{"id":6928,"date":"2016-09-01T00:27:25","date_gmt":"2016-09-01T04:27:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/?p=6928"},"modified":"2016-09-02T09:44:25","modified_gmt":"2016-09-02T13:44:25","slug":"a-distant-memory-of-tony-dorsett","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2016\/09\/01\/a-distant-memory-of-tony-dorsett\/","title":{"rendered":"A distant memory of Tony Dorsett"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Tony <\/a>
Tony Dorsett jogging past is home on Mount Vernon Drive in 1974. (The Pittsburgh Press) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"At <\/a>
Dorsett outside his home. (The Pittsburgh Press) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"In <\/a>
In the garden with mom. (The Pittsburgh Press) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Tossing <\/a>
Tossing the ball with a few friends in the neighborhood. (The Pittsburgh Press) <\/div> <\/div>
\"Lifting <\/a>
Lifting weights at home. (The Pittsburgh Press) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Helping <\/a>
Helping a neighbor with a bicycle problem. (The Pittsburgh Press) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Dorsett <\/a>
Dorsett in a publicity pose. <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Dorsett <\/a>
Dorsett carries the ball in an intersquad game in 1974. (The Pittsburgh Press) <\/div> <\/div>
\"Dorsett <\/a>
Dorsett on the sidelines. (The Pittsburgh Press) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"By <\/a>
By his senior year in 1976, Dorsett appears more world-wise and confident. Here, he chats with Pitt coach Johnny Majors. (The Pittsburgh Press) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"The <\/a>
The cover of Sports Illustrated in November 1976. <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n

It\u2019s possible that Tony Dorsett suffered his first concussion on Friday, Nov. 5, 1971. He was then a star running back at Hopewell High, unbeaten in eight games and seemingly unstoppable. His team faced lowly Sharon.<\/p>\n

Dorsett carried the ball four times, then left the game. Sharon team doctors took a look at the young man from Aliquippa and determined he\u2019d suffered a blow to the head serious enough to keep him on the sidelines the rest of the game.<\/span><\/p>\n

Sharon won 19-6, a victory that remains one of the most memorable in the school\u2019s history. As for Dorsett — he was a tough kid, the youngest son of a steelworker. A concussion wasn\u2019t going to stop him.<\/span><\/p>\n

Dorsett\u2019s three older brothers had played football, too. They were good, but not like Tony. Tony had the makings of greatness. That\u2019s a big deal no matter where you come from, but it\u2019s amplified when you live in a public housing development on the outskirts of a struggling steel town.<\/span><\/p>\n

He was phenomenal his first year at Pitt, gaining 1, 586 yards and becoming the first freshman in more than a quarter century to be named All-American. This made him somewhat of a celebrity\u00a0in a city on the precipice of experiencing football greatness. Shortly before the start of his\u00a0second season, Dorsett was featured in a September 1974 Pittsburgh Press magazine story accompanied by several pictures taken near his home on Mount Vernon Drive. There’s\u00a0Dorsett posing with his mom in the garden, jogging through the housing development, helping a neighborhood kid fix a bicycle.<\/span><\/p>\n

Many of the pictures were posed. Dorsett smiled for the camera — he was young and earnest and wanted to accommodate the photographer. Quotes in the story reflect a strong and endearing sense of commitment to his community. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe whole neighborhood, I feel, is really behind me,\u201d Dorsett said. \u201cThey feel good, because somebody they know is in the papers. Somebody from this place is really making it.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Neighbors called him \u201cThe Hawk.\u201d Children on the block looked up to him, something he appreciated.<\/span><\/p>\n

Part of the story dealt with the problem of Dorsett\u2019s size — he was 5 feet 11, 185 pounds.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cPeople have said I\u2019m too small for the pros,\u201d he said. \u201cBut I know I can run. I might get beat up a little bit doing it, but I can take a beating.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Dorsett did make it to the NFL — he\u2019s now got a Super Bowl ring and a place in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. And, yes, he did take a beating. Tragically, he\u2019s been diagnosed with signs of CTE, that degenerative brain condition haunting\u00a0so many former football players. CTE is linked to repeated blows to the head. Dorsett has admitted to periods of paranoia and depression. Sometimes he can\u2019t remember what he did the day before.<\/span><\/p>\n

Forty years ago Dorsett began\u00a0his final year in a Pitt uniform. And, oh, what a season \u00a0— Dorsett graced\u00a0the cover of Sports Illustrated (\u201cHeading for the Heisman,\u201d the headline accurately predicted in November 1976) and the Panthers finished 12-0 to become consensus national champion. <\/span><\/p>\n

As a young man, Dorsett realized football was his \u201cbread and butter,\u201d something to be grateful for, a ticket out of Mount Vernon Drive. \u201cIf anything was going to change for me and my family, it was up to me,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m hoping I can play pro ball, make some money and get out of here, out of this project.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

These days, Mount Vernon Drive is a very distant memory, if a memory at all. The price of his journey has been steep.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSome days are good. Some days are bad,\u201d Dorsett said a few years ago when his diagnosis became public knowledge. \u201cI signed up for this when, I guess, I started playing football so many years ago \u2026<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cBut, obviously, not knowing that the end was going to be like this.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

— Steve Mellon<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cPeople have said I\u2019m too small for the pros,\u201d Tony Dorsett said in 1974. \u201cBut I know I can run. I might get beat up a little bit doing it, but I can take a beating.\u201d<\/p>\n

Look at the picturesA distant memory of Tony Dorsett<\/span><\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":6932,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true},"categories":[1066,946,944],"tags":[963,976,1026,1050],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/Web.TonyDorsett016.jpg?fit=2000%2C1349&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":2404,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2012\/10\/18\/president-gerald-ford-meets-tony-dorsett-and-johnny-majors\/","url_meta":{"origin":6928,"position":0},"title":"President Gerald Ford meets Tony Dorsett and Johnny Majors","date":"October 18, 2012","format":"gallery","excerpt":"On his visit to Pittsburgh, President Ford campaigned for re-election, having completed the unfinished term of Richard Nixon, who resigned the presidency in 1974.","rel":"","context":"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/10\/tumblr_mc27e0FsyV1rr5swxo1_1280.jpg?fit=904%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":8265,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2017\/10\/25\/marshall-goldberg-pitt-football-prototype\/","url_meta":{"origin":6928,"position":1},"title":"Marshall Goldberg, Pitt’s prototype","date":"October 25, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Long before there was Tony Dorsett, Dan Marino, Larry Fitzgerald, LeSean McCoy, Aaron Donald or any other transcendent football star who once donned a University of Pittsburgh uniform, there was Marshall Goldberg. 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