Tony Dorsett

Three games into his sophomore season, he became Pitt's all-time leader in career rushing yards, surpassing the old record of 1,957 yards set by Marshall Goldberg, who helped Pitt to a national championship in 1937.

Against Notre Dame in his junior year, Dorsett had 303 yards rushing to break his own school single-game rushing record.

At the University of Pittsburgh, Dorsett became the first freshman in 29 years to be named All-American (Doc Blanchard of Army was the previous one in 1944).

He finished second in the nation in rushing with 1,586 yards in 11 games and led the Pittsburgh Panthers to its first winning season in 10 years.

Anthony Drew Dorsett Sr. (born April 7, 1954) is an American former football running back who played in the National Football League (NFL) for the Dallas Cowboys and the Denver Broncos.

He was Pittsburgh's first All-American selection since the 1963 season, when both Paul Martha and Ernie Borghetti were named to the first team.

His 1,586 rushing yards at the time was the most ever recorded by a freshman, breaking the record set by New Mexico State's Ron "Po" James Record in 1968.

James, like Dorsett, hailed from Beaver County, Pennsylvania, specifically New Brighton.

Although Dorsett was known as Anthony, the school's athletic department convinced him to go by Tony, to use the marketable initials TD as in touchdown.

As a high school sophomore in 1970, Dorsett started at cornerback, as his coaches did not believe the 147-pound Dorsett was big enough to play running back, the position he played in junior high school.

In 1971, a competition between Dorsett and sophomore Michael Kimbrough for the starting running back position ended after Dorsett took a screen pass 75 yards for a touchdown against Ambridge during the season opener.

Dorsett ended the year as an All-State selection after rushing for 1,034 yards and scoring 19 touchdowns, while leading the Vikings to a 9–1 season.

He also remained a starting cornerback on the defensive side.

In basketball Dorsett helped his team reach the WPIAL quarterfinals.

The team's only loss in 1971 came against Sharon after Dorsett experienced a concussion and played less than a quarter, and the only loss in 1972 came against Butler while playing on a muddy field.

At the end of his senior season, he played at the Big 33 Football Classic.

This was the first time that his future coach Johnny Majors saw him play live.

Later, the school retired his 33 jersey.

In 1972, Dorsett was again an All-state Selection, after setting a single-game rushing record with 247 yards against Sharon, a single-season rushing record with 1,238 yards and the career rushing record with 2,272 yards, while leading the Vikings to a 9–1 season.

Dorsett was also a key player on the defensive side as one of the starting linebackers.

For all the ability he had, Dorsett could never lead his team to the WPIAL Class AA playoffs, because in those days the teams had to have an undefeated record.

At the beginning of Dorsett's freshman year at Pitt, his son Anthony Dorsett was born on September 14, 1973.

Later in the 1973 season, Dorsett faced some criticism when it became known that his son was born out of wedlock, with some observers contending that he should drop out of school and marry his son's mother and financially support his family.

Dorsett believed that the best way to care for his son was to continue to pursue his football career, a tactic that succeeded due to his successful professional career.

He was a three-time first-team All-American (1973, 1975, 1976) and a second-team All-American in 1974 by UPI and Newspaper Enterprise Association (NEA).

Dorsett finished his college career with 6,082 total rushing yards, then an NCAA record.

Raised in western Pennsylvania, Dorsett played college football for the Pittsburgh Panthers, where he led the Panthers to the national championship as a senior in the 1976 season and won the Heisman Trophy.

As a senior in 1976, he had a total of 290 yards against Notre Dame.

He darted 61 yards on his first run of the season and tacked on 120 more by the end of the 31–10 Pitt win.

As a senior in 1976, he helped lead his school to a national title, picking up the Heisman Trophy, the Maxwell Award, the Walter Camp Award for player of the year, and the United Press International (UPI) Player of the Year award along the way as he led the nation in rushing with 2,150 yards.

He was the first-round, second overall draft choice of the Dallas Cowboys in the 1977 NFL draft.

Dorsett was the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year and played for the team for 11 seasons, through 1987.

He won a Super Bowl title in his rookie season over the Denver Broncos, who he spent his final season with before retiring due to injuries.

He is a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame (1994) and the College Football Hall of Fame (1994).

The son of Wes and Myrtle, Dorsett grew up in Aliquippa, Pennsylvania, northwest of Pittsburgh.

He attended Hopewell High School, where he played football and basketball.

This would stand as the record until it was surpassed by Ricky Williams in 1998.

Dorsett was the first Pitt player to have his jersey retired, after being a four-time 1,000-yard rusher and four-time All-American.

He is considered one of the greatest running backs in college football history.

In 2001, Hopewell's Stadium was renamed Tony Dorsett Stadium.