Drew Pearson ( American football ) Drew Pearson ( born January 12 , 1951 in South River , New Jersey ) is a sportscaster and former American football wide receiver for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League . Early years . Pearson was born and raised in South River , New Jersey , and began his football career at South River High School where he succeeded Joe Theismann as quarterback . He attended the University of Tulsa and started four games at quarterback as a sophomore , before being converted to wide receiver prior to the 1971 season . He caught 22 passes for 429 yards and three touchdown s his junior season . As a senior , he led the run - oriented Golden Hurricane with 33 receptions for 690 yards and 3 touchdown s . During his college career he caught 55 passes for 1 , 119 yards , six touchdown s and had a 20 . 3 yard average per reception . Pearson received the university ' s President ' s Award as the team ' s " best spirited and most unselfish " member . In 1985 , he was inducted into the Tulsa Athletics Hall of Fame . Professional career . In 1973 , he was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Dallas Cowboys , where he rose to become one of the NFL ’ s greatest wide receivers , earning career records of 489 receptions and 7 , 822 receiving yards , along with 189 rushing yards , 155 yards returning kickoff s , and 50 touchdown s ( 48 receiving and two fumble recoveries ) . Pearson was named one of the Top 20 Pro Football All - Time wide receivers , he was also recognized for his achievements by being named to the NFL 1970s All - Decade Team . Pearson was named All - Pro three times ( 1974 , 1976 – 77 ) All - NFC in 1975 and second Team All - NFC in 1978 . In addition , Pearson was a Pro Bowl er in 1974 , 1976 and 1977 . Pearson led the National Football Conference ( NFC ) in pass receptions in 1976 with 58 . He served as offensive captain for the Cowboys in 1977 , 1978 , 1982 and 1983 . He helped the Cowboys to three Super Bowl appearances and a victory in Super Bowl XII in 1978 . He also scored a touchdown in Super Bowl X . In 1979 , he and Tony Hill — along with Tony Dorsett — helped the Cowboys become the first team in NFL history to have two 1 , 000 - yards wide receiver s and a 1 , 000 - yard running back , when he recorded 55 receptions , 1 , 026 yards and 8 touchdowns . Pearson and Hill also became the first wide receiver tandem in Cowboys history , to record 1 , 000 - yard receiving seasons in the same year . In 1980 , the Cowboys selected Pearson as their nominee for NFL Man of the Year . Pearson is known as " Mr . Clutch " for his numerous clutch catches in game - winning situations , especially the " Hail Mary " reception from Roger Staubach that sealed the victory in a , one of the most famous plays in NFL history . He also caught the game - sealing touchdown in against the Los Angeles Rams and the game - winning touchdown pass from reserve quarterback Clint Longley in the 1974 Thanksgiving game against the Washington Redskins . All three of those plays were named among the Top 75 plays in NFL history by NFL Films in 1994 . All were included on a video / DVD by that name . In addition in the 1980 playoff game at Atlanta , Pearson ' s clutch receptions helped win that game in a comeback by the Cowboys . In the 1981 NFC Championship Game against the San Francisco 49ers , Pearson almost rendered " The Catch " irrelevant when , in the waning moments of the game , he caught a long pass from Danny White that would ' ve gone for a touchdown and won the game for the Cowboys had 49ers cornerback Eric Wright not made a one - handed tackle , stopping him just outside field - goal range ( White fumbled on the next play , thus preserving victory for the 49ers and putting them in Super Bowl XVI ) . In 2009 , on the NFL Network show " NFL ' s Top 10 " , in the episode titled " Greatest Dallas Cowboys " , he is number 10 on the list . On March 1984 he fell asleep while driving his Dodge Daytona , causing a crash against a parked tractor - trailer . The accident ended his younger brother ’ s ( Carey Pearson ) life and forced him to retire from the internal injuries he suffered . His career accomplishments left such a mark with the Dallas Cowboys , that his number 88 jersey is reserved for the best talent at wide receiver . Hall of Fame r Michael Irvin and Dez Bryant have worn it . On August 19 , 2011 Cowboys owner Jerry Jones announced that Pearson had been selected for inclusion into the highly prestigious Dallas Cowboys Ring of Honor . Pearson , Charles Haley and Larry Allen were inducted during the half - time show of the Cowboys - Seahawks game Sunday , November 6 , 2011 .