Indelible Impression: Hall of Famer Don McPherson’s Influence Extends Beyond the Gridiron

By Jill Ouikahilo

Athletes share a common desire for victories, championships, and affections for awards. But does every athlete consider how they’ll be remembered in 20 years? Or, how their actions on the field will affect their future? Former Syracuse football great Don McPherson did and often challenges young people of today to ponder such questions. This football season marks the 21st anniversary of Syracuse’s unforgettable 1987 campaign when then quarterback McPherson led his teammates to a perfect 11-0 regular season. Twenty-one years later, McPherson is being honored with one of the most prestigious football awards – induction into the National Football Foundation and College Football Hall of Fame. McPherson was introduced today as a member of the Class of 2008.

“I have always kept it in perspective,” McPherson said. “When I was playing, I wasn’t the best player in my own huddle, much less the best player in the country. It’s almost inconceivable to put this honor in any kind of context.”

McPherson was among 75 former players and eight coaches on this year’s ballot. As a whole, just more than 800 individuals out of 4.7 million who have played college football earn this distinction. The great tradition of Syracuse football lives and breathes in the halls of the National Football Foundation and College Football Hall of Fame with 14 former Orange men, including Ernie Davis, Tim Green, Jim Brown, Larry Csonka and Floyd Little.

“I remember looking at the candidate list when it came out [and thought] there is no way I can be picked,” McPherson said. “You have so much respect for these players. I think that is the great thing about a lot of athletes, they really do appreciate the ability of other players. It’s a really humbling thing for people to think you are part of an elite group.”

Being honored for his unique athletic ability is nothing new for McPherson. The 1987 All-American finished second in the 1987 Heisman Trophy balloting, won the Maxwell Award, which honors the college football player of the year, and was the first recipient of the Davey O’Brien Award. McPherson led the nation in passing efficiency with a 164.3 mark and set 22 Syracuse records, including the single-season marks for passing yards per game (212.8), touchdown passes (22), and most consecutive games with a touchdown pass (10).

“The undefeated season was just something that does not happen in sports very often, and so it was an incredible ride,” McPherson said. “Just watching these players you spent the last three or four years with, who didn’t always have great seasons and a great time together, and then all of a sudden things are going really well and guys are maturing was incredible. The vantage point as a quarterback was really interesting.”

McPherson recalled his favorite Syracuse football moment. To set the stage, it was the last regular-season game of the ’87 crusade when Syracuse hosted West Virginia in the Carrier Dome. With just 1:32 left in the fourth quarter, the Orange trailed by seven points. In front of a restless crowd of 49,866 fans, McPherson ignited a fierce passing drive that placed the Orange within yards of the goal line. Head Coach Dick MacPherson called a timeout.

“The meeting I had with the coaches coming off the field was my favorite moment because I knew exactly what West Virginia was going to do and what we were going to do—right down to the linebackers they would blitz and which receivers would be open,” McPherson remembered. “And it really happened just as I had anticipated.

“It was more intellectual than physical. When you can slow the game down to that point, it becomes a completely different experience. As a quarterback, it’s a unique position in that you’re really responsible for 10 other guys being in the right place and the right play.”

After the timeout, McPherson threw a touchdown pass to senior tight end Pat Kelly and then pitched the pigskin to sophomore running back Michael Owens for the two-point conversion. Syracuse took the lead 32-31 and closed the regular season without a loss.

The impact McPherson made on the football field often becomes a topic of conversation in the sports world, yet his presence continues to empower those in the world of philanthropy and community service. Upon completion of his football career with the NFL’s Philadelphia Eagles and Houston Oilers in 1994, McPherson joined Northeastern University’s Center for the Study of Sport in Society as director of Athletes in Service to America. During this time, McPherson turned his focus to the issue of “men’s violence against women,” as director of the Sport in Society’s Mentors in Violence Prevention Program. Since 1995, McPherson has emerged as a national leader and advocate for the prevention of social and domestic violence. He has conducted workshops and lectures for more than 200 college campuses, community organizations and national sports and violence prevention organizations, and was facilitator at the first NCAA Student-Athlete Leadership Conference in 1997. His programs and lectures have reached more than one million people.

“When I went to Northeastern University and began doing work around violence against women, it was a natural extension [for me] because I was always interested in social issues, and obviously being a black quarterback I had dealt with race issues,” McPherson said. “The gravity and scope of that issue combined with myself as a man and as an athlete, I started to look at my own attitudes and behaviors. Becoming a feminist and an activist has liberated me.”

Being a role model and speaking to the community began during McPherson’s college years. He quickly realized the power of his words and the potential impact they can make on others. McPherson recalls having this epiphany after speaking to students about drinking and driving.

“I remember going to talk to students about this very important issue and I didn’t know anything about it, but realizing somehow my voice was important,” McPherson said. “It also made me realize at the time that we don’t talk to young people about these very important and difficult issues. After looking at that a little more clearly, I understood prevention language and scare tactics don’t work, and if I have this voice to be able to talk with kids, I am going to be honest with them.

“I was so incredibly humbled, and still am, by the fact that people think I am somehow a special person because I played football.”

McPherson previously served as executive director of the Sports Leadership Institute at Adelphi University, which he founded in 2002. Currently, McPherson works in the SU athletics department with the Life Skills Program for the student-athletes and as a consultant with the Orange Club. He is also an independent consultant and vice president of The Hopewell Group, Inc., a philanthropic advising and consulting firm located in New York City. McPherson sits on the board of directors of the Family and Children’s Association, Stop It Now! And the Ms. Foundation for Women.

“Of all the awards, the Hall of Fame and the undefeated season, the most empowering and liberating experience that has happened in my life has been this realization of myself as a whole person,” McPherson said. “It’s part of what I talk about with kids. I’m not talking about being in touch with my feminine side. I’m talking about being a whole person—as a man, I am loving, caring, sensitive, passive, submissive, empathetic, and emotional.

“I used to write letters to God, in addition to praying, and was always asking, ‘Why did you give me this [football] ability?’ And now I know, because it gives me a platform to do this work.”

The work McPherson speaks of involves empowering youth to think about their actions of today and how they will be remembered by their community tomorrow.

“I just talked to very, very small children in the community and I told them about being nominated into the Hall of Fame,” McPherson said. “I told them I am being nominated for something I did over 20 years ago. It’s just another message about what you do today affects your life forever. And I think that is one of the things I often thought about in school.”

Syracuse University Athletics

Indelible Impression: Hall of Famer Don McPherson’s Influence Extends Beyond the Gridiron

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