At Texas Tech in Lubbock, Anderson earned the nickname the "Golden Palomino". He received All-American honors twice and was a three-time all-Southwest Conference halfback. Anderson held many of Texas Tech's football records and finished fourth in the 1965Heisman Trophy race. He is part of the Texas Tech Hall of Fame and the College Football Hall of Fame. Because of a redshirt year due to academic issues, Anderson was eligible as underclassman for the 1965 NFL Draft, then known as a "future" pick. In 1964, he ran for 966 yards with three touchdowns and had 32 catches for 396 yards and four TDs; Despite being selected by the Packers, he returned for his senior season at Texas Tech in 1965 and led the Red Raiders to an 8-2 regular season and a berth in the Gator Bowl on the afternoon of New Year's Eve. As a senior, he ran for 705 yards with 10 TDs and had 60 catches for 797 yards and seven TDs. Selected the outstanding player for Texas Tech in a 10-point loss to Georgia Tech, Anderson signed his professional football contract hours after the game. He selected the Packers over the reportedly higher offer from the Houston Oilers of the AFL. His contract was believed to be a then-record $600,000, exceeding Joe Namath's contract of the previous year.
Professional career
Anderson began his NFL career in 1966 as #44 for the world-champion Packers. Fellow All-American Jim Grabowski, a fullback from Illinois, was the Packers' first pick in the 1966 NFL Draft, and ninth overall. The well-paid pair were the projected successors of Paul Hornung and Jim Taylor, future hall of famers in their final season with Green Bay. The two rookies were on the College All-Star team that lost to the defending NFL champion Packers 38–0 on August 5 at Soldier Field in Chicago. They joined the Packers' training camp after the game, and were tabbed the "Gold Dust Twins." Though he did not see much playing time as a rookie, he was part of a memorable play. During his second carry in the fourth quarter of Super Bowl I, Anderson's knee knocked out Chiefs defensive backFred "The Hammer" Williamson, who had been boastful in pregame interviews. Williamson was carried off on a stretcher. After six seasons in Green Bay under three head coaches, Anderson was traded in February to the St. Louis Cardinals for Anderson played through the 1974 season with the Cardinals, then was traded to the Miami Dolphins in the offseason. At age 32, he recognized that his prospects for playing time were low, and retired during training camp in
Punter
While with the Packers under head coachVince Lombardi, Anderson originated the concept of in punting. Until Anderson, punters typically strove for maximum distance, with the NFL's leaders usually averaging 45 or more yards a punt. Punt returns varied, with an average of perhaps 5 yards per return. In 1967, the left-footed Anderson worked instead at punting the ball higher, shortening the distance traveled, but increasing the ball's time in the air, allowing better coverage by his team on the punt return. Green Bay punted 66 times that year, 63 of them by Anderson; opponents were able to return only 13 of them for a total of 22 yards, or about one-third yard per punt. Lombardi explained the concept to sportswriters who questioned why he did not try to find a better punter than Anderson, who averaged only 36.6 yards per punt that year. Lombardi pointed out the lack of return yardage. Other punters soon followed Anderson, working for greater hang time. Eventually, the NFL changed its rules governing punt coverage, to restore the ability to return punts.
After football
Following his retirement from the NFL, Anderson spent nearly two decades on the celebrity golf tour. As of 2017, Anderson lives in the Dallas area and stays busy with 10 grandchildren and his Dallas-based foundation, Winners for Life, that helps send at-risk kids to college.
