Alois Sterling Blackwell (born November 12, 1954) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player who 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 American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offense ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(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 of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. T ...

and

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division. Established in 1959 ...

. He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

at the

University of Houston The University of Houston (; ) is a Public university, public research university in Houston, Texas, United States. It was established in 1927 as Houston Junior College, a coeducational institution and one of multiple junior colleges formed in ...

Early life

Blackwell attended Cuero High School. As a sophomore, he contributed to the team making its first state final appearance. He accepted a football scholarship from the

. As a sophomore in

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 – Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

, he posted 64 carries (fourth on the team), 364 rushing yards (third on the team), a 5.7-yard average and 2 touchdowns. As a junior in

1976 Events January * January 2 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 18 – Full diplomatic ...

, he became the starter at

, registering 151 carries for 934 yards (6.2-yard avg.) and 8

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Scoring a touchdown grants the team that scored it 6 points. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchd ...

s. He posted four 100-yard rushing games and contributed to the team's

Southwest Conference The Southwest Conference (SWC) was an NCAA Division I college athletic conference in the United States that existed from 1914 to 1996. Composed primarily of schools from Texas, at various times the conference also included schools from Oklaho ...

co-championship. In the 1977 Cotton Bowl, he rushed for 149 yards, 2

s, earned offensive MVP honors and contributed to a number 4 national ranking, which was the highest in school history. As a senior in 1977, he tallied 213 carries for 1,169 yards (5.5-yard avg.), 7 receptions for 108 yards and 11 touchdowns. His 1,169 rushing yards were second in the SWC behind

Earl Campbell Earl Christian Campbell (born March 29, 1955), nicknamed "the Tyler Rose", is an American former professional football running back who played in the National Football League (NFL) for eight seasons, primarily with the Houston Oilers. Known f ...

and fifth best in school history. He also scored 11

s, while having six 100-yard rushing games. He finished his college career with 2,467 rushing yards (fourth in school history), a 5.8-yard average and 21

s (third in school history). In 2010, he was inducted into the

Hall of Honor.

Professional career

Dallas Cowboys

Blackwell was selected by the

in the fourth round (110th overall) of the

1978 NFL draft The 1978 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held May 2–3, 1978, at the Roosevelt Hotel ...

. As a rookie, he was the third-string running back behind

Tony Dorsett Anthony Drew Dorsett Sr. (born April 7, 1954) is an American former professional American football, football running back who played in the National Football League (NFL) for the Dallas Cowboys and Denver Broncos. Raised in western Pennsylvani ...

and

Preston Pearson Preston James Pearson (born January 17, 1945) is an American former professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL) for the Baltimore Colts, Pittsburgh Steelers and Dallas Cowboys. He played college bas ...

. He mostly covered kickoffs and was considered one of the hardest hitters on

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 ...

. He played in

Super Bowl XII Super Bowl XII was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion 1977 Dallas Cowboys season, Dallas Cowboys and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion 1977 Denver Broncos season, Denver Broncos to dec ...

. In

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...

, he was the third-string running back. On October 22, he was waived to make room for

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...

John Dutton.

Kansas City Chiefs

In April

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a United States grain embargo against the Soviet Union, grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning Sys ...

, he signed with the

as a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

. 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 t ...

on August 19.

Personal life

Blackwell worked in the Houston Department of Intercollegiate Athletics. On January 12, 2001, he was hired as the

Texas Southern University Texas Southern University (Texas Southern or TSU) is a Public university, public Historically black colleges and universities, historically Black university in Houston. The university is a member school of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund an ...

athletic director. On February 11, 2008, he was relieved of his duties. Blackwell is also a member of

Phi Beta Sigma Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc. () is a historically African American fraternity. It was founded at Howard University in Washington, D.C. in 1914. The fraternity's founders, A. Langston Taylor, Leonard F. Morse, and Charles I. Brown, wanted to ...

fraternity. He helped charter the Zeta Zeta chapter at the

on April 6, 1974.

References

External links

Houston honors Cuero's Blackwell
{{DEFAULTSORT:Blackwell, Alois 1954 births Living people American football running backs Dallas Cowboys players Houston Cougars football players Kansas City Chiefs players Texas Southern Tigers athletic directors Sportspeople from Cuero, Texas Players of American football from DeWitt County, Texas