William Douglas Dennison (born December 18, 1951) is an American former

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

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. The Browns compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team is named after ...

. He also was a member of the Chicago Blitz and

Arizona Wranglers The Arizona Wranglers were a professional American football team in the United States Football League (USFL) that existed from late 1982 to mid-1985. They played at Sun Devil Stadium on the campus of Arizona State University in Tempe, Arizona. ...

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 a spring/summer schedule in each of its active seasons. The 1986 season was scheduled to be ...

(USFL). 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 ...

for the Kutztown Golden Bears.

Early years

Dennison attended J.P. McCaskey High School, where he was a district

triple jump The triple jump, sometimes referred to as the hop, step and jump or the hop, skip and jump, is a track and field event, similar to long jump. As a group, the two events are referred to as the "horizontal jumps". The competitor runs down the tr ...

champion and finished sixth in the state finals. He played only 2 years of football. He accepted a track scholarship from Kutztown State College, where he set school records in the

with 47 feet and the

long jump The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a takeoff point. Along with the triple jump, the two events that measure jumping for distance as a gr ...

with 23 feet. As a junior in 1972, he began playing football as a two-way starter at

safety Safety is the state of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings The word 'safety' entered the English language in the 1 ...

and

. As a senior in 1973, he was leading the division in rushing, when he suffered a left knee injury in the fifth game of the season and was lost for the year. He received second-team All-PSAC honors, after finishing the year with 587 rushing yards on 149 carries and 13 receptions for 128 yards. In 1978, he was inducted into the Kutztown Athletic Hall of Fame.

Professional career

Dallas Cowboys

Dennison was signed as an

undrafted 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 ...

by the

after the 1974 NFL draft, after not being selected because of his college knee injury. The NFL players held a strike from July until August, which helped him get an extended look in

training camp A training camp is an organized period in which military personnel or athletes participate in a rigorous and focused schedule of training in order to learn or improve skills. Athletes typically utilise training camps to prepare for upcoming events ...

and eventually become the first NFL player from Kutztown State. As a rookie, he was a contributor 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 ...

and established himself as the team's short-yardage specialist, registering 4

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. 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. ...

, when Calvin Hill left to join the WFL, he was used in combination with Preston Pearson and Charley Young. He started his first three games, finishing the season with 383 rushing yards (third on the team) and 7 rushing

s (led the team). Head coach

Tom Landry Thomas Wade Landry ( ; September 11, 1924 – February 12, 2000) was an American professional football coach, player, and World War II veteran. Regarded as one of the greatest head coaches of all time, he was the first head coach of the Dallas ...

once said: "Doug Dennison is the best guy I know to give a football to on the goal line or short yardage," "if you want to make it, you give it to Doug. Dennison is going to give you everything he's got." and "Doug Dennison is a warrior,", "If you had to go to war, you'd want to go with Doug Dennison". 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 was named the starter after Pearson missed most of the season with an injury, leading the team in rushing (542 yards) and also scoring 6

s. He started 10 out of 14 games, alternating later at

when Pearson returned. In

1977 Events January * January 8 – 1977 Moscow bombings, Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (no ...

, he was relegated to playing mostly on

with the arrival of

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 ...

. In

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd ...

, 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 ...

, after suffering a left knee injury while playing

in the sixth game against the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...

. On August 21,

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 waived to make room for

Ron Springs Ronald Edward Springs (November 4, 1956 – May 12, 2011) was an American professional football running back in the National Football League (NFL) for the Dallas Cowboys and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He played college football at Ohio State Universi ...

. He finished his Cowboys career with 19

s on 309 carries and 1,112 rushing yards.

Cleveland Browns

The

signed him on October 13,

, to replace Greg Pruitt, who was lost for the season with an injured knee. At the end of his one-year contract, the Browns didn't re-sign him after drafting Charles White.

Toronto Argonauts (CFL)

On March 21,

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

Toronto Argonauts The Toronto Argonauts (officially the Toronto Argonaut Football Club and colloquially known as the Argos) are a professional Canadian football team based in Toronto, Ontario. The Argonauts compete in the East Division (CFL), East Division of t ...

. After injuring his left knee on the first day of camp, he announced his retirement. He later changed his mind and rejoined the team in August, but was waived on September 11,

Chicago Blitz (USFL)

After being out of

for three years, head coach George Allen signed him to the Chicago Blitz in

1983 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning of the ...

, to provide depth behind Tim Spencer. He finished the season with 134 rushing yards on 42 carries and 15 receptions for 166 yards and one

Arizona Wranglers (USFL)

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 ...

, the Chicago Blitz and the

engineered a swap of assets in which Allen, the Blitz coaching staff and most of the Blitz players moved to Phoenix, while most of the Wranglers roster moved to Chicago, with the exception of Alan Risher, who stayed in Arizona to back up Greg Landry. The agreement allowed the team to move, while keeping a strong roster. Dennison remained a backup before retiring at the end of the season.

References

External links

Dennison Has Lofty Pro Grid AmbitionsDennison's Next Goal - 1,000 YardsDennison return an adventure
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dennison, Doug 1951 births Living people Lancaster, Pennsylvania American football running backs Kutztown Golden Bears football players Dallas Cowboys players Cleveland Browns players Toronto Argonauts players Chicago Blitz players Arizona Wranglers players