- Wednesday, October 18, 2023

A few years ago, Ken Houston went to a Texas Sports Hall of Fame induction weekend. Signing autographs was a familiar face. So, Houston got in line with the other fans.

When he got up to the table, he asked former Dallas Cowboys fullback Walt Garrison, “Can I have your autograph?”

Garrison responded, “Who do I make it out to?

Houston replied, “Kenny Houston.”

And Garrison smiled, and the two men had a good laugh, because Garrison didn’t recognize the former Washington Redskins opponent who he has been forever linked to because of one memorable “Monday Night Football” play.

On Oct. 8, 1973, at RFK Stadium, in one of those legendary Redskins-Cowboys contests, Washington led 14-7 with 24 seconds remaining in the game. On fourth and goal, Dallas quarterback Craig Morton hit Garrison with a short pass. As Garrison got within inches of the goal line, Houston lifted the tough fullback off his feet and stopped him to save a Washington victory.

That play became one of the iconic moments of “Monday Night Football,” along with Earl Campbell’s 81-yard touchdown run against the Miami Dolphins in 1978, Bo Jackson’s 91-yard dash in 1987 against the Seattle Seahawks and so many other indelible moments.

Garrison died last week at the age of 79. He was a big part of the Cowboys’ success in the late 1960s and early 1970s, a hard-nosed fullback who remains fourth on the Cowboys’ career list with 4.32 yards per carry.

He was a real cowboy, a rodeo star who had a second career as a spokesman for Skoal smokeless tobacco. He could often be seen on television commercials saying, “Just a pinch between your cheek and gum is all it takes.”

Houston, 78, didn’t really know Garrison, save for that moment in the autograph line. But he knows the two have been connected as a result of that play, that night, in Washington.

“I said I’d like to thank you because you made my career,” Houston said.

It was a Hall of Fame career for the safety — 12 Pro Bowls, 12 All-Pro selections, named to the NFL’s 100th Anniversary All-Time team, the NFL’s All-Decade team of the 1970s and inducted into the Washington Commanders Ring of Fame. Houston and Garrison are both in the Texas Sports Hall of Fame.

Houston was drafted by the Houston Oilers out of Prairie View A&M in the ninth round in 1967 and became a standout safety, named to five Pro Bowls before being traded to Washington in 1973. He believes the Garrison stop, though, put him on a different level. “It definitely impacted my career,” Houston said. “I made that play and it jump-started my time in Washington.”

Here’s how the play unfolded, according to Houston: “Brig Owens and I had what we called a “combo C,” which was a combination between the free safety and strong safety. Chris Hanburger was involved because he was the linebacker. If the tight end would release inside and the back outside Brig Owens and I would switch and that’s what they did. Garrison released outside and so we switched. I thought I could intercept the ball, because the quarterback had to throw it quick, and we had the blitz on.

“When he put it in the air I really thought I could get between the ball and the running back. It didn’t happen. But I was in perfect position to make that tackle. It was Monday Night Football with Howard Cosell and all that, and George Allen was our coach. It was the Cowboys and the Redskins, with the whole nation watching. It was a big deal to me. A lot of good players made great plays that night, but that play seemed to take on a life of its own.”

Houston retired in 1980. He spent much of his post-playing career in Houston as a guidance counselor. He has suffered through two bouts with cancer. He said he is “blessed. I’ve had two cancers and they are both in remission. For me to be talking to you, it is a miracle to me. I tell anybody, don’t give up hope.”

His family had a surprise birthday party for him recently, but he feels the loss of Garrison’s death. “I had heard so many great things about him,” Houston said. “I would like to think our relationship was a friendship, even though we were rivals.”

They will always be connected.

You can hear Thom Loverro on The Kevin Sheehan Show podcast.

• Thom Loverro can be reached at tloverro@washingtontimes.com.

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