Buffs Great Anderson Presents BHS With Gold 'Super Ball'

BOULDER — Want to get the full and complete attention of several hundred high school students at a school assembly?

It's easy — at least it is if you happen to have a former All-American, All-Pro and two-time Super Bowl winner among your list of alumni. Have that alum show up and present the school with a gold football commemorating the NFL's 50th Super Bowl and you'll have the undivided attention of every person in the gym.

That's what happened Tuesday morning at Boulder High School, where former BHS star, University of Colorado All-American and Miami Dolphins All-Pro Dick Anderson appeared at Boulder's Winter Sports Rally. Anderson presented the school with the golden football, part of the NFL's yearlong golden anniversary Super Bowl celebration.

This year, the NFL is sending a gold football to every high school in the world that has produced a player or coach who appeared in a Super Bowl. League officials estimate that more than 3,000 players have played in the Super Bowl, along with 52 coaches. Some of those players were personally invited to present their high school with the golden football, and Anderson was among that select list.

Anderson is the epitome of the phrase “homegrown hero.” After attending Boulder High — where he led the Panthers to the 1963 state championship — he simply moved up the hill to CU, where he became a three-year starter and a consensus first-team All-American safety as a senior. A member of the Big Eight, Colorado Sports and CU Athletics halls of fame, he still owns the Buffs' single-season record of seven interceptions (a record later tied by Cullen Bryant in 1972), and he helped the Buffs earn a berth in the 1967 Bluebonnet Bowl, where CU recorded a 31-21 win over Miami.

Anderson was then drafted in the third round by the Miami Dolphins, where he quickly earned the job as a starting safety. The Dolphins played in their first Super Bowl following the 1971 season and lost to the Cowboys, but then won back-to-back Super Bowl titles, defeating the Washington Redskins, 14-7, in Super Bowl VII and the Minnesota Vikings, 24-7, in Super Bowl VIII.

The win over the Redskins culminated a perfect 17-0 season for the Dolphins, making them the first — and still the only — NFL team to ever record a perfect season.

It means Anderson and his teammates from that year watch carefully every season as teams threaten to match their undefeated season. The Patriots came very close eight years ago, going 18-0 before losing to the Giants in the Super Bowl.

This year, only one team is still unbeaten, the 12-0 Carolina Panthers.

“We'll be watching,” Anderson said with a laugh.

Anderson kept the students' attention by talking to them about the road to success.

“One thing that Coach (Don) Shula taught me is that preparation is the key to success,” Anderson said. “When you add hard work to that, you're ahead of just about everybody else.”

Anderson reminded the students that those principles apply not just to sports, but to life in general.

“Nobody's equal in life, but we need to be given equal opportunities,” Anderson said. “Preparation and hard work will always lead to more success than failure. When you decide to make something of yourself, you can achieve great things.”

Dick's younger brother, Bobby, was also a star at BHS and for the Buffs. Dick's son, Blake — who attended Tuesday morning's ceremony — also has a special place in CU history as the player who tipped Kordell Stewart's pass to Michael Westbrook for “The Catch” that yielded a 27-26 win at Michigan in 1994.

The ceremony had a decided CU flavor. Along with Anderson and his son, BHS football coach Bob Simmons, a former Buffs assistant coach, and BHS principal James Hill, a former Buffs running back, also attended the event.

Anderson's mother, 97-year-old Mariette, also attended Tuesday's event.

Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu