On this day: Cowboys receiver has to end his career due to injuries from tragic car accident | Sport

Drew Pearson built a Hall of Fame career over 11 NFL seasons, but complications from a car accident in the spring of 1984 prevented him from playing a 12th season.

Exactly 40 years ago to the day, Pearson told Dallas Cowboys head coach Tom Landry that he would have to end his football career after suffering a ruptured liver in an accident that killed his 27-year-old brother Carey.

“At my age (33), I would never have thought it realistic to not play for a year and then come back and perform the way I always wanted to,” Pearson said.

Pearson finished his career as the Cowboys’ all-time leading receiver (7,822 yards) and had just completed the 1983 season in which he caught 47 passes for 545 yards and five touchdowns.

“We’re going to miss Drew,” Landry said. “He was a force in Cowboys history with all the crucial passes he caught over the years.”

Authorities said Pearson was driving at an “unsafe speed” when he fell asleep at the wheel and crashed into a semi-trailer truck on the LBJ Freeway near Plano at 1:30 a.m.

Drew Pearson was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2021.