Doug Dawson
Douglas Arlin Dawson is an American former professional football guard who played 11 seasons in the National Football League in the 1980s and 1990s. Dawson played college football for the Texas Longhorns, receiving All-American and Academic All-American honors as a senior, and was selected by the St. Louis Cardinals in the second round of the 1984 NFL draft. He also played for the Houston Oilers and Cleveland Browns.
Biography
Dawson was born in Houston, Texas. He graduated from and played football for Memorial High School and helped them reach their first and only state championship game that year, which they lost to Temple.College career
He attended the University of Texas in Austin, Texas, where he was an offensive lineman for the Texas Longhorns football team from 1980 to 1983.His freshman year the Longhorns went to the Astro Bluebonnet Bowl.
In 1981, he played on a Longhorn team that upset Alabama in the [1982 1982 Cotton Bowl Classic|Cotton Bowl Classic|Cotton Bowl] and finished ranked #2/#4.
In 1982, he helped the team reach the Sun Bowl and finished ranked #17/#18.
In 1983, his senior year, he was a team co-captain. He helped the Longhorns get a #2 ranking, win the Southwest Conference and play in the Cotton Bowl. They lost by a one point when a win would have earned them the National Championship, but instead finished #5. He received the American Airlines Spirit Award, was recognized as a consensus first-team All-American, an Academic All-American and was a Lombardi Trophy finalist.
After finishing his career at Texas he played in the 1984 Hula Bowl and received a degree in petroleum engineering.
In 1997 he was named to the Longhorn Hall of Honor.
Pro career
St. Louis Cardinals
The St. Louis Cardinals selected Dawson in the second round in the 1984 NFL draft, and he played for the Cardinals from to.In 1984 he was a back-up on an offensive line that enabled Neil Lomax to throw for 4,614 yards, 2nd most in the NFL, and make the Pro Bowl.
In 1985 he was a full-time starter.
In 1986, he ruptured his Achilles' tendon in the first game of the season. It took three operations for him to recover.
He then spent three years selling insurance.
Houston Oilers
In 1990, Dawson decided he was ready for a comeback so he contacted the Houston Oilers and they gave him a tryout. He made the team and played back-up for most of the season, but took over as starter for the last game of the season and in the playoff game. At the end of the season, he signed a 3 year contract with the Oilers.For the next three seasons he was a starter for all but 6 games.
Cleveland Browns
He played his final season for the Cleveland Browns.During his NFL career, he played in a total of 106 NFL games with 70 starts and 3 fumble recoveries, as well as 5 playoff games.
Later life
He became an insurance and investment salesman and later a wealth management advisor in the Houston area for Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Company where he ranked in the company's top 20 all-time. Later he formed his own company Dawson Financial Services.In 2004 he was elected to the Piney Point Village City Council where he served until 2008.