Inductees

Long before he starred for the St. Louis Football Cardinals of the mid-1970s, Terry Metcalf wasn’t exactly a known commodity.

After all, his journey meandered through places not recognized nationally as football hotbeds – the prep ranks of Seattle, a nearby local community college and then Long Beach State University in California. But just down the road in his college years was a coach by the name of Don Coryell, the future coach of the Cardinals.

“Coryell eventually drafted me and knew what he wanted,” Metcalf said. “Free safety Larry Wilson (MSHOF 2000) asked me if I played defense, and I said I did in college. But Coryell said, ‘No. That’s my running back.’”

He was that and more for the “Air Coryell” Cardinals, and his success is why the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame proudly inducted Metcalf with the Class of 2020.

Overall, Metcalf played in the National Football League six seasons, including five seasons (1973-1977) in St. Louis after being a third-round draft pick.

A rusher, receiver and kick and punt returner, he combined for a whopping 9,978 yards. He also earned three Pro Bowl selections, team Rookie of the Year honors in 1973 and, in 1974, was the United Press International’s (UPI) runner-up for NFL MVP and the team’s MVP.

Along the way, Metcalf helped the Cardinals to 10-, 11- and 10-win seasons in the heart of his time there — with the 1974 and 1975 teams winning the NFC East.

Notably, Metcalf’s 1975 season saw him combine for 2,462 yards, a record in a 14-game season. He became the first player in NFL history to average at least 30 yards per kick return and 10 yards per punt return in the same season.

He also was one of the first four NFL players to account for TDs five different ways (rushing, receiving, passing, punt and kickoff returns) in one season.

That’s why he looks back fondly on Coryell and Joe Gibbs, the team’s offensive backfield coach. They let him showcase his full cupboard of talents.

“That’s how I was raised,” Metcalf said. “In youth leagues, my brother and his friends, we played every position.”

Having starred at Franklin High School in Seattle, he played at Everett Community College and then Long Beach State.

At Everett in 1969 and 1970, Metcalf rushed for 1,800 yards and, in track, set conference and school records in the long jump and triple jump. At Long Beach State, he rushed for 2,432 yards and scored 45 TDs – including 1,673 yards his junior season, when Metcalf set an NCAA College Division record for rushing TDs (28), total TDs (29) and points (178).

Among his mentors were childhood friend Umeme Dinish, Franklin coaches O.L. Mitchell and Frank Ahern as well as Long Beach State assistant Chuck Boyle.

Mitchell once challenged him with the right words at the right time.

“He once told me, ‘You’re too little and you’ve got a bad attitude,” Metcalf said. “I had to look at that, and I changed my attitude.”

In college, Metcalf was invited to several all-star games, including the 1973 College All-American Game in which Metcalf went as a reserve behind Southern Cal All-American Sam “Bam” Cunningham.

“I told myself, if I ever get in the game, he won’t get back in the game,’” said Metcalf, who scored the winning TD. “And he never came back.”

That game opened eyes and led to St. Louis, where Metcalf still remembers the 1974 rally against the New York Giants that clinched the NFC East. He scored two second-half TDs to seal the win.

He also will never forget those who steered him through St. Louis. Many later were inducted into the MSHOF – quarterback Jim Hart, linemen Dan Dierdorf, Conrad Dobler, Ernie McMillian and Tom Banks, tight end Jackie Smith, receivers Mel Gray and Earl Thomas, fullback Jim Otis and coach Jim Hanifan.

Metcalf later played three seasons with the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League and one more with Washington.

After challenging times in his personal life, he coached at Franklin and Renton high schools in Seattle. He then became a kindergarten teacher at Greater Trinity Academy and Associate Pastor of Holy Temple Evangelical Center, having earned a doctorate in theology.

It’s all been possible thanks to the support of his wife, Lanette, and his children Eric, Terrance II, Aaron, Isaiah, Brayn and DeShawn.

“Sometimes I’ll watch myself on YouTube videos and say, ‘That was pretty good. How’d you do that?’” Metcalf said. “I was just very fortunate to play with great teammates.”