Football runs in thick in the blood of Texans and if you spend just a few minutes in Tyler, you know that’s espicially true of the Rose Capital of the World. Tyler is proud of its state championships and those who go on to make it big in NFL and call Tyler home.
The city is especially proud of the Tyler Rose, Earl Campbell, a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Campbell’s path to Canton, Ohio began in Tyler where he was a running back for the John Tyler Lions. Many referred to him as a man among boys, and as scary as he was a ball carrier, some argue he was even scarier as a defender.
At any rate, Campbell is Tyler’s only Heisman Trophy winner, an award he won as a Texas Longhorn. The majority of his football career was spent in the Lone Star State as he played seven years with the Houston Oilers. In his nine years in the league, Campbell rushed for 9,407 yards and scored 81 touchdowns.
John Madden once said, “From the waste down, Earl Campbell had the biggest thighs I’ve ever seen.”
The humor is easy to find in that statement, as if his thighs were above the waste, but Madden’s point is also obvious; Campbell was one big dude.
Sadly, injuries cut Campbell’s career short, but not short enough to make a name for himself and to make Tyler proud. His former stomping grounds have been named in his favor: Earl Campbell Field and Rose Stadium and a street has been named in his honor; Earl Campbell Parkway.
There are less than 200 members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame and one of the best of the best calls Tyler Texas his home. It’s no wonder Tylerites love their football and there’s no question why they love Campbell.
So rumor has it Trinity Mother Francis Rose Stadium (or better known as just Rose Stadium) is getting new turf. Really, this may not seem like a big deal to most people but when you stop and think of the some of the big named athletes who played on the old stomping grounds, perhaps the historical significance will start to settle in a little bit.
East Texas has had its fair share of fame. Stretched across the different counties of East Texas we can think of names like former football player Earl Campbell, country and western singer George Jones, as well as the oil industry that have brought fame to the lovely rolling hills of eastern Texas.