Gilbert Henry "Gib" Dawson (August 27, 1930 – July 30, 2005) was a former halfback at the University of Texas and in the

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).

Career

Dawson was born in

Bisbee, Arizona Bisbee is a city in and the county seat of Cochise County in southeastern Arizona, United States. It is southeast of Tucson and north of the Mexican border. According to the 2020 census, the population of the town was 4,923, down from 5,575 i ...

and become a high school football star in Douglas, AZ. He's a member of the Arizona High School Football Hall of Fame, was recognized as one of Arizona's 50 Greatest Athletes of all time and had his high school jersey retired in 1979. Dawson was a two-time all-Southwest Conference running back at the

University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...

and the only Texas player ever to lead the Longhorns in five different offensive categories in the same season. In 1951, he was named all-Southwest Conference, and led the team in total offense (714 yards), scoring (62 points), receiving (8 catches for 170 yards), rushing (74 carries for 671 yards and all purpose yards (939, including rushing, passing and 98 yards in kick returns). He was again named all-Southwest Conference running back in 1952, and after the summer after the season was over, was named the Most Valuable Player in the College All-Star game against the World Champion Detroit Lions. That season he also led the Longhorns in all-purpose yards, with 698 rushing, 167 receiving, 211 in kickoff returns and 84 in punt returns for a total of 1,160 yards. He was named to the Texas Longhorn Hall of Honor in 1984. Dawson was drafted by the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. It ...

in the fourth round of the

1953 NFL Draft The 1953 National Football League Draft was held on January 22, 1953, at Bellevue-Stratford Hotel in Philadelphia. Selections made by the folded Dallas Texans were assigned to the new Baltimore Colts. This was the seventh year that the first ove ...

and played that season with the team. His career was cut short when he was drafted into the Army.

Later life

After being discharged from the Army, Dawson went into business eventually becoming an executive with the Circle K Corporation in Tucson and Phoenix, AZ. He had three children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dawson, Gib 1930 births 2005 deaths People from Bisbee, Arizona Players of American football from Arizona American football halfbacks Texas Longhorns football players Green Bay Packers players

Career

Later life

See also

References