Age: 23
2nd
season in pro football & with Chiefs
College: Southern
California
Height: 5’9” Weight: 200
Prelude:
A star
halfback in college, Garrett rushed for 3221 yards including 1440 as a senior
in 1965 when he was awarded the Heisman Trophy. He was chosen by the Chiefs in
the 20th round of the 1966 AFL draft (the Los Angeles Rams selected
him in the second round of the corresponding NFL draft).A collegiate baseball
standout as well, Garrett also received a big offer from the Pittsburgh
Pirates.The Chiefs won the bidding war. While there were doubts as to if
Garrett had the size to succeed professionally, as a rookie he alternated with
HB Bert Coan and with his speed and aggressiveness rushed for 801 yards as
Kansas City went on to win the AFL title. He added 56 yards in the postseason,
including the first Super Bowl.
1967 Season Summary
Appeared in
all 14 games
[Bracketed
numbers indicate league rank in Top 20]
Rushing
Attempts – 236
[2, tied with Hoyle Granger]
Most
attempts, game – 26 (for 83 yds.) vs. San Diego 11/19
Yards – 1087
[3]
Most yards,
game – 192 yards (on 23 carries) vs. NY Jets 11/5
Average gain
– 4.6 [3]
TDs – 9 [2]
100-yard
rushing games – 4
Pass
Receiving
Receptions – 46
[8, tied with Eric Crabtree & Al Denson]
Most
receptions, game – 6 (for 42 yds.) at Houston 9/9
Yards – 261
Most yards,
game – 42 (on 6 catches) at Houston 9/9
Average gain
– 5.7
TDs – 1
Passing
Attempts – 4
Completions –
1
Yards – 17
TD passes – 1
[13, tied with four others]
Interceptions
– 0
Punt Returns
Returns – 4 [20,
tied with Goldie Sellers & Jack Harper]
Yards – 22
Average per
return – 5.5
TDs – 0
Longest
return – 14 yards
All-Purpose
yards – 1370 [6]
Scoring
TDs – 10 [4,
tied with Don Maynard, Billy Cannon & Willie Frazier]
Points – 60 [12,
tied with Billy Cannon & Willie Frazier]
Awards & Honors:
1st
team All-AFL: AP, UPI, NEA, NY Daily News
1st
team All-Western Division: Sporting News
AFL All-Star
Game
Chiefs went 9-5
to finish second in the AFL Western Division.
Aftermath:
Slowed by
injuries in 1968, Garrett’s rushing total dropped to 564 yards, although he
also caught 33 passes for 359 yards (10.9 avg.). and totaled 6 TDs. He led the
club with 732 rushing yards in 1969 and KC won the last AFL Championship and
the Super Bowl. Garrett flirted with a switch to
baseball and was dealt to the San Diego Chargers during the 1970 season. He
remained with the Chargers through 1973 and ran for 1031 yards in 1972. Garrett
compiled a total of 5481 yards on 1308 rushing attempts (4.2 avg.) with 3246
yards on 736 carries occurring while with the Chiefs. He also caught 238 passes
for 2010 yards (8.4 avg.), 141 for 1231 yards while with KC. He scored a total
of 49 TDs. Garrett received consensus first-team All-AFL recognition once, some
second-team recognition after two other seasons, and was selected to two AFL
All-Star games. He went on to earn a law degree and eventually served as
athletic director at USC and California State-Fullerton.
--
Highlighted Years features players who were consensus
first-team All-League* selections or league* or conference** leaders in the
following statistical categories:
Rushing:
Yards, TDs (min. 10)
Passing:
Yards, Completion Pct., Yards per Attempt, TDs, Rating
Receiving:
Catches, Yards, TDs (min. 10)
Scoring: TDs,
Points, Field Goals (min. 5)
All-Purpose:
Total Yards
Defense:
Interceptions, Sacks
Kickoff
Returns: Average
Punt Returns:
Average
Punting:
Average
*Leagues
include NFL (1920 to date), AFL (1926), AFL (1936-37), AAFC (1946-49), AFL
(1960-69), WFL (1974-75), USFL (1983-85)
**NFC/AFC
since 1970
