Hail Mary: The Drew Pearson Story

Drew Pearson was born on January 12, 1951 in Newark, New Jersey. He grew up along with seven brothers and sisters in South River, New Jersey where he was an outstanding football, basketball, and baseball player for South River High School. He played college football for the University of Tulsa as a quarterback turned flanker. He caught 55 passes for 1,119 yards, six touchdowns and had a 20.3-yard average per catch in his career. As a senior, he led the Golden Hurricane with 33 receptions for 690 yards and three touchdowns. He went on, as an un-drafted free agent, to play for the Dallas Cowboys where he had 489 receptions for 7,822 yards.

Persistence. Perseverance. Survival. Drew Pearson has achieved greatness on and off the football field. As one of the NFL’s greatest wide receivers, "Mr. Clutch" is best known for one of the most famous plays in NFL history, the Hail Mary reception.

His successful career with the Dallas Cowboys resulted in three Super Bowl and three NFC Pro Bowl appearances. In addition, Drew made All Pro three times, was selected to the NFL 1970’s All-Decade team and he played on three Super Bowl teams.

In his life after football Drew founded Drew Pearson Enterprises, which concentrates on licensing agreements with major sports franchises for the sale of headwear. Drew Pearson Companies have become the nation's largest black sporting goods concern and Black Enterprise 100s named them Company of the Year in 1994.

Drew has also contributed significantly, with his time and money, to many charitable causes all over the United States. He is a community leader the Dallas-Fort Worth area and has a strong commitment to family and friends. In his book, Hail Mary, Drew shares his life, which is a life of overcoming adversity through preparation and hard work.