Dallas Cowboy legend Nate Newton was enshrined in the Black College Football Hall of Fame on Saturday.
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Nate Newton was an anchor of the famed “Great Wall of Dallas” in the 1990s. Newton joined the Dallas Cowboys in 1986 after deciding not to play for the Tampa Bay Bandits of the old USFL and being cut by the Washington Commanders the same day he was involved in a near-fatal car crash.
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After being cut by the Commanders, Newton would find himself back where he started his professional career, Tampa Bay, where he would play for three seasons. Newton signed with the Cowboys in 1986 after the USFL folded. Newton nearly ate himself out of a job in Dallas. Teammates named him “The Kitchen” because he was larger than William “The Refrigerator” Perry, who played for the Bears at the time.
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Newton began his stint in Dallas as an offensive tackle. The improved play of Erik Williams in 1992 forced Newton to guard, and that move proved to be a blessing in disguise. It was on the interior that Newton would become a legend and one of the best at the position during his time.
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Newton played on three Super Bowl winners, was a six-time Pro-Bowler (only Larry Allen has more as an offensive lineman), and was a first-team All-Pro twice.
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Nate Newton #64
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Before Newton was paving the way for Emmit Smith and Daryl Johnston, Newton was a four-sport athlete at Jones High School in Orlando, Florida. Jones played fullback until he outgrew the position. He would spend his junior and senior seasons honing his craft in the trenches as an offensive and defensive lineman.
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Though Newton would receive several Division I offers, he decided to stay close to home and attend Florida A&M University. Newton excelled with the Rattlers under legendary coach John Hubbard, playing both offensive and defensive line. However, Newton became an All-MEAC performer at offensive tackle in 1983.
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“I never looked at myself as going into the hall of fame,” Newton said to the Tallahassee Democrat. “When Doug Williams called me, I thought that we were just going to chop it up about our Cowboys versus Washington days, but he called me to welcome me into the Black College Football Hall of Fame and told me to keep it under my hat because it was the day before.”It was a big surprise. Being in a specific hall of fame like this is big, and it shows other brothers that it’s life out here. I don’t see myself as some great player; I see myself as a good guy and someone you can depend on. Things just keep happening for the good.”
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