My most favorite player of all time. I have a signed Earl Campbell oilers Jersey. Looking for a saints one to match
I met Earl when I was 16 working at burger king. Dude had a class ring that fit around 2 normal fingers. Only one of his thighs was bigger than most people's waist. He was a freak of a human specimen. His health stories after the game were a tragedy, enough of an example where the league had to do something to pony up for players and their resulting health. His struggle was sad.
When asked whether he worried about Campbell getting hurt from carrying the ball so much Bum said, "No. Why should I? The ball ain't heavy." Still, if Earl Campbell had done it any other way he wouldn't have been Earl Campbell. Just sorry that now he is paying such a heavy price for it.
I will say that Phillips wasn't the only one doing it. Having a featured back that carried the ball 30 or more times the game was the norm for that era.
After his falling out with the Cowboys, Thomas "Hollywood" Henderson spent some time with the Oilers. He said in his book that Campbell was a freak of nature who never trained or conditioned. Phillips would joke that Campbell "got up so slow" after a tackle "because he goes down so slow." Henderson said he got up so slow because he was so out of shape.
