Andy Dorris

The Cleveland Browns drafted Andy Dorris with the 93rd pick in the 1973 NFL Draft.[4][5] He initially signed a three-year contract with the team. [5] Before the season began, Cleveland traded Dorris to the St. Louis Cardinals.[6] He played in four games for St. Louis in his first season as a professional.[1] In October 1973, St. Louis traded Dorris to the New Orleans Saints in exchange for a draft choice.[7]

Dorris spent three full seasons with the Saints.[1] In a game against the Atlanta Falcons in 1976, Dorris sacked Falcons quarterback Steve Bartkowski.[8] Bartkowski left the game with a knee injury. [8]

At the beginning of the 1977 NFL season, the Seattle Seahawks acquired Dorris from New Orleans.[9] Dorris played four games for the Seahawks. [9][10][1] The Seahawks placed him on waivers in October 1977.[11] As a free agent, Dorris participated in tryouts for two teams, but he was rejected both times.[12]

In November 1977, the Houston Oilers' Elvin Bethea broke his arm during a game. Coach "Bum" Philips replaced him with Andy Dorris. [12] In Houston, Dorris was part of a team that came to be known as "Bum's boys."[12][13] Under Bum's relaxed leadership style, Dorris bulked up and became a formidable defensive lineman. [12]

In 1979, Dorris was the starting left defensive end for the Oilers.[14] He recorded three sacks in a December matchup against the Denver Broncos.[15] Dorris signed a new contract with the Oilers in 1980.[16]

1979 and 1980 were two of the most successful seasons for the Houston Oilers franchise. In both seasons, the team finished the season with 11 wins and 5 losses but failed to make the Super Bowl.[17][18]

Dorris was known as a locker-room prankster. He and a teammate once put blue dye in a shower head, turning a teammate's skin blue.[19]

Houston placed Dorris on the injured reserve list at the beginning of the 1982 season, but he had already played his last game as a professional.[20][1]

In 1990, he attended a reunion luncheon of many former Oilers players at the Southern Plantation Restaurant.[21]

Dorris also had a pet lion cub.

Dorris works as a sales representative for Thompson Pipe Group in Dallas, TX. [3] The company produces pipes and precast concrete forms for a variety of commercial and industrial purposes.[22]

In his last year at New Mexico State, Dorris was named outstanding senior athlete. [5]

In 2006, the Missouri Valley Conference announced its football "All-Centennial Team."[23] Conference officials selected Andy Dorris as one of the 14 players representing the decade of the 1970s. [23] Dorris was all-MVC at New Mexico State in 1972. [23]

In 2007, Coach Philips and many of his former players, including Dorris, held a reunion during halftime of a Houston Texans game.[24]

Dorris attended a New Mexico State Aggies football reunion in April 2012.[25][26] The event consisted of a gathering of former players on Friday, April 27. [25]

Dorris and his wife, Mary, have three children: Meredith, Sam, and Zach. [2] He has nine grandchildren. [2]