Nothing ever came easy for the greatest professional football player to come out of the NIC-10.
If you know anything about local football history, then you know the thumbnail sketch of Preston Pearson's career. More of a basketball player than football player at Freeport, Pearson played hoops instead of football at the University of Illinois. When his Illini career was over, Don Shula and the Baltimore Colts took a flier on him in the 12th round. Pearson, against very long odds, made the team and ended up playing in five Super Bowls in 14 years for three different teams.
At Freeport, Pearson was a good but not great football player. In 1961, his brother Rufus powered the Pretzels to a 7-2 record. Rufus scored touchdowns in every game but the last. In back-to-back weeks, Rufus had touchdown runs of more than 30 yards in 7-6 wins.
Preston? He wasn't even mentioned in a game story from the Rockford newspapers. In a 1961 Freeport basketball preview, the writer mentioned that Preston became a starter the final two games of the football season.
In 1962, Preston took over for Rufus in the starting backfield, but that Pretzels team was one of the weaker ones in the Nate Johnson era. The 1959, 1960 and 1961 Freeport teams combined to go 22-3-2. The 1963 team would go 9-0 and the 1964 team would finish 6-2-1.
The Pretzels struggled to a 3-3-3 record in 1962, Preston's senior season. His biggest play, an 80-yard touchdown run against Sterling, was called back because he stepped out of bounds 18 yards into the play. His only touchdown as a varsity football player at Freeport was a 30-yard TD reception in his final game.
Preston was named honorable mention all-Big Eight, while his teammate, Jim Kuhlmeier, was named first team all-conference at halfback.
It was on the basketball court where Pearson made a bigger mark. He led the Big Eight in scoring in 1962-1963 with 17.4 points per game for a Freeport team that finished 17-8. He was named to the Chicago Daily News All-State team.
The 6-1 Pearson wasn't a major recruit, though. His best scholarship offer came from Bowling Green. Pearson had visited the University of Illinois the year before when the Illini were recruiting Rufus and was desperate to play in Champaign. So he wrote basketball coach Harry Combes a letter.
Combes responded, encouraging Pearson to enroll and they'd work out some kind of help.
Illinois offered room and board and Pearson worked a number of odd jobs around Freeport, including shoveling snow and delivering newspapers, to be able to afford tuition.
Eventually, Pearson worked his way into a full scholarship by carving out a role as a defensive stopper. By his senior year, he'd worked his way into the starting lineup, averaging 8.7 points and 6.0 rebounds per game for an Illini team that went 12-12.
One of those 12 losses led to Pearson's biggest break. The Illinois were playing UCLA and the greatest college basketball player ever in Lew Alcindor. Late in the game, Pearson came from the weakside to block one of Alcindor's skyhooks. A Baltimore Colts scout was at the game and convinced Colts coach Don Shula to draft Pearson because of his athleticism.
Even though he hadn't played football in our years, Pearson made the team as a defensive back. The Colts eventually turned him into a kick returner and running back. Pearson was lucky to learn from several future Hall of Famers, including quarterback Johnny Unitas, tight end John Mackey, running back Lenny Moore and receiver Raymond Berry.
He learned his lessons well and began earning more and more snaps. He didn't get a carry or reception until his second year in Baltimore and didn't start a game until his third. In 1970, fortune smiled on Pearson again when Baltimore's defensive coordinator Chuck Knoll took over the Pittsburgh Steelers, long one of the worst franchises in the NFL, and Knoll traded for Pearson.
In Pittsburgh, Pearson's career took off. He had 503 yards rushing in 1970 and 851 yards rushing and receiving in 1971. In 1972, he was leading the AFC in rushing through the first four weeks of the season when he hurt his hamstring. That opened the door for future hall of famer Franco Harris.
Pearson's touches declined in 1974 and the Steelers chose not to re-sign the 29-year-old Pearson. The Dallas Cowboys were looking for a veteran running back and signed Pearson and put him in a role that he essentially pioneered - the third-down receiving back.
Pearson ended up playing six years with the Cowboys, catching 189 passes versus 325 rushing attempts.
Pearson played for three of the greatest franchises in football. He was the first player to play in five Super Bowls - 1969, 1975, 1976, 1978 and 1979. He was the first to play in Super Bowls for three different teams.
In 13 NFL seasons, he rushed for 3,609 yards, caught 254 passes for 3,095 yards and had 2,841 in punt and kickoff returns. The Freeport Pretzel who scored just one TD in his varsity career ended up scoring 36 in the NFL in the regular season and playoffs.
| No. 3 - Preston Pearson, Freeport | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Level | Team | Accomplishments | Points |
| 1961 | High School | Freeport | Winning Team | 1 |
| 1962 | High School | Freeport | Honorable Mention All-Big 8 | 0.5 |
| 1963 | College | Illinois | Played Basketball | 0 |
| 1964 | College | Illinois | Played Basketball | 0 |
| 1965 | College | Illinois | Played Basketball | 0 |
| 1966 | College | Illinois | Played Basketball | 0 |
| 1967 | NFL | Baltimore | 12th Round Pick | 1 |
| Played in NFL | 3 | |||
| Playoff Team | 1 | |||
| 1968 | NFL | Baltimore | Played in NFL | 3 |
| Playoff Team | 1 | |||
| Super Bowl | 1 | |||
| 1969 | NFL | Baltimore | Played in NFL | 3 |
| Starter | 1 | |||
| 1970 | NFL | Pittsburgh | Played in NFL | 3 |
| Starter | 1 | |||
| 1971 | NFL | Pittsburgh | Played in NFL | 3 |
| Starter | 1 | |||
| 1972 | NFL | Pittsburgh | Played in NFL | 3 |
| Starter | 1 | |||
| Playoff Team | 1 | |||
| 1973 | NFL | Pittsburgh | Played in NFL | 3 |
| Starter | 1 | |||
| Playoff Team | 1 | |||
| 1974 | NFL | Pittsburgh | Played in NFL | 3 |
| Starter | 1 | |||
| Playoff Team | 1 | |||
| Super Bowl | 1 | |||
| Super Bowl Winner | 1 | |||
| 1975 | NFL | Dallas | Played in NFL | 3 |
| Starter | 1 | |||
| Playoff Team | 1 | |||
| Super Bowl | 1 | |||
| 1976 | NFL | Dallas | Played in NFL | 3 |
| Starter | 1 | |||
| Playoff Team | 1 | |||
| 1977 | NFL | Dallas | Played in NFL | 3 |
| Starter | 1 | |||
| Playoff Team | 1 | |||
| Super Bowl | 1 | |||
| Super Bowl Winner | 1 | |||
| 1978 | NFL | Dallas | Played in NFL | 3 |
| Starter | 1 | |||
| Playoff Team | 1 | |||
| Super Bowl | 1 | |||
| 1979 | NFL | Dallas | Played in NFL | 3 |
| Playoff Team | 1 | |||
| 1980 | NFL | Dallas | Played in NFL | 3 |
| Playoff Team | 1 | |||
| Totals | 72.5 | |||
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