Eric Dickerson Biography - Raised In The Lone Star State, Played Football At Southern Methodist University, Drafted By Los Angeles Rams
single season rushing record yards nfl career game
1960-
American football player
During his professional football career, running back Eric Dickerson more often resembled a thoroughbred than a human being. Game after game, Dickerson electrified fans as he tucked the football under his arm, then sprinted down the field with all the beauty and grace of a well-groomed racehorse. Dickerson also possessed an uncanny ability to read the defense and knew which holes he could burst through to score. Because of these talents, Dickerson enjoyed many record-setting seasons in the National Football League (NFL) and was undoubtedly the most productive ball carrier of his time. Over the course of his eleven-year career, Dickerson set the NFL record for most yards rushed in a single season-2,105 yards. He also became the first player in NFL history to gain more than 1,000 yards in seven consecutive seasons. When he retired in 1993, his 13,259 career rushing yards was the second best of all time.
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Eric Demetric Dickerson was born September 2, 1960, in Sealy, Texas, a small town about fifty miles west of Houston. Dickerson was raised by his great-aunt and great-uncle, Viola and Kary Dickerson, and spent the first part of his life believing Viola was his mother. Dickerson was a teenager when he discovered that his birth mother was actually a woman named Helen, whom he believed was his older s…
Following high school, Dickerson entered Southern Methodist University (SMU) in Dallas because his mother, Viola, wanted him to stay close to home. Dickerson, however, had wanted to play for the Oklahoma Sooners. Injuries plagued Dickerson his freshman year, and the "hometown" boy didn't make much of an impact. His sophomore year, however, Dickerson rushed for more than 100 ya…
During the April 1983 NFL draft, the Los Angeles Rams selected Dickerson. He was the second player selected in the draft, behind quarterback John Elway.
Eric Dickerson
Dickerson's start in the pros, however, was not nearly as smooth as his stride. His first game, a scrimmage game against the Dallas Cowboys, was a near disaster. "I was so jittery my mind went completely blank,&…
By 1984, Dickerson's second season, he'd gained enough confidence to calm down. He became choosier about which holes he would try to slip through. That season, Dickerson had twelve 100-yard games. As the end of the season approached, it looked as if Dickerson might be able to break O.J. Simpson's single-season rushing record of 2,003 yards, set in 1973. The pressure mounted, a…
While Dickerson had natural athletic abilities, part of his success came from his year-round training program. Strength training and sprinting programs were a staple in his life. Over the course of his career, Dickerson earned the nickname "Mr. Fourth Quarter" because he could turn it up a notch as the others were winding down. This stamina also helped Dickerson become the seventh ba…
(With Steve Delsohn) On the Run, McGraw-Hill, 1986.
Dickerson resides in Calabasas, California. Since leaving pro football, he's devoted a lot of time to various charity events. Over the past few years, he's sponsored fund-raisers for the American Diabetes Association and for a local leukemia patient. Dickerson plays golf five or six times a week and has even sponsored his own c…
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