It's a Texas Coin Toss for Super Bowl XXXVIII; Hall of Famers Campbell, Matson, Maynard, Singletary, Tittle & Upshaw to Represent State

    HOUSTON, Jan. 22 /PRNewswire/ -- Six members of the Pro Football Hall of
 Fame -- Earl Campbell, Ollie Matson, Don Maynard, Y.A. Tittle, Mike Singletary
 and Gene Upshaw -- will represent the state of Texas as they participate in
 the pre-game coin toss for Super Bowl XXXVIII on Sunday, Feb. 1 at Reliant
 Stadium in Houston, the National Football League announced today.
     The state of Texas has produced many NFL greats, including 24 of the
 221 members enshrined in Canton, Ohio.
     The coin will be minted by Highland Mint and will feature the
 Super Bowl XXXVIII logo on one side and the two competing team's logos -- the
 NFC Champion Carolina Panthers and the AFC Champion New England Patriots -- on
 the other side.
     Houston will be home to the Super Bowl for the second time in history, the
 first coming 30 years ago.  Super Bowl XXXVIII will be televised by CBS to an
 expected 130 million viewers in the United States, and a potential worldwide
 audience of 1 billion viewers.  The Super Bowl is annually the nation's
 highest-rated TV program and the most-watched single-day sporting event.  Game
 time is 6 p.m. EST/5 p.m. CST/3 p.m. PST.
     Campbell, who was born in Tyler, Texas, was a Heisman Trophy winner and
 Texas All-America running back.  He played for the Houston Oilers and New
 Orleans Saints.  He was the first player taken in the 1978 NFL Draft and
 promptly won NFL MVP, All-Pro and Rookie of the Year honors in his first year.
 He duplicated his rushing title, MVP honors and All-Pro selection the next two
 years.  Campbell rushed for 9,407 yards and scored 74 touchdowns during his
 eight-year career.
     Matson, who was born in Trinity, Texas, was a defensive All-America at
 halfback at the University of San Francisco.  He was the first draft pick in
 1952 and played for the Chicago Cardinals (1952, 1954-58), Los Angeles Rams
 (1959-62), Detroit Lions (1963) and Philadelphia Eagles (1964-66) during his
 14 years.  He had 12,844 combined yards in his career including 5,173 yards
 rushing, 222 receptions, 438 points and nine TDs on punt and kickoff returns.
 He also was a U.S. Olympic medal winner in track in 1952.
     Maynard, who hails from Crosbyton, Texas, came out of Texas Western and
 made his mark at wide receiver with quarterback Joe Namath.  Maynard played
 for the New York Giants (1958), the New York Titans/Jets (1960-72) and the
 St. Louis Cardinals (1973) during his 15-year-career.  Maynard went over
 50 catches and 1,000 yards in five different seasons.  He caught 633 passes
 for 11,834 yards and 88 TD's during his career.
     Singletary, who was born in Houston, starred at Baylor and was a staple as
 linebacker for the Chicago Bears during a 12-year pro career.  The two-time
 NFL Defensive Player of the Year (1985 & 1988), Singletary was All-Pro eight
 times and an all-NFC selection nine straight years (1983-1991).  He was
 selected to 10 consecutive Pro Bowls.  His career stats read:  1488 tackles
 (885 solo), 51 passes defenses, 12 fumble recoveries and seven interceptions.
 Mike is currently the linebackers coach for the Baltimore Ravens.
     Tittle, who was born in Marshall, Texas, played quarterback during his
 17 years of pro football.  He played for the Baltimore Colts (1948-50),
 San Francisco 49ers (1951-60) and the New York Giants (1961-64).  He took the
 Giants to three division titles and was the NFL's MVP in 1961 and 1963.
 During his career, he had 2,427 completions, 33,070 yards, 242 TDs and
 13 games of over 300 yards passing.  Tittle was a seven-time Pro Bowl
 selection.
     Upshaw, who hails from Robstown, Texas, was the first player who played
 guard to enter the Hall of Fame.  The former Texas A & M star was the first
 pick in the 1967 draft and played 15 years for the Oakland Raiders.  He played
 in 10 AFL/AFC title games, three Super Bowls and seven Pro Bowls.  Upshaw was
 all-league seven years and second-team All-NFL four other times.  He had a
 string of 207 straight regular season games.  Upshaw has served as the
 executive director of the NFL Players Association since 1983.
     The other Hall of Famers from Texas include:  Lance Alworth, Sammy Baugh,
 Raymond Berry, Eric Dickerson, Joe Greene, Forrest Gregg, Mike Haynes, Ken
 Houston, Jimmy Johnson, Tom Landry, Dick Lane, Yale Lary, Bobby Layne, Bob
 Lilly, Mel Renfro, Charley Taylor, Clyde Turner and Doak Walker.
 
      The honor roll for the Super Bowl coin toss is as follows:
      Super Bowl XII          Red Grange
      Super Bowl XIII         George Halas
      Super Bowl XIV          Art Rooney
      Super Bowl XV           Marie Lombardi
      Super Bowl XVI          Bobby Layne
      Super Bowl XVII         Elroy Hirsch
      Super Bowl XVIII        Bronko Nagurski
      Super Bowl XIX          President Ronald Reagan and Hugh McElhenny
      Super Bowl XX           Bart Starr
      Super Bowl XXI          Willie Davis
      Super Bowl XXII         Don Hutson
      Super Bowl XXIII        Nick Buoniconti, Bob Griese* and Larry Little
      Super Bowl XXIV         Mel Blount, Terry Bradshaw, Art Shell &
                              Willie Wood
      Super Bowl XXV          Pete Rozelle
      Super Bowl XXVI         Chuck Noll
      Super Bowl XXVII        O.J. Simpson
      Super Bowl XXVIII       Joe Namath
      Super Bowl XXIX         Otto Graham, Joe Greene, Ray Nitschke &
                              Gale Sayers
      Super Bowl XXX          Super Bowl Most Valuable Players
                              (Joe Montana tossed coin)
      Super Bowl XXXI         Mike Ditka, Tom Flores, Tom Landry*, Chuck Noll,
                              George Seifert and Hank Stram
      Super Bowl XXXII        Joe Gibbs, Eddie Robinson and Doug Williams
      Super Bowl XXXIII       Raymond Berry, Roosevelt Brown, Art Donovan,
                              Frank Gifford, Sam Huff, Tom Landry,
                              Gino Marchetti*, Don Maynard, Lenny Moore,
                              Jim Parker, Andy Robustelli
      Super Bowl XXXIV        Bud Grant, Lamar Hunt, Bobby Bell, Paul Krause,
                              Willie Lanier, Alan Page, Jan Stenerud
      Super Bowl XXXV         Marcus Allen, Ottis Anderson, Tom Flores,
                              Bill Parcells
      Super Bowl XXXVI        George H.W. Bush*, Roger Staubach
      Super Bowl XXXVII       Don Shula*, Bob Griese, Larry Csonka,
                              Larry Little, Jim Langer, Nick Buoniconti, and
                              Paul Warfield
      Super Bowl XXXVIII      Earl Campbell, Ollie Matson, Don Maynard,
                              Mike Singletary, Y.A. Tittle, Gene Upshaw
 
      *tossed coin
 
 

SOURCE  National Football League