| No. 67 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position: | Offensive tackle | ||||||
| Personal information | |||||||
| Born: | (1953-07-01)July 1, 1953 (age 71) Helena, Montana, U.S. | ||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | ||||||
| Weight: | 253 lb (115 kg) | ||||||
| Career information | |||||||
| High school: | Helena | ||||||
| College: | Stanford | ||||||
| NFL draft: | 1975: 4th round, 90th pick | ||||||
| Career history | |||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||
| Career NFL statistics | |||||||
| |||||||
Patrick Emery Donovan (born July 1, 1953) is an American former professionalfootball player who was anoffensive tackle for theDallas Cowboys of theNational Football League (NFL). He playedcollege football for theStanford Cardinal.Sports Illustrated named him the fourth greatest Montana athlete of the 20th century.
Donovan is considered to be one of the greatest athletes in the history of the state of Montana.[1] While attending Class A Helena Central High School as a freshman and sophomore, helettered infootball,basketball andtrack and field, winning the stateshot put title as a sophomore.
After Helena Central closed, Donovan attended Class AAHelena High School, continuing to excel intrack and field at the Class AA level, winning theshot put anddiscus competitions at the state meet in both his junior and senior seasons. He also was fast enough to anchor the school's 880-yard relay team to a state championship as a senior. He graduated as the holder of three school records in theshot put,discus andJavelin competitions.[2]
Donovan also ledHelena to the state championshipbasketball final as a junior and senior, losing to Kalispell in 1970 and winning against Billings West in 1971. He was named all tournament both years.
He went on to earn All-State honors on both offense and defense infootball, was an All-Statebasketball player and won six first place medals at statetrack meets. In 1994, he was inducted into theMontana High School Association Hall of Fame and the National High School Sports Hall of Fame.[3]
Donovan received afootball scholarship to play atStanford University. He was named the rightdefensive end starter during his sophomore campaign and by the time he was a junior, he posted 109 tackles to lead his team and was named first-teamAll-American.
As a senior, he received Consensus All-American honors. He was inducted into the Stanford Athletic Hall of Fame and was also named to Stanford's All-Century football team.
Donovan was selected by theDallas Cowboys in the fourth round of the1975 NFL draft as adefensive end. He was one of 12 rookies who made the team that year - hence the "Dirty Dozen" nickname for the Cowboys1975 draft, that helped the team reachSuper Bowl X.
In1975, the Cowboys needed help atoffensive tackle and likedefensive tackleBlaine Nye a few years before him, he was switched to theoffensive line three days intotraining camp. As a rookie, he gained more weight and saw action at bothleft andright tackle.
After being a reserve during his first two seasons, he took over theright tackle job in1977 whenRayfield Wright went down with an injury, helping the team winSuper Bowl XII.[4]
In1978, he moved to the left side afterRalph Neely retired andRayfield Wright returned from injury. Donovan became one of the topoffensive tackles in theNFL during the late 1970s and early 1980s and together withHerb Scott formed one of the best left-side tandems in the league.[5]
During his time with the Cowboys,centerJohn Fitzgerald nicknamed the Cowboysoffensive line as the "Four Irishmen and a Scott", when it was formed by Donovan,Fitzgerald,Jim Cooper,Tom Rafferty andHerb Scott.[6][7]
That group helped pave the way forTony Dorsett's Hall of Famerushing career. In the1982 season, he helped blocked on Dorsett's record 99-yardtouchdown run against theMinnesota Vikings.
Donovan was a catalyst on the Cowboysoffensive line and a four-timePro Bowloffensive lineman from1979 to1982. He remains one of just fiveoffensive tackles in club history to make at least fourPro Bowls, joiningRayfield Wright (six),Flozell Adams (five),Erik Williams (four) andTyron Smith (four).
He did not suffer any major injuries during his entire career, but at the end of the1983 season, because of the accumulation of wear and tear, he ended up needing surgery to repair both shoulders and decided to retire. Donovan never missed a game in 9 seasons, played in 20 playoff contests, including sixNFC Championships and threeSuper Bowls, earning a title ring inSuper Bowl XII against theDenver Broncos.