Wow! He had a great career in the league. I still remember his 50 yard FG into the wind as time ran out against Virginia for the win.
Best kick I've ever witnessed. Headed into the south endzone with at least a 15mph wind or more blowing north from the south. I was on the south east side around the 30 yd line and i would swear the ball was coming back north as it crossed the bar. I've watched videos and I'm wrong about that, but in person it was pretty awesome to see. If I remember Virginia got their revenge for that kick the next year at their place.
Vol, I thought that kick was in the north endzone. The following year I walked into Rick Lantz' office at the McCue Center on Thursday morning to get my tickets for the game and visit with Rick & Coach Welch. "Here you go, tickets on the 50 behind the Texas bench, because I want you to have a really good view of the *** kicking coming your way." - Rick Lantz Later that year, I spent two days in the Marriott in FLL trying to convince Rick's wife and daughter how much they would hate Brazos County if Rick took the job as DC at A&M. To quote my children - "Daddy, if Rick takes that job, we'll never get a first down on A&M much less a touchdown"
It was the south end. Most amazing FG I ever saw. An impossible kick. My buddy who was sitting in section 2 (about the 10) said the ball reached the goal posts and just hovered, finally dropping straight down and clearing the bar.
I was driving on west Loop 820 about to cross the Lake Worth bridge in Fort Worth listening to it on the radio. Amazing what memories stick with you.
I was a student at the same time as Dawson and "The Virginia Kick" was the name of a paper I wrote for one of my comp classes shortly after we won that game. The assignment was an exercise in descriptive retelling of an exciting event you had been a part of and it took me all of about a second to decide what my topic would be. I won't call it an easy A but it sure didn't feel like work to write either
I watched the 2nd half from a hotel room in round rock, totally exhausted from a bike race that morning (round rock 100). A bunch of friends and wives etc made the trip. The wind that day kicked our asses on the road, tough day When we lined for the fg I thought coach mac2 was nuts, no way can you get 50 into that wind. I was on cloud9 after that. Sixth street that night was festive as hell. Good vibes
I was there too. Thought Mother Nature was going to knock it down but it kept going and creeped over the bar. Here it is....
There were several Virginia fans sitting in front of me in the upper deck for that game. They thought they had the game won, were saying no way Dawson makes the kick into that wind from 50 yards out. But when the ball sailed through, they were like:
It was south end zone for sure. You could hear a pin drop (home fans) when the ball was snapped. Was upper deck but was sure I heard the "thump" of his foot hitting the ball. We couldn't tell if it was long enough but when the referees looked at each other, nodded, and started to raise their arms, the place went nuts…...lump in my throat thinking about it, similar to Vince's final TD against the Trojans...
The Virginia coaches and fans thought It was wide. George Welsh refused the option to bring ACC officials because, “ they are the worst in the country”. I later told George that one of those officials under the goalpost was a dentist from El Dorado, Arkansas that I had tried to get blackballed for 20 years. He always screwed us on a crucial play (except the illegal pick Akers called in advance against Baylor), but those SWC officials were auditioning for the new Big XII. George’s response - “ wish you’d told me that before the game”
Remember with :21 seconds left we are 4th and 10 at our own 44. James Brown hits Mike Adams to get the first and then pulls a VY scramble to get the ball to the the UVA 33 with :03 seconds left. It was a hell of a finish. I'll always believe the UVA game was the lead up to 16-6.
That was my first year as season ticket holder and I was in the east side stands having moved at half time to better seats (back when you could still do that). When they lined up for kick I was cussing Mackovick because I didn’t think there was a chance it could get near goal posts into that wind. As it continued to float and float and float it seemed like forever and when it went through the place went nuts. When UVA beat Florida State a few weeks later I felt like the cosmos was making up for that kick to all the UVA fans. Dawson is a legend and someday should be in Canton.
I predict he will be the Longhorn with the longest ever career in the NFL. (Way to go out on a limb, right?)
What are his chances of making it into the Hall of Fame. Dawson literally retired at the top of his game at 44.
it'll be difficult being 7th? on the list of kickers...it was already difficult for a kicker (George Blanda was also an "every down" player) until Morton Andersen (I think) got elected....
I was at that game. I was 10 years old and it was my 2nd UT game ever. It's the only specific play I remember from any of the games I attended live as a kid. Seemed like it hung in the air forever. He had missed a pair of 50ish yarders earlier in the game, both with the wind, but everyone still seemed to be confident he could nail the final one.
