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Earl Campbell tells Costas of the hit he’s lived to regret

Kaiser Toro

Kaiser Toro

Native Mod
http://www.statesman.com/blogs/cont...horns/entries/2007/09/04/earl_tells_cost.html

Longhorn legend Earl Campbell appears Wednesday night on Bob Costas’ interview show on HBO, “CostasNOW,” at 8 p.m. Central.

They discuss Campbell’s health issues after a life in football, as well as a hit that Campbell has lived to regret. Not one he suffered, but one he delivered.

Costas quizzes Campbell about the memorable 1978 play when he ran over Rams linebacker Isaiah Robertson.

Here’s a transcript of the exchange:

BOB COSTAS: “There’s lots of memorable plays. One among many that stands out. Isaiah Robertson was a very good linebacker with the Rams. He has a one-on-one shot at you in the open field. You lower your head right into his chest, and he’s out flatter than a pancake.”

EARL CAMPBELL: “That is the one play that I don’t talk very much about.”

BOB COSTAS: “Why not?”

EARL CAMPBELL: “They play that so much, back and forth, about him, until I think it’s damaged his life a little bit.”

TONY DORSETT: “Earl changed that man’s whole life. That highlight that they still run today, it’s a classic. Here comes Isaiah and he just puts that helmet right into his chest and runs flat over him.”

EARL CAMPBELL: “I finally had a chance to see him. And I said, ‘Man, I’ve been looking for you for many years, to apologize to you.’ And he’s all, ‘Man, it’s okay. It was just, you know, it’s just football.’ But because of that one run I think it did something to him, you know?”

BOB COSTAS: “It wasn’t because he was permanently injured from it.”

EARL CAMPBELL: “No.”

BOB COSTAS: “It shows how good-natured you are. You feel bad…”

EARL CAMPBELL: “Yeah.”

BOB COSTAS: “…that he was kind of embarrassed or even humiliated by that play.”

EARL CAMPBELL: “Yes.”
 
If I remember correctly, Isiah retired soon after that hit from Earl. I also remember a similar hit from Earl to Ottis Sistrunk, and Ottis made the comment after the game it was time for him to retire if he was going to be run over like that. Of course, this could all be delusion on my part, as I don't remember much from those days. :)
 
Earl is a good guy. Hope I'm fortunate enough to meet him at some point.

What a class act. I still like watching that highlight, tho'! (sorry, 34!)
 
Double Barrel said:
Earl is a good guy. Hope I'm fortunate enough to meet him at some point.

What a class act. I still like watching that highlight, tho'! (sorry, 34!)
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He is a class act. I've had the honor of meeting him a few times when the wife worked for Tri-Star. I've yet to meet a better person in professional sports that is as down to earth as Earl is. Biggio's a close second.

Great guy and definitely a Texan.:texflag:

P.S. I also had the dishonor of meeting Randy Johnson. I'll just say he lives up to his last name.
 
I had the pleasure of meeting Earl one time and he is truly a class act.

He will always be a Texan and never a Titan!
 
I'm glad this thread turned up. That reminds me that he'll be on Costas tonight. The footage that I've seen from it looks pretty sad. It doesn't seem like he makes many public appearances anymore, so I'll tune in anyway.

#34 is one number that I'd like to see the Texans retire. I can always wish.
 
I've been watching football for a few decades now and still have never seen anything quite like Earl. A "once in a generation player" is thrown around way too much by fans and pundits but that is exactly what he was.
 
Vinny said:
I've been watching football for a few decades now and still have never seen anything quite like Earl. A "once in a generation player" is thrown around way too much by fans and pundits but that is exactly what he was.
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Exactly!! I grew up watching Walter Payton and he is a once in a generation guy as well.

Earl ran in a way that I do not think will be duplicated because of the sportcenter life kids live in now.
 
Which game was it when Campbell ran the ball all the way back from the los
for an 80 or 90 yard TD ? Unbelieveable run, and an unbelieveable game ! I know it was in Houston & MNF and I hadn't moved to Houston yet, really had no idea I'd move down here at that point in my life, but remember thinking "wow, they have some fantastic football fans in Houston", because the fans were going nuts and a viewer could feel it just watching on TV. Guess I was watching an example of the "Luv ya Blue" era ?
 
nunusguy said:
Which game was it when Campbell ran the ball all the way back from the los
for an 80 or 90 yard TD ? Unbelieveable run, and an unbelieveable game ! I know it was in Houston & MNF and I hadn't moved to Houston yet, really had no idea I'd move down here at that point in my life, but remember thinking "wow, they have some fantastic football fans in Houston", because the fans were going nuts and a viewer could feel it just watching on TV. Guess I was watching an example of the "Luv ya Blue" era ?
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It was against the Dolphins in the 4th quarter.
 
nunusguy said:
Which game was it when Campbell ran the ball all the way back from the los
for an 80 or 90 yard TD ? Unbelieveable run, and an unbelieveable game ! I know it was in Houston & MNF and I hadn't moved to Houston yet, really had no idea I'd move down here at that point in my life, but remember thinking "wow, they have some fantastic football fans in Houston", because the fans were going nuts and a viewer could feel it just watching on TV. Guess I was watching an example of the "Luv ya Blue" era ?
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That was the famous MNF game against the Miami Dolphins.
 
M Shadows said:
I had the pleasure of meeting Earl one time and he is truly a class act.

He will always be a Texan and never a Titan!
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Earl is an Oiler.

Not a Texan, not a Titan.

He will always be a Houston Oiler!


Glad I got that off my chest. lol
 
nunusguy said:
Which game was it when Campbell ran the ball all the way back from the los
for an 80 or 90 yard TD ? Unbelieveable run, and an unbelieveable game ! I know it was in Houston & MNF and I hadn't moved to Houston yet, really had no idea I'd move down here at that point in my life, but remember thinking "wow, they have some fantastic football fans in Houston", because the fans were going nuts and a viewer could feel it just watching on TV. Guess I was watching an example of the "Luv ya Blue" era ?
Click to expand...

That was the very first NFL game I ever attended. My dad pulled me out of school on a Monday and we drove 6 hours from Brownsville to watch the game. We sat in the temporary pavillion which were high school style metal bleachers in the end zone. Folks there were stomping in unison causing my 8 year old body to be tossed into the air.

I was hooked from that moment on. There will never be another Earl.
 
Give me any RB in the history of any football to give the ball to on 4th and 1 and I'll take Earl. Hell, I'll take Earl if it's 1st and 20 over any back ever.

This guy was the most dominate runner I have ever seen in the 30+ years I've watched this game.

Walter Payton may be the closest. "They" say Jim Brown, but I never saw Brown play.

Barry Sanders was great, but he could lose yards on 3 or 4 straight carries before he busted one for 50.

Emmitt is certainly one of the greatest and not to take anything away from him, but he ran behind one of the greatest o-lines ever, plus there were other weapons that defenses had to plan for on that team.

The Oiler offense was give the ball to Earl, and that's about it. The defense knew it, the 60,000 in the stands knew it, everybody on tv knew it, and you still couldn't stop him. And this was behind a line of Conway Hayman, Carl Mauck, George Reihner...not exactly Allen, Newton, Tuinei, Stepnoski.

Earl Campbell single handedly put Houston, Texas on the football map and made this a football town. Everybody talks about his punishing, bruising running style, the richter scale collisions, but the guy had 4.6 speed also.

That Monday night game against the Dolphins may still be the greatest football game I ever saw. And it wasn't crushing a defender to seal it, it was an 80 yard dash, in the 4th quarter, and after already rushing for over 100 yards to that point. He still outran the DB's. Speed.

I hope there is some way, some day, that Houston's professional football team can honor this man. He IS Houston football.

Instead of retiring numbers and jerseys or whatever, I'd rather see the Texans have a "ring of honor" and just put our great players names on the stadium. And what better name to kick that tradition off with than Earl Campbell.

And to whoever said Earl is an Oiler, not a Texan....you couldn't be more wrong. I don't know anybody who is more Texan than Earl Christian Campbell.
 
Mr. White said:
#34 is one number that I'd like to see the Texans retire. I can always wish.
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I agree 100%!!!

DBCooper said:
Earl is an Oiler.

Not a Texan, not a Titan.

He will always be a Houston Oiler!


Glad I got that off my chest. lol
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He was never a Houston Texan, but he is always a Texan! texanpride

Dude grew up in Tyler, played for UT and the Oilers (where he should have retired if that fat slug hadn't stabbed Earl and the fans in the back!).
 
http://www.earlcampbell.com/oilers/oilers2.html
Later in the season, in another Monday night game, that spirit was given a new name. Carrying an 8-3 record into the battle against the Miami Dolphins, Earl remembers the mania surrounding that game. He recalls that every fan who was given a blue and white pom-pom prior to the game was shaking it in an effort to support and excite their home team. The crowd was truly the "12th Man" in this game, in which the Oilers walked away with a 35-30 victory in front of their adoring fans and a national television audience. In a game that ABC Monday Night Football commentator Howard Cossell called, "the greatest football game I have ever broadcast," the rookie from the University of Texas, Earl Campbell, rushed for 199 yards and four touchdowns. During the game, Coach Phillips asked Earl if he would like to gain that extra yard. Earl modestly declined stating, "When I arrived here in Houston, I took the place of Ronnie Coleman. Let him play for the rest of this one."

That night, the "Luv Ya Blue" era was coined. Many fans even referred to their team as the Houston "Earlers." But Earl, as he has always been, remained modest. Later, he would say, "The display of 'LuvYa Blue' was a chance for people of all races and backgrounds to come together as a city. More than that, it was a feeling that the players and fans shared without even talkin'. We owed it all to one man: Bum Phillips."
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In a game that ABC Monday Night Football commentator Howard Cossell called, "the greatest football game I have ever broadcast,"
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I think it was this game that Cossell called the pickup truck the "Texas Cadillac". My mom still hates the man to this day because of that remark. (It could've been another Oiler appearance on MNF, tho').

I do remember that game at our house. We had a "Luv Ya Blue" sign from a game taped to the wall in the living room as a shrine, with those blue pom poms surrounding it. Good times.
 
Channel 11 news last night broadcast a replay of Earls run against Miami. SWEET!! Made me choke up seeing our idol running down the sideline with that derrick on his helmet. Great memories!!
 
Wolf said:
http://www.earlcampbell.com/oilers/oilers2.html
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Man, I love that guy!

As I've said in the past, he's just as good, if not better of a guy as he was a player. Of all the athletes in sports that I've met (wife used to work for Tri-Star), Earl'ss by far the most personable. Meeting him only added to the admiration I have for him.

Our last meeting almost brought tears to my eyes. Seeing him in a wheel chair was saddening to me. Earl....heck, it didn't seem to bother him though. He remembered who I was from the previous year and he was the same, awesome dude as usual. God I love that guy!
 
Double Barrel said:
I think it was this game that Cossell called the pickup truck the "Texas Cadillac". My mom still hates the man to this day because of that remark. (It could've been another Oiler appearance on MNF, tho').
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That may have been an insult back then, but these days the trucks that are on the roads make him look like a prophet.
 
El Tejano said:
That may have been an insult back then, but these days the trucks that are on the roads make him look like a prophet.
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From what I gather, Cossell was a New Yawker and was quite arrogant about his views towards southerners, Texans included.

But I agree with you. Pickup trucks are as much a part of Texas as cowboy boots. :howdy:
 
Double Barrel said:
Earl is a good guy. Hope I'm fortunate enough to meet him at some point.

What a class act. I still like watching that highlight, tho'! (sorry, 34!)
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I love that man. That my fiends is the epitome of class and dignity. How many of TODAY'S athletes would say something like that?
 
Here's a memory that I will remember forever.......

It was post game outside of the Astrodome where players park their vehicles. Earl Campbell comes out and gets in his Skoal Bandit van. Some girl in the crowd says look at Earl Campbell he thinks he's bad(as in bad ass) and my cousin responds with
Earl knows he's bad
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Earl reachs for a hat, autographs it and says with a pinch of Skoal in his lip
Here's a hat son
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Love ya Earl!

:cowboy1:
 
Double Barrel said:
I think it was this game that Cossell called the pickup truck the "Texas Cadillac". My mom still hates the man to this day because of that remark. (It could've been another Oiler appearance on MNF, tho').

I do remember that game at our house. We had a "Luv Ya Blue" sign from a game taped to the wall in the living room as a shrine, with those blue pom poms surrounding it. Good times.
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What a game!

I was 8 years old and my Dad pulled me out of school early on Monday and the family drove 6 hours from Brownsville to Houston. It was the first professional football game and I was hooked on the Oilers from that moment on.
 
At some point, I need to edit up the video I shot at the Luv Ya Blue reunion.

Bum made me almost cry. The part that I'd like to do for the video is where he was talking about why Luv Ya Blue was special. Why there was such an incredible connection between the fans of that era and the players. That they were just like us.

It was a moving beautiful speech, and I need to edit that up.
 
Texans_Chick said:
At some point, I need to edit up the video I shot at the Luv Ya Blue reunion.

Bum made me almost cry. The part that I'd like to do for the video is where he was talking about why Luv Ya Blue was special. Why there was such an incredible connection between the fans of that era and the players. That they were just like us.

It was a moving beautiful speech, and I need to edit that up.
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Yeah. You do. Chop chop. Get to work, wench.

uh.

did I type that out loud?

:flowers:
 
By the time he entered Tyler High School, Earl had begun to smoke, drink and hustle at the local pool hall. He was even suspended from the last game of his junior year for cutting classes. Ann Campbell had always reminded Earl that he had the ability to play professional football and that the career could be lucrative. With her encouragement and parental sternness Earl took his senior year in high school much more seriously. In fact he led his undefeated Tyler Lions to an undefeated Texas State 4A championship.

The colleges heavily recruited Campbell. Earl decided to let God help make the choice. If he slept through out the next night he would go to Oklahoma. If his sleep was disturbed at any time, he would view God's way of gelling him he should choose Texas. Earl awakened at least once and so was on his way to Texas to become the first member of his family to earn a college degree. He majored in speech communications.
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http://www.hofplayers.com/index.asp?PageAction=Custom&ID=31

oklahoma huh
 
Double Barrel said:
I agree 100%!!!



He was never a Houston Texan, but he is always a Texan! texanpride

Dude grew up in Tyler, played for UT and the Oilers (where he should have retired if that fat slug hadn't stabbed Earl and the fans in the back!).
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LMAO! You may have changed my life. I have always referred to the slug as Bottom-Line. I'm changing to "Fat Slug".
:spit:
 
he Longhorns won their next two games against SMU and Texas Tech. Ranked number one in the country, they were determined to prove to everyone that they were the team to beat. Earl, too, was not about to let anything stand in his way…not even the flu! The night before their next match-up against the Houston Cougars, Earl complained of a stomach ache and a fever. With a 104-degree fever, Earl was put to bed, where he spent the night shivering and sweating. The next morning, although his fever had lowered to 101, the team doctor insisted that he not play in the afternoon game. But Earl had come so far in his life and beaten the odds before. He had overcome poverty at a young age, hatred and racism in his schools, the heartache of losing his father when he was only eleven and, of course, his hamstring injury the previous year. He wasn't about to let a little flu bug stop him from playing in this game. Earl ran for 173 yards on 24 carries that day, scoring three touchdowns in the process. On his second touchdown run, as many longtime UT fans will remember, Earl barreled through the back of the end zone, knocking a standing Longhorn named Bevo, the team mascot, completely off his feet. His performance in the Houston game prompted Akers to say, "Earl Campbell is the greatest football player I have ever seen, and Ann Campbell is the best coach there ever was!"
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http://www.earlcampbell.com/college_years/college5.html
 
nunusguy said:
Which game was it when Campbell ran the ball all the way back from the los
for an 80 or 90 yard TD ? Unbelieveable run, and an unbelieveable game ! I know it was in Houston & MNF and I hadn't moved to Houston yet, really had no idea I'd move down here at that point in my life, but remember thinking "wow, they have some fantastic football fans in Houston", because the fans were going nuts and a viewer could feel it just watching on TV. Guess I was watching an example of the "Luv ya Blue" era ?
Click to expand...

I have a VHS of "Monday Night Madness-20 Years of Monday Night Football"; hosted by Frank Gifford. It has some memorable plays from different games through the years. Guess which game he says is the best Monday Night game ever? Earl's run is there. So are other highlights from that game. :cool:
I'm not sure if it's still available, since I found it in a VHS clearance bin, but you might still get it from CBS/Fox Video Sports (I thought it would be ABC, but the cover says CBS). :)
 
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