DENNIS SILVA II | STAFF WRITER
Former Dallas Cowboys receiver Drew Pearson will be the keynote speaker at the 2016 All-Valley Sports Awards Banquet on June 14 at the DoubleTree Suites in McAllen.
Pearson, who was inducted into the Cowboys’ Ring of Honor in 2011 after a standout career defined by his performances in the clutch, will highlight the function hosted by RGVSports.com in conjunction with the RGV Sports Hall of Fame. The awards banquet will begin at 6:30 p.m. and will recognize team and individual standouts in multiple sports during the 2015-16 Rio Grande Valley high school sports season.
“We are excited about celebrating the best and brightest varsity athletes in the Rio Grande Valley,” said Stephan Wingert, publisher at AIM Media. “Our student athletes are an inspiration to our community and deserve to be recognized for their achievements. Please join us as we congratulate them on a job well done.”
For tickets, log on to TheMonitor.com, BrownsvilleHerald.com, or ValleyStar.com and click on the rgvsports_banquet link on the toolbar on the home page of each web site.
Pearson caught 489 passes for 7,822 yards and 48 touchdowns during his Cowboys career. He is renown for his “Hail Mary” catch from Roger Staubach during the final minute of a 1975 playoff game against the Minnesota Vikings. That was one of two clutch 50-yard touchdown receptions Pearson produced during his illustrious career.
Staubach referred to the play after the game as the original “Hail Mary.” Pearson made a name for himself during the moments of a football game when it mattered moist.
“There’s no truth to the rumor that I would hope we were losing in the fourth quarter and especially the last two minutes so I could pull out the football game,” Pearson jokingly told ESPN.com in 2011. “But I was always confident I could perform in those situations.”
Pearson, 65, played 10 years in the NFL, all for the Cowboys and was a three-time Pro Bowler and a Super Bowl champion. Since retiring, Pearson has been a sports broadcaster for CBS and HBO.