Happy 77th Birthday Mr Abner Haynes!!! Born and raised in Denton, Texas; the legendary Abner Haynes: -Was one of Texas’ greatest High School Running Backs ever (Dallas Lincoln High) -Along with teammate Leon King (also a Lincoln High star) broke the college football color barrier in the state of Texas by earning a spot on the 1956 North Texas State University squad (now University of North Texas) in Haynes’ hometown of Denton. -Was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers as the 55th overall pick in the 1960 NFL Draft (Note: An African-American being drafted by an NFL team was a rarity in those days) -Chose instead to play for his hometown AFL Dallas Texans. -Was the AFL’s first ever Rookie of the Year (1960) -Was the AFL’s first ever Player of the Year (1960) -Was the AFL’s first ever Rushing yardage leader (1960; 875 yards in 14 game schedule) -Scored Dallas’ only two touchdowns in their 20-17 1962 Double Overtime AFL Championship victory over the 2 time defending AFL Champion Houston Oilers (longest Championship Game in professional football history to date). -Was the AFL’s All Time All Purpose Yards leader (over 12,000 AP yards; 1960-1968) -Without question Dallas, Texas’ first ever superstar professional football player. His name should be in every discussion along with Emmitt Smith and Tony Dorsett when discussing the greatest professional running backs in the history of Dallas, Texas. In spite of these many accomplishments, and in spite of having career stats equal to and even exceeding comparable Pro Football Hall of Fame Running Backs (Gale Sayers namely) of his era, Abner Haynes has never been selected to assume his rightful place in the HOF. Shame on the Pro Football Hall of Fame for clear cut anti-AFL bias with regards to one of the greatest professional football players of his era, if not all time. Happy 77th Birthday Mr Abner Haynes!!! Dave Henderson Denison, Texas September 19, 2014
Posted on: Fri, 19 Sep 2014 10:14:26 +0000
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