| Andy Dorris | |
| Position: | Defensive end |
| Number: | 69, 88 |
| Birth Date: | August 11, 1951 |
| Birth Place: | Bellaire, Ohio, U.S. |
| Height Ft: | 6 |
| Height In: | 5 |
| Weight Lbs: | 278 |
| High School: | Bellaire (OH) |
| College: | New Mexico State |
| Draftyear: | 1973 |
| Draftround: | 4 |
| Draftpick: | 93 |
| Pastteams: | |
| Statlabel1: | Sacks |
| Statvalue1: | 32.0 |
| Statlabel2: | Fumble recoveries |
| Statvalue2: | 6 |
| Pfr: | DorrAn20 |
Andy Dorris (born August 11, 1951) is a former American professional football player. He was born in Bellaire, Ohio and attended college at New Mexico State University.[1] Dorris played in the National Football League (NFL) for 10 seasons.[2] He spent most of his professional career with the New Orleans Saints and the Houston Oilers. Dorris is currently a sales representative for Forterra in Houston, Texas.[3]
The Cleveland Browns drafted Andy Dorris with the 93rd pick in the 1973 NFL Draft.[4] [5] He initially signed a three-year contract with the team. Before the season began, Cleveland traded Dorris to the St. Louis Cardinals.[6] He played in four games for St. Louis in his first season as a professional. In October 1973, St. Louis traded Dorris to the New Orleans Saints in exchange for a draft choice.[7]
Dorris spent three full seasons with the Saints. In a game against the Atlanta Falcons in 1976, Dorris sacked Falcons quarterback Steve Bartkowski.[8] Bartkowski left the game with a knee injury.
At the beginning of the 1977 NFL season, the Seattle Seahawks acquired Dorris from New Orleans.[9] Dorris played four games for the Seahawks.[10] The Seahawks placed him on waivers in October 1977.[11] As a free agent, Dorris participated in tryouts for two teams, but he was rejected both times.[12] In November 1977, the Houston Oilers' Elvin Bethea broke his arm during a game. Coach "Bum" Philips replaced him with Andy Dorris. In Houston, Dorris was part of a team that came to be known as "Bum's boys."[13] Under Bum's relaxed leadership style, Dorris bulked up and became a formidable defensive lineman.
In 1979, Dorris was the starting left defensive end for the Oilers.[14] He recorded three sacks in a December matchup against the Denver Broncos.[15] Dorris signed a new contract with the Oilers in 1980.[16]
1979 and 1980 were two of the most successful seasons for the Houston Oilers franchise. In both seasons, the team finished the season with 11 wins and 5 losses but failed to make the Super Bowl.[17] [18]
Dorris was known as a locker-room prankster. He and a teammate once put blue dye in a shower head, turning a teammate's skin blue.[19]
Houston placed Dorris on the injured reserve list at the beginning of the 1982 season, but he had already played his last game as a professional.[20]
In 1990, he attended a reunion luncheon of many former Oilers players at the Southern Plantation Restaurant.[21]
Dorris also had a pet lion cub.
Dorris works as a sales representative for Thompson Pipe Group in Dallas, TX. The company produces pipes and precast concrete forms for a variety of commercial and industrial purposes.[22]
In his last year at New Mexico State, Dorris was named outstanding senior athlete.
In 2006, the Missouri Valley Conference announced its football "All-Centennial Team."[23] Conference officials selected Andy Dorris as one of the 14 players representing the decade of the 1970s. Dorris was all-MVC at New Mexico State in 1972.
In 2007, Coach Philips and many of his former players, including Dorris, held a reunion during halftime of a Houston Texans game.[24]
Dorris attended a New Mexico State Aggies football reunion in April 2012.[25] [26] The event consisted of a gathering of former players on Friday, April 27.
Dorris and his wife, Mary, have three children: Meredith, Sam, and Zach. He has nine grandchildren.