Dave Elmendorf on his induction into the Texas Sports Hall of Fame

Key notes from Dave Elmendorf interview

• I was asked this question during the induction, “How do you feel about participating in two sports?” Well which would be better, focusing on one sport and only competing part of the year or competing all year in two sports or more? What is more important, competition or practice? I maintain that it’s competition. Not only did I play football and baseball at A&M, I also played in a summer baseball league, so I was competing year round. I think that’s what makes athletes better.

• The biggest problem was getting permission to play two sports, even back then. Gene Stallings was the head coach then, I had to negotiate with Coach Stallings to be able to play baseball. I would’ve gone somewhere else if he wouldn’t have let me play baseball. He said I will let you play baseball if you are starting and if the baseball team is competitive in the SWC race. I started as a freshman, and we were competitive all four years. I did get in a spring training in football before my senior year, and it was awful. Playing baseball gets you that sense of competition, but it does not get you in shape for football.

• It was very special, kudos to the Texas sports Hall of Fame, they do it well. In my talk I thanked the committee, talk about a difficult job. How they figure out who to induct is beyond me. I was blessed to go in with an incredible class, two volleyball players Rita Crockett and Flo Hyman both winners of Gold Medals in the Olympics, Nastia Lukin an Olympic gymnast and two coaches in Wade Phillips and Pat Henry the greatest college track coach to ever live. Also three football players Eric Metcalf from the University of Texas, Darren Woodson of the Dallas Cowboys and myself, great company.

• We had a very good rivalry with the Cowboys, the Rams particularly on defense had some great players. Guys like Merlin Olsen, Deacon Jones, Jack Youngblood, Jack “Hacksaw” Reynolds and Pat Thomas. I was blessed to play with great players. 

• We led in the fourth quarter against the Steelers in the Super Bowl, they scored a touchdown to take the lead 24-19. We really weren’t worried because we had Vince Ferragamo as our quarterback, and he’d been flawless against the Steelers, we thought he was going to take us on a game winning drive. Then he threw a pass over the middle that was intercepted deep in our territory.

• We won seven division championships in a row, which may still be a record. Every year we would go to the playoffs and have some heartbreaking losses. Every year we had an opportunity to go to the Super Bowl but we didn’t. So finally we beat Dallas and Tampa and we made it, only to play the Super Bowl at home in the Rose Bowl. It was like a home game. As a player you’re thinking, “we’re going on a road trip, we’re going to be gone a week and have some fun." It was still fun regardless.

• I didn’t have the option to play pro football and pro baseball, the contracts didn’t allow it. I loved baseball and football. I was drafted by the Yankees in the first round of the supplemental draft, and the third round by the Rams and the money was very similar. I decided to play football because of the minor leagues. I didn’t want to sit around for a few years trying to make it to the big leagues when I could go to the Rams and try to make the team immediately, it was the right decision.

• We didn’t have a whole lot of highlights in my football career at A&M. I was a freshman in 1967 when the Aggies won the Southwest Conference, and back then freshmen weren’t eligible to play, so I didn’t get a chance to play on that team. We then won a total of eight games over the next three years. My senior year we started the season with wins over Wichita State and LSU, a top 10 team in Baton Rouge. That was probably the highlight of my football career at A&M.

• I was excited about the Rams moving back to Los Angeles. They do a very good job as an organization at keeping in touch with their former players, and they told me early in the process that they were going to be moving back. I got a chance at the Hall of Fame ceremony to talk with Wade Phillips quite a bit, and congratulated him on getting the job with the Rams. I told him how much fun he’s going to have.

• My favorite moment in the broadcast booth has to be the 1998 Big 12 Championship game, “He got it in, he got it in! Touchdown, he got it in!” 

• I'm really looking forward to being back in the booth, I feel like this recruiting class is really going to fill some of our needs, I’m excited. I think Donovan Wilson could move to strong safety, he’s athletic enough to play wherever they need him to.