Growing up as a Philadelphia Eagle fan in Connecticut, there were players from opposing teams I ultimately grew to respect.
One of those players was defensive back Everson Walls.
Walls will be the featured speaker during the 10th annual Midwestern State University athletics Welcome Back Dinner.
The event will start at 5:30 p.m. on Aug. 28 at D.L. Ligon Coliseum on the MSU campus. First up, there will be an auction featuring Dallas Cowboy and Midwestern State memorabilia.
The dinner, catered by the Branding Iron, starts at 6 p.m. and then Walls will speak at 6:45 p.m.
Reserve your seat for $75.
A limited number of corporate tables accommodating six people with sponsor acknowledgement remain available for $350.
For more information, call Sheri Mummert at 1-940-397-4779.
Walls has a story any football fan can appreciate.
He grew up in Richardson, and played for old Berkner High School. Playing for the Cowboys was part of Walls’ manifest destiny because he lived less than two miles from the team’s practice facility.
He broke into the National Football League in 1981 as an undrafted free agent from Grambling University based in Louisiana.
At Grambling, Walls played for legendary coach Eddie Robinson, and the defensive back eventually earned All-American honors as a senior while leading the nation with 11 interceptions. Yes, 11.
Before reaching the NFL, Walls was thought by pro scouts to be too slow. He ran a 40-yard dash time of 4.72 seconds during workouts.
Still, the Cowboys made a smart move and signed Walls as an undrafted free agent.
Head coach Tom Landry eventually named Walls one of the team’s starting cornerbacks by the fifth week of the 1981 season. Read more from this column in the Aug. 20 Bowie News.

Editor’s Note: The Storm Center column is the expressed written views of sports editor Eric Viccaro and not The Bowie News.

Everson Walls will be the featured speaker during the 10th annual Midwestern State University athletics Welcome Back Dinner at 5:30 p.m. on Aug. 28. (Courtesy photo)