the NFL Draft due to the Texans spreading rumors that they had already signed him to a contract. This situation influenced him to join the Dallas Cowboys in 1962 as an undrafted free agent.

He was used mostly on special teams during his first two seasons. In 1963, he was initially used as a split end and started 6 games, before being moved to tight end because he excelled in blocking.

The next year, he became a full-time starter and manned the Cowboys tight end position for nearly a decade, becoming part of the franchise's legacy of great tight ends that included: Jim Doran, Dick Bielski, Lee Folkins, Mike Ditka, Billy Joe Dupree, Jackie Smith, Doug Cosbie, Jay Novacek and Jason Witten.

In 1965 and 1966, Norman split the tight end job with Franklin Clarke.

He played in the 1967 NFL Championship Game[6], more commonly known as the Ice Bowl[7], against the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field in sub-zero temperatures.[8] The Dallas Cowboys lost 21-17 in the last minutes of the game, due in large part to Bart Starr's quarterback sneak play.[9]

When Ditka joined the Cowboys in 1969 after having been a 4 time All-Pro tight end with the Chicago Bears, Norman remained the starter, but split playing time with Ditka to provide great blocking and leadership along the offensive line.

Norman also started in Super Bowl V, which was a loss to the Baltimore Colts.[10]

The sports announcer Jack Buck during his two-year stint covering the Cowboys, famously referred to him on the air as Norman Pettis, prompting Blackie Sherrod, a sportswriter in Dallas, to write: "Dallas fans are tired of Pettis Norman constantly being referred to as Norman Pettis by broadcaster Buck Jack."

After trading the troubled Lance Rentzel, the Cowboys replaced him with future hall of famer Lance Alworth and Norman was sent to the San Diego Chargers as part of the "Bambi trade" in May 1971, that also involved Ron East and Tony Liscio.

San Diego Chargers

In his first season with the San Diego Chargers, Norman was named the starter at tight end and had a career-high 27 catches for 358 yards. He played with the Chargers until he retired after the 1973 season because of a degenerative knee condition, having played 12 years and 162 games, receiving 183 passes for 2,492 yards and 15 touchdowns.

Personal life


Norman enlisted in the Texas Army National Guard in 1962 and served until 1968 while playing for the Dallas Cowboys. He married his junior high sweetheart, Margaret Ann Clinkscales, on December 22, 1962 and had three daughters before becoming widowed in 1991. The Reverend Jesse Jackson eulogized Norman's late wife. In 1995, Norman married Ivette Hightower, daughter of the late Master Chief Harry Hightower for whom Hightower Hall at Naval Station Norfolk was named.[11] The Reverend Jesse Jackson officiated the wedding.[12]

Norman was active in changing the segregationist climate within the Cowboys and later the City of Dallas, helping to organize marches during the Civil Rights Movement, influencing the changing of the team's roommate assignments and breaking social barriers.[13] He also became a successful businessman in different ventures (fast food franchises, real state, transportation, convenience stores, etc.).[14] In 1975, Norman was a television announcer and color commentator for the World Football League, formed in 1973 by attorney and businessman Gary Davidson. Norman appeared on WRET TV 36 (Charlotte, NC), WGHP TV 8 (High Point, NC), and WCTG TV 17 (Atlanta, GA) with John Sterling (sportscaster).[15]

He sued the Dallas Cowboys and San Diego Chargers, claiming medical negligence in the handling of his injured knee.[16][17]

On December 2, 2014, the Dallas Police Department reported that Sharneen Norman, who also went by "Shawn," died from a gunshot wound. She was the eldest of Norman's three daughters.[18]

References
  1. "Pettis Norman NFL". Retrieved June 10, 2020.
  2. "JCSU Honors Three Distinguished Coaches". Retrieved June 10, 2020.
  3. "Smith sophs drub Delaware by 42-0". Retrieved April 30, 2017.
  4. "JCSU Athletics Honors Their Student-Athletes At 2011 Athletic Awards Ceremony". Retrieved April 30, 2017.
  5. "JCSU Athletics closes out the 2018-19 Season at Smitty's Golden Awards". Retrieved June 10, 2020.
  6. "Spagnola: Rather Amazing 50 Years Ago Sunday Ice Bowl Still Frozen In Time". Retrieved June 10, 2020.
  7. "Remembering what it was like on the sideline at the Ice Bowl". Retrieved June 10, 2020.
  8. "December 31, 1967: Weather During the Icebowl". Retrieved June 10, 2020.
  9. "Spagnola: Rather Amazing 50 Years Ago Sunday Ice Bowl Still Frozen In Time". Retrieved June 10, 2020.
  10. "Pettis Norman IMDb". Retrieved June 10, 2020.
  11. "Naval Station Norfolk". Retrieved June 10, 2020.
  12. "Biography". Retrieved June 10, 2020.
  13. "Few Minorities in Country Clubs". Retrieved April 30, 2017.
  14. "Do whites get more jobs than blacks ?". Retrieved April 30, 2017.
  15. "1975 WFL Game Summaries Media Information". Retrieved June 10, 2020.
  16. "Norman Files Suit Against Dallas". Retrieved April 30, 2017.
  17. "Norman wins suit against Chargers". Retrieved April 30, 2017.
  18. "Dallas police believe man who killed daughter of former Dallas Cowboy Pettis Norman committed suicide". Retrieved April 30, 2017.
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