Howard Twilley

Howard James Twilley, Jr. (born December 25, 1943) was the 1965 Heisman Trophy runner-up at the University of Tulsa and a former American professional football wide receiver with the Miami Dolphins of the American Football League and the National Football League. He was the only player on the original 1966 Dolphins squad to play on the 1972 Dolphins team that had the NFL's only perfect season and won Super Bowl VII.

At Tulsa, he set an NCAA record for the most receiving yards in a season (1,779), a record that stood until broken by Nevada's Alex Van Dyke in 1995. In 1992 Twilley was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.

Twilley finished his NFL career with 212 receptions for 3,064 yards and 23 touchdowns. He also caught a 28-yard touchdown pass in the Dolphins' Super Bowl VII win over the Washington Redskins.

After Twilley's football career ended, he pursued a career in business. He owned 28 The Athlete's Foot sporting goods stores before selling them in 1990, and he worked in an investment firm. In 1994 he actively considered a run for the United States House of Representatives to succeed Jim Inhofe in Oklahoma's 1st congressional district when Inhofe decided to run for the United States Senate, but he ultimately decided to support the candidacy of another conservative Republican former NFL star, Steve Largent. He was inducted into the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame in 1995.

1. ^ "Weekend College Report", The Washington Post, November 20, 1995  – via HighBeam Research (subscription required).
2. ^ Doug Ferguson, "Ex-receivers take same path to politics", Associated Press in The Daily News (Bowling Green, Kentucky), June 12, 1994.
3. ^ "Howard Twilley: Campaign support for Steve Largent", Associated Press in The Gadsden Times, June 20, 1994.
4. ^ Howard Twilley at Jim Thorpe Association Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame (accessed 2012-02-22).