David Arthur Overstreet (September 20, 1958 – June 24, 1984) was a

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback to rush the ball, to line up as a receiver to catch the ball, and block. Ther ...

in the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...

(CFL) and

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL). He played for coach

Barry Switzer Barry Layne Switzer (born October 5, 1937) is a former American football coach and player. He served for 16 years as head football coach at the University of Oklahoma and four years as head coach of the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football Le ...

and the

Oklahoma Sooners The Oklahoma Sooners are the athletic teams that represent the University of Oklahoma, located in Norman. The 19 men's and women's varsity teams are called the "Sooners", a reference to a nickname given to the early participants in the Land Ru ...

as a halfback out of the wishbone offense.

Biography

A native of

Big Sandy, Texas Big Sandy is a town in Upshur County, Texas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the town's population was 1,231. A lake of the same name is cut nearly in half by U.S. Highway 80, the main thoroughfare of Big Sandy. It lies directly west ...

, David Overstreet prepped at Big Sandy High School and played his college football at the

University of Oklahoma , mottoeng = "For the benefit of the Citizen and the State" , type = Public research university , established = , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $2.7billion (2021) , pr ...

. One of Overstreet's great moments as a Sooner happened on October 4, 1980 when the senior halfback ran for 258 yards on 18 carries against the

Colorado Buffaloes The Colorado Buffaloes are the athletic teams that represent the University of Colorado. The university sponsors 17 varsity sports teams. Both the men's and women's teams are called the Buffaloes (Buffs for short) or, rarely, the Golden Buffalo ...

as Oklahoma won big, 82-42. He had long runs of 84 and 53 yards in the contest. For Overstreet's senior season, the 5-11, 180-pound running back led the University of Oklahoma to a 10-2 record, a No. 3 ranking nationally, and the Big Eight Conference Championship while rushing for a team-leading 678 yards on 96 carries with six touchdowns. He was drafted in the 1981 NFL Draft by the

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team p ...

in the first round, 13th pick overall. A contract dispute with the Dolphins led him to sign with the

Montreal Alouettes The Montreal Alouettes (French: Les Alouettes de Montréal) are a professional Canadian football team based in Montreal, Quebec. Founded in 1946, the team has folded and been revived twice. The Alouettes compete in the East Division of the Canad ...

of the

, who, under the ownership of Nelson Skalbania, tried to buy a big money winning team. His first season (

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensiv ...

) was successful, as he rushed for 952 yards and was the Alouettes

rookie A rookie is a person new to an occupation, profession, or hobby. In sports, a ''rookie'' is a professional athlete in their first season (or year). In contrast with a veteran who has experience and expertise, a rookie is usually inexperienced ...

of the year. His second season, with the newly renamed and dreadful

Montreal Concordes The Montreal Alouettes ( French: Les Alouettes de Montréal) are a professional Canadian football team based in Montreal, Quebec. Founded in 1946, the team has folded and been revived twice. The Alouettes compete in the East Division of the Cana ...

, was plagued by injury, and he only gained 190 yards rushing. He returned to the Dolphins in 1983, and showed much promise, rushing for 392 yards in 14 games with a 4.6 yards per carry average. Overstreet was killed in a car accident in June 1984. He was driving northbound in his 1980 Mercedes on

Texas State Highway 155 Texas State Highway 155 (SH 155) is a highway in the U.S. state of Texas. It runs from Palestine to Linden as a mostly divided highway by way of Tyler. From Palestine to Linden, SH 155 is part of the Blue Star Memorial Highway. Rou ...

, when his car swerved off the road about 10 miles northeast of

Tyler Tyler may refer to: People and fictional characters * Tyler (name), an English name; with lists of people with the surname or given name * Tyler, the Creator (born 1991), American rap artist and producer * John Tyler, 10th president of the United ...

into gasoline pumps at a service station and exploded. The Dolphins wore a helmet decal with the number 20 in his memory during their 1984 season in which they reached Super Bowl XIX. He was survived by his wife, Johnnie, and son, David Overstreet II, who is currently an NFL assistant coach, first with Indianapolis and later

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, and grand-nephew Jalen Overstreet.

Statistics

References

External links

David Overstreet Career Stats; Oklahoma Sooners
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Overstreet, David 1958 births 1984 deaths People from Big Sandy, Texas American football running backs Oklahoma Sooners football players American players of Canadian football Canadian football running backs Montreal Alouettes players Montreal Concordes players Miami Dolphins players Players of American football from Texas Road incident deaths in Texas