Garry Don "Donny" Anderson was born on May 16,1943 and is a former professional football player, a halfback and punter for nine seasons with the Green Bay Packers and St Louis Cardinals of the National Football League.
15 Facts About Donny Anderson
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From Texas Tech, Anderson was the first-round draft pick of the Green Bay Packers in the 1965 NFL draft, the seventh overall selection.
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At Texas Tech in Lubbock, Donny Anderson earned the nickname the "Golden Palomino".
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Donny Anderson received All-American honors twice and was a three-time all-Southwest Conference halfback.
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Donny Anderson held many of Texas Tech's football records and finished fourth in the 1965 Heisman Trophy race.
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Donny Anderson is part of the Texas Tech Hall of Fame and the College Football Hall of Fame.
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Donny Anderson selected the Packers over the reportedly higher offer from the Houston Oilers of the AFL.
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Donny Anderson's contract was believed to be a then-record $600,000, exceeding Joe Namath's contract of the previous year.
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Donny Anderson served as the team's return specialist that year, returning 6 punts for 124 yards and a touchdown, along with 23 kickoff returns for 533 yards.
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The Packers went on to second consecutive championship win in Super Bowl II, where Donny Anderson was the team's second leading rusher with 48 yards and a touchdown, while catching 2 passes for 18 yards.
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Donny Anderson punted the ball six times for 239 yards.
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Donny Anderson finished his career with 4,696 rushing yards, 209 receptions for 2,548 yards, 15 punt returns for 222 yards, and 34 kickoff returns for 759 yards.
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In 1967, the left-footed Donny Anderson worked instead at punting the ball higher, shortening the distance traveled, but increasing the ball's time in the air, allowing better coverage by his team on the punt return.
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Green Bay punted 66 times that year, 63 of them by Donny Anderson; opponents were able to return only 13 of them for a total of 22 yards, or about one-third yard per punt.
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Lombardi explained the concept to sportswriters who questioned why he did not try to find a better punter than Donny Anderson, who averaged only 36.6 yards per punt that year.