Pettis Norman, a good finish on the soccer subject and a civil rights advocate off of it, has died. He was 86.
Norman performed for the Dallas Cowboys (1962-70) and San Diego Chargers (1971-73). He was a member of the primary Cowboys’ workforce to play within the Tremendous Bowl — Tremendous Bowl V in 1971, a 16-13 loss to the Baltimore Colts.
Norman caught 124 passes with the Cowboys, together with 14 touchdowns, and averaged 13.5 yards per reception. Solely three tight ends in workforce historical past have averaged greater than 13.0 yards per catch with a minimum of 100 profession receptions.
We mourn the passing of former tight finish and civil rights advocate Pettis Norman. Identified for his selfless management, dedication to neighborhood, and dedication to creating equal alternative, we had been extremely proud and grateful to share his outstanding story not too long ago. For extra on… pic.twitter.com/brks4HoLq5
— Dallas Cowboys (@dallascowboys) July 8, 2025
Throughout his first seven seasons within the NFL, he served within the Texas Military Nationwide Guard. And he was on the forefront of civil rights points within the Nineteen Sixties, each within the locker room and within the higher Dallas space.
“We mourn the passing of former tight finish and civil rights advocate Pettis Norman,” the Cowboys mentioned Monday. “Identified for his selfless management, dedication to neighborhood, and dedication to creating equal alternative, we had been extremely proud and grateful to share his outstanding story not too long ago.”
A part of the story the Cowboys shared was Norman’s effort in serving to to interrupt down racial boundaries on the workforce. He was one of many gamers who went to go coach Tom Landry to persuade him to cease assigning lodge rooms for highway video games by race, the workforce mentioned.
“I attempted to do no matter I might do [to] assist change the sorts of issues that society had operated below for such a very long time,” Norman mentioned, per the workforce web site.
Norman later grew to become the primary Black official at a financial institution in Dallas. In 1993, he additionally based the Dallas Collectively Discussion board with an purpose of accelerating minority hiring and boosting contracts awarded to firms owned by ladies and minorities.
Norman performed in 162 video games (122 begins) between the 2 franchises, making 183 receptions for two,492 yards with 15 TDs.
