Del Shofner
Sugar Bowl Hall of Fame
Baylor
Sugar Bowl: 1957
Inducted: 2019
Del Shofner carried 14 times for 88 yards as No. 11 Baylor shocked No. 2 Tennessee, 13-7, in the 1957 Sugar Bowl. His 54-yard run in the second quarter set up the Bears’ first touchdown and he added four tackles and also intercepted a pass in his own end zone to thwart a Vol scoring opportunity; he also punted seven times for 228 yards. A native of Center, Texas, he also played basketball and baseball and was a sprinter for the Bears. During his Sugar Bowl year, he led the Southwest Conference with 11 touchdowns. Following his Baylor career, he was selected in the first round of the 1957 NFL Draft and went on to an 11-year NFL career with the Rams and Giants. He was a five-time consensus All-Pro and led the league in receiving yards in 1958 (second in 1959 and 1961). He was selected to the NFL’s All-Decade Team for the 1960s and was inducted into the Baylor Athletics Hall of Fame in 1970. He passed away on March 11, 2020.
