Oklahoma State, Dallas Cowboys great Walt Garrison dies at 79

Walt Garrison, the ultimate cowboy on the football field and off of it, died Wednesday at age 79.

He reportedly had been battling Alzheimer's disease in recent years.

Garrison was a tough, hard-nosed fullback who became a legend while playing for the Dallas Cowboys in the Tom Landry era. Before that, Garrison was an Oklahoma State Cowboy, playing for the Pokes from 1962 to 1965.

Garrison also was a real cowboy, competing as a steer wrestler on the professional rodeo circuit in the offseason while under contract with Dallas.

"Coach Landry pointed out that there was a clause in my contract that if I got hurt doing another sport, that my contract would be null and void, and I said, 'OK,'" Garrison once said.

Garrison attacked opposing players on the football field like he attacked steers in the rodeo arena.

From Oklahoma State University to the NFL

The Denton, Texas, native was a star at nearby Lewisville High School before choosing to come to play collegiately at Oklahoma State University. He started his career at Oklahoma State as a linebacker before moving to the backfield.

Garrison led the Big Eight in rushing with 730 yards in his junior season in 1964. During his senior year in 1965 he was named to the All-Big Eight team after finishing with 924 rushing yards, 107 receiving yards and five touchdowns. He helped the Cowboys defeat the Sooners for the first time in 20 years in the last game of his Oklahoma State career.

More: The Collected Wisdom of Walt Garrison

After that season, he played in the East–West Shrine Game, the Senior Bowl, the Coaches All-America Game and the College All-Star Game. He finished his collegiate career with seven 100-yard rushing games, including a career-best 173 yards against Kansas State.

"Oklahoma State was the only (school) that offered me a scholarship," Garrison told The Oklahoman in 2007. "When you've only got one to choose from, it don't take you long to make up your mind.

"I liked Stillwater. People said, 'You're not going to like Stillwater because it's stuck right out in the middle of nowhere.' Well, that's the thing I liked about it the most. They had horses and cows and sheep and hogs. Stuff I was used to."

Drafted by Dallas in the fifth round in 1966, Garrison became a star fullback for the Cowboys during his nine-year pro career and one of the team's most popular players. He helped the Cowboys reach two Super Bowls.

His best season was 1971, where he scored 10 touchdowns and had 1,174 total yards, and it was capped off by a 24-3 Super Bowl victory over Miami. He was named to the Pro Bowl that season.

A knee injury Garrison suffered while steer wrestling in 1975 ultimately ended his NFL career. He retired from Dallas as the third-leading rusher and fourth-leading receiver in team history.

Garrison finished his career in Dallas with 3,886 rushing yards, 1,794 receiving yards and 39 total touchdowns.

'Anything I've got today comes from Oklahoma State'

Garrison became somewhat of a celebrity after retirement in television commercials for smokeless tobacco.

He was inducted into the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame in 1993 and in 2000 he was inducted into the Oklahoma State Athletics Hall of Honor. He also was named to the Dallas Cowboys' 25th anniversary team and was inducted into the Texas Cowboy Hall of Fame and the Texas Sports Hall of Fame in 2012.

"I'm from Texas, I'll always be a Texan, but I owe so much to Oklahoma State," Garrison said in 2007. "Anything I've got today comes from Oklahoma State."

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: OSU and NFL Dallas Cowboys legend Walt Garrison dies at 79