Tommy McDonald

At 84 years old, Tommy McDonald has this physical status:

Thomas Franklin McDonald (July 26, 1934 – September 24, 2018) was an American football flanker with the Philadelphia Eagles, Dallas Cowboys, Los Angeles Rams, Atlanta Falcons, and Cleveland Browns in the National Football League (NFL).

He played college football for the Oklahoma Sooners.

He is a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame and the College Football Hall of Fame.

Early years

McDonald decided to repeat the eighth grade because his father believed that the extra time would give him a chance to develop. During his freshman year, where he played quarterback, he attended Roy High School in Roy, New Mexico, with an enrollment of about 150 students.

He moved to Highland High School in Albuquerque as a sophomore. He averaged over 20 yards per carry in football as a senior and set the state scoring record of 157 points.

He also set the city scoring record in basketball, winning five gold medals in the state track meet (100, 220, low hurdles, and 2 relays).

Personal life and death

McDonald wrote a book titled They Pay Me to Catch Footballs, which was released by Chilton in 1962.

He also dabbled in art. Tommy McDonald Enterprises, a business that made portrait paintings and plaques mainly of athletes, was owned by him. He did not paint the portraits himself, but had two painters who made them, although he later signed them as being from McDonald (Enterprises). At auction for $4,000. Joe DiMaggio's portrait was sold for $4,000.

During his time with the Eagles, he became a huge fan of Tommy's. Didinger, as an infant, would spend time with Tommy at the Eagles training camp in Hershey, Pennsylvania. Didinger helped Tommy Becoming a member of the Hall of Fame and then proceeded to induct Tommy into the Hall of Fame. "Tommy and Me," Didinger's 75-minute play "Tommy and Me" tells the tale of Ray and Tommy.

He died on September 24, 2018, at the age of 84. "Tommy McDonald lived life like he played football," Pro Football Hall of Fame president and CEO C. David Baker said in a tweet. "He was charismatic, ardent, and had a blast." He was such a likable fellow. Heaven is a happier place today.

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College career

McDonald accepted a football scholarship from the University of Oklahoma, after the Oklahoma basketball coach Bruce Drake, saw him play in an All-star football game in Albuquerque and encouraged him to have his parent write a letter to the football head coach Bud Wilkinson. Based on Drake's recommendation, Wilkinson invited McDonald to visit the school's campus and offered him a football scholarship soon thereafter.

In 1953, he spent the season on the freshman team. In 1954, he was a backup running back, registering 27 carries for 128 yards, 2 receptions for 28 yards and 2 touchdowns.

In 1955, he was named a starter at running back, tallying 114 carries for 715 yards (led the team), 16 rushing touchdowns (led the team), 7 receptions for 110 yards (second on the team) and one receiving touchdown (tied for the team lead). He also was a passer on the option play. He became the first player in school history to score a touchdown in every game of a season.

In 1956, he led the team with 119 carries for 853 yards, 12 rushing touchdowns, 12 receptions for 282 yards and 4 receiving touchdowns. At the end of the season he received the Maxwell Award as the nation's most outstanding college football player and finished third in the 1956 Heisman voting.

He excelled as a running back, never played in a losing game and was one of the key players during the school's 47-game winning streak. In 1985, he was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.

McDonald was also a member of the Delta Epsilon chapter of Sigma Nu fraternity while he was at Oklahoma.

Professional career

McDonald was selected by the Philadelphia Eagles in the third round of the 1957 NFL Draft. As a rookie, he was moved to wide receiver after he replaced an injured Bill Stribling in the ninth game of the season, making a 61-yard reception and a 25-yard receiving touchdown from quarterback Sonny Jurgensen.

He was a part of the team that won the 1960 NFL Championship against Vince Lombardi’s Green Bay Packers. In the contest, he had a 35-yard touchdown reception from quarterback Norm Van Brocklin.

In 1961, he led the NFL in receiving yards (1,144) and touchdowns (13). Against the New York Giants, he had 7 receptions for 237 yards and 2 touchdowns, which still is a franchise single-game record.

On March, 20, 1964, he was traded to the Dallas Cowboys in exchange for Sam Baker, John Meyers, and Lynn Hoyem.

In 1964, he was switched from flanker to split end, because the Cowboys already had an accomplished flanker in Franklin Clarke and split end Billy Howton had just retired. Looking to improve the receiving corps to help the young quarterback Don Meredith, they also traded with the Pittsburgh Steelers to get Buddy Dial.

In his only season with the club, he registered 46 receptions for 612 yards (13.3 average) and 2 touchdowns (one of them against the Eagles). In 1965, with the emergence of rookie Bob Hayes he was traded to the Los Angeles Rams in exchange for placekicker Danny Villanueva on May 14.

McDonald recorded a career-high 67 passes for 1,036 yards and 9 touchdowns in 1965. He was selected to his last Pro Bowl. In 1967 he was traded to the Atlanta Falcons in exchange for a draft choice.

On September 10, 1968, he was waived following a season with 33 receptions for 436 yards and 4 touchdowns.

In 1968, McDonald was picked up by the Cleveland Browns for whom he caught 7 receptions for 113 yards and one touchdown. With the retirement of Raymond Berry the previous year, McDonald was technically the league's active leader in career receiving yards during the off-season but was surpassed in Game 1 by Don Maynard.

His last NFL game was the 1968 NFL Championship Game against the Baltimore Colts. On March 15, 1969, he announced his retirement from pro football.

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