Alvin Garrett
No. 25, 84, 89 | |
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Position: | Wide receiver |
Personal information | |
Born: | Mineral Wells, Texas, U.S. | October 1, 1956
Height: | 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m) |
Weight: | 178 lb (81 kg) |
Career information | |
High school: | Mineral Wells (Mineral Wells, Texas) |
College: | Angelo State |
NFL draft: | 1979 / Round: 9 / Pick: 237 |
Career history | |
* Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |
Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Career NFL statistics | |
Player stats at NFL.com · PFR |
Alvin Lynn Garrett (born October 1, 1956) is an American former professional
College career
Before his NFL career, he played college football at Angelo State University, leading the team in receiving in 1977 and 1978. In 1978, the team went 14-0 and won the NAIA Football National Championship, an experience Garrett called his best memory as a football player.[1] Garett finished his two college seasons with 40 receptions for 839 yards and six touchdowns.
Professional career
Garrett was selected in the ninth round of the
Garrett is best known for replacing injured starter
Garrett's best season came in
Garrett finished his five-season NFL career with 32 receptions for 412 yards and two touchdowns, 43 punt returns for 334 yards, and 50 kickoff returns for 1,013 yards in 55 games.
The Cosell incident
During the first half of the September 5, 1983 Monday Night Football game between the Dallas Cowboys and Washington Redskins, Howard Cosell's commentary on Garrett included "That little monkey gets loose doesn't he?" Cosell's references to Garrett as a "little monkey," ignited a racial controversy that laid the groundwork for Cosell's departure from MNF at the end of the 1983 season. The Rev. Joseph Lowery, then-president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, denounced Cosell's comment as racist and demanded a public apology. Despite supportive statements by Jesse Jackson, Muhammad Ali, and Alvin Garrett himself, the fallout contributed to Cosell's decision to leave Monday Night Football following the 1983 season.
"I liked Howard Cosell," Garrett said. "I didn't feel that it was a demeaning statement."[2]
Cosell explained that Garrett's small stature, and not his race, was the basis for his comment, citing the fact that he had used the term to describe his own grandchildren.
Among other evidence to support Cosell's claim is video footage of a 1972 preseason game between the New York Giants and the Kansas City Chiefs that features Cosell referring to athlete Mike Adamle, a 5-foot, 8-inch, 195-pound Caucasian, as a "little monkey."
References
- ^ "Right place, right time: Former ASU, NFL receiver Garrett savors championship memories".
- ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2020-07-04.