Stormin in Norman
Fansided

Oklahoma football: Sooners’ presence in NFL HOF notable by omission

By Chip Rouse

NORMAN, OK - NOVEMBER 9: The Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium, home of the Oklahoma Sooners, is ready for a game against the Iowa State Cyclones on November 9, 2019 at in Norman, Oklahoma. OU held on to win 42-41. (Photo by Brian Bahr/Getty Images)
NORMAN, OK - NOVEMBER 9: The Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium, home of the Oklahoma Sooners, is ready for a game against the Iowa State Cyclones on November 9, 2019 at in Norman, Oklahoma. OU held on to win 42-41. (Photo by Brian Bahr/Getty Images) /
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29 Jan 1998: NFL Hall of Fame Inductee Tommy McDonald poses during a press conference at the Mariott Hotel in Los Angeles, California. Mandatory Credit: Elsa Hasch /Allsport
29 Jan 1998: NFL Hall of Fame Inductee Tommy McDonald poses during a press conference at the Mariott Hotel in Los Angeles, California. Mandatory Credit: Elsa Hasch /Allsport /

Tommy McDonald

Former Sooner All-American Tommy McDonald was the first from OU to be inducted into pro football’s elite fraternity, inducted in 1985. McDonald, who has the distinction of having never played on a losing team at Oklahoma, played a dozen NFL seasons with  five different teams.

McDonald played on two Oklahoma national championship teams (1955 and ’56) and was an all-purpose player, although he was primarily used as a running back. In 1955, he became the first OU player to score a touchdown in every single game, and in the 1956 season, McDonald was awarded the Maxwell Award as college football’s most outstanding player and finished third in the Heisman voting.

Despite a brilliant collegiate career at Oklahoma, McDonald was not selected until the third round, by the Philadelphia Eagles, in the 1957 NFL Draft. The Eagles converted McDonald to wide receiver, and in 1958, he led the NFL with nine touchdown catches. Three years later, in 1961, he led the NFL with 1,141 receiving yards and 13 touchdowns.

Despite being small in stature, listed at 5-feet, 10 inches and 178 pounds, McDonald played the game like a giant. He went on to become one of the NFL’s best wide receivers during his time If he could touch it, he would catch it.

McDonald , who was also inducted into the College Hall of Fame, had this to see in his bio posted on the Pro Football Hall of Fame website:

"“I think catching passes is judgement…I think sometimes I can see things the defensive back doesn’t see. I watch for him to make his move. And if he’s a fraction late compensating for mine, then I’ve got him beat.”"

McDonald died in 2018 at the age of 84.

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