Todd Fowler is a former professional

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

tight end The tight end (TE) is a position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football, on the offense. The tight end is often a hybrid position with the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a wide receiver. Lik ...

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) for the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divi ...

. He also was a member of the

Houston Gamblers The Houston Gamblers were an American football team that competed in the United States Football League in 1984 and 1985. The Gamblers were coached by veteran NFL head coach Jack Pardee in both their seasons. They were noteworthy for introducing ...

in the

United States Football League The United States Football League (USFL) was a professional American football league that played for three seasons, 1983 through 1985. The league played a spring/summer schedule in each of its active seasons. The 1986 season was scheduled to be ...

(USFL). He played college football at Stephen F. Austin State University.

Early years

Fowler attended

Van High School Van Independent School District is a public school district based in Van, Texas ( USA). In addition to Van, the district serves the city of Edom and the unincorporated community of Ben Wheeler. The district also serves a portion of western Smit ...

. He was a two-way football player under his father Mal. As a senior, he helped his team win the Class 3A state championship and received second-team All-state honors at

. He also practiced track. After high school, he moved on to Henderson County Junior College where he was a two-year starter at strong safety and

. He transferred to Stephen F. Austin State University after his sophomore season and became a starter at

. In 1982, he registered 26 receptions for 260 yards (third on the team). In his last year, he finished with 22 receptions for 209 yards (third on the team) and one

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone. In Amer ...

. In 2016, he was inducted into the Trinity Valley Community College Hall of Fame. He was named to the All-East Texas All-decade team as a strong safety.

Professional career

Houston Gamblers (USFL)

Fowler was selected by the

in the 16th round (332nd overall) of the

1984 USFL Draft The 1984 USFL Draft was the second collegiate draft of the United States Football League The United States Football League (USFL) was a professional American football league that played for three seasons, 1983 through 1985. The league played ...

. He was converted from

to fullback during training camp. As a rookie, he played in all 18 games, starting the last 10 after Sam Harrell was lost for the season with a broken leg. After registering only 17 yards in his first 7 games, he finished the season with 1,003 rushing yards (5.9 avg.) and 11 touchdowns. On June 3, he set a league record with 208 rushing yards in a game against the

Denver Gold The Denver Gold was a franchise in the United States Football League, an attempt to establish a second major professional football league in the United States, playing a springtime season, from 1983 to 1985. The Gold played their home games at Mi ...

. He also displayed strong blocking skills. In his second season, sharing the backfield with a healthy Harrell, he registered 402 rushing yards (4.36 avg.) and 3 touchdowns. In head coach

Mouse Davis Darrel "Mouse" Davis (born September 6, 1932) is a retired American football coach and former player. A veteran coach at the high school, college, and professional levels, he last coached with Jerry Glanville at Portland State and with June Jon ...

run and shoot offense The run and shoot offense (also known as Run N' Shoot) is an offensive system for American football which emphasizes receiver motion and on-the-fly adjustments of receivers' routes in response to different defenses. It was conceived by former ...

, he became the Gamblers all-time leading rusher, posting 262 carries for 1,405 yards and 14

s. He also had 51 receptions for 540 yards and 3

Dallas Cowboys

The

selected him in the first round (25th overall) of the

1984 NFL supplemental draft of USFL and CFL players The 1984 NFL Supplemental Draft of USFL and CFL players was a one-time draft of United States Football League and Canadian Football League players, held in the spring of 1984. Reason for the draft In New York City on Tuesday, June 5, startin ...

. He signed a contract on September 24,

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

, to start playing in the NFL for the 1985 season, becoming the first

USFL The United States Football League (USFL) was a professional American football league that played for three seasons, 1983 through 1985. The league played a spring/summer schedule in each of its active seasons. The 1986 season was scheduled to be ...

player to be signed away from the league. On August 27,

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...

, he was placed on the

injured reserve list The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in th ...

. He was activated on October 29, before the contest against the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...

. The Cowboys moved him back to

, where he was mainly a backup to

Timmy Newsome Timothy Arthur Newsome (born May 17, 1958) is a former American football fullback in the National Football League for the Dallas Cowboys. He played college football at Winston-Salem State University. Early years Newsome attended Ahoskie High S ...

and

Doug Cosbie Douglas Durant Cosbie (born March 27, 1956) is a former American football tight end in the National Football League (NFL) for the Dallas Cowboys. He played college football at Santa Clara University. Cosbie has been a football coach for seve ...

. In

1988 File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Bicenten ...

, he started 6 games while replacing an injured Newsome and finished fifth on the team in

special teams In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their "position". Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...

tackles. On August 31,

1989 File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxon Valdez oil tanker runs ...

, the Cowboys bought out his contract, in order to avoid placing him on the

with a pulled hamstring.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fowler, Todd 1962 births Living people People from Van Zandt County, Texas Players of American football from Texas American football tight ends American football running backs Trinity Valley Cardinals football players Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks football players Houston Gamblers players Dallas Cowboys players