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A number of notable athletes and sports stars are from Tyler or the surrounding East Texas region.
 Earl Campbell in the Pro Football Hall of Fame gallery, Canton, Ohio (photograph by the author) |
There are also a large number of singers, songwriters, actors and entertainers from East Texas.
We enjoy and appreciate the talents and accomplishments of these famous people and stars!
Earl Campbell
Born in Tyler on March 29, 1955, football running back Earl Christian Campbell graduated from John Tyler High School and then became a star on the football team of the University of Texas at Austin.
For his record breaking performances at the college level, Earl won the Heisman Trophy in 1977.
That same year he became the first recipient of the Davey O'Brien Memorial Trophy, awarded to the most outstanding player in the Southwest Conference.
Earl was then the first pick in the 1978 National Football League draft, chosen by the Houston Oilers. He later played for the New Orleans Saints and amassed a series of football and NFL records.
 (photograph by the author) |
He is widely acknowledged as one of the best power backs in NFL history, and few running backs were as productive or imposing. He retired during the 1986 NFL pre-season.
Earl was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1991, and is also a member of the College Hall of Fame.
He is widely known as "The Tyler Rose", and has the Earl Campbell Parkway in Tyler named in his honor. for more information visit the official Earl Campbell website
Matt Flynn
Matt attended Robert E. Lee High School, and was later the star quarterback of the LSU Fighting Tigers when they won the BCS National Football Championship.
Matt now is on the roster of the Green Bay Packers of the NFL. We visited Lambeau Field and the Packer Hall of Fame in 2009 and were CheeseHeads for a day!
Go Tigers! We love those Bayou Bengals, and remember the nights we've spent in Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge.
Adrian Peterson
Born in Palestine, Texas, he was a local football hero before becoming a record-setting running back for the University of Oklahoma, where he was a Heisman Trophy runner-up.
Today he is a star running back for the NFL Minnesota Vikings.
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