Tommy McDonald, 1934-2018

Rod Adair’s post on Facebook about the death of the great Tommy McDonald brings back many memories.

Here is what Rod posted, followed by my memories of the night I met the man 

Rod Adair

It is sad to hear of the passing of New Mexico’s own Tommy McDonald. He died earlier today at the age of 84. In college, McDonald had the unique experience of never playing in a losing game, a remarkable achievement.
McDonald was born in Roy, New Mexico on July 26, 1934. From an early age, despite his size, it was clear that he was a talented athlete. His dad talked him into repeating 8th Grade in Roy because he felt the extra time would give him a chance to grow. He attended Roy High School with an enrollment of around 150 students during his freshman year, where he played quarterback.
(Today, Roy has only 11 students in grades 7-12, and only 49 in the entire school, K-12.)
His family wanted to give him a better chance to be recognized and they moved to Albuquerque after Tommy’s 9th Grade year.
As a sophomore, Tommy played for Highland High School in Albuquerque. As a senior, he averaged over 20 yards per carry in football and set the state scoring record with 157 points.
He also set the city scoring record in basketball, and won five gold medals in the state track meet (100, 220, low hurdles and 2 relays).
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 parents write a letter to head football coach Bud Wilkinson.
Though he was 5’9” and 178 lbs, based on Drake's recommendation, Wilkinson invited McDonald to the visit the school's campus and offered him a football scholarship soon thereafter.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
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.
At Oklahoma, McDonald 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.
NFL
In 1957, he was a 3rd-round draft pick of the Philadelphia Eagles and he went on to play 12 seasons in the NFL, retiring after the 1968 season.
McDonald was a part of the Eagles 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, and the 237 yards is still the Eagles’ franchise single-game best.
McDonald was selected for six Pro Bowls, led the league in touchdown receptions twice and led the league in receiving yards once. McDonald was the last non-kicker to play in the NFL without a facemask.
He finished his career with 495 receptions for 8,410 yards and 84 touchdowns, the second highest total of touchdown receptions in NFL history at the time. He also rushed for 22 yards and gained 1,459 yards and a touchdown returning punts and kickoffs on special teams, giving him 9,891 career all-purpose yards.
He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1998.

 

I got to meet McDonald and hear him speak. I believe it was in the fall of 1960. The Albuquerque Athletic Club held their annual banquet for Athlete of the Year. I was only a freshman, which back then was Jr. High, but I guess since I was the athlete of the year at my school, I was invited to the banquet.

Tommy McDonald was the guest speaker, which was a big deal for me, not only because of his stardom at OU and for the Eagles, but also because he played for Highland HS, where I would be playing the next year.

This was 58 years ago, so my memory is a little spotty, but here are the things that stick in my mind.

Hugh Hackett introduced McDonald. Hackett was the track coach at UNM, but had been the football coach at HHS when McDonald played there. He told of many pranks that McDonald pulled. For one, the practice field was elevated much higher than the regular ground, and Hackett said that McDonald was small enough that during laps, he could just “disappear” until the final laps were run.

The main thing I recall from McDonald’s remarks were about basketball, not football. He said the basketball coaches got all over him for not putting enough arch on his shots. He tried their way but it didn’t work. Finally, he told them he learned to shoot in the Roy gym, and the ceiling was so low you iust couldn put hardly any arch on your shots, and that’s why his jump shots had such a flat trajectory. They left him alone and he went on to be all-state in basketball too.

And Bobby Santiago from UNM was named athlete of the year.

After I graduated from Highland, I also went on to set many records. But those were in bars and dance halls, and thank goodness no one kept track of them.