Harold Carmichael On Final Season With Cowboys: 'Worst Part Was Putting Helmet On'
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Harold Carmichael hated the Cowboys.
But after 13 seasons and four Pro Bowl appearances as a Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver, the 6'8", 225-pound wideout was headed to Dallas.
"The worst part of being down there the first day was trying to put my head between those two stars," Carmichael told Angelo Cataldi and the 94WIP Morning Show on Wednesday. "Putting that helmet on, that was so tough for me."
Listen: Harold Carmichael on the 94WIP Morning Show
Carmichael, who was inducted into the Eagles Hall Of Fame in 1987, has 590 career catches for almost 9,000 yards and 79 touchdowns. After a tremendous tenure in Philadelphia, Carmichael thought he was done playing the game he loved.
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"I really didn't want to play football anymore," Carmichael said. "I was really tired of playing football, tired of getting. After I was released from the Eagles, I just thought my career was over."
When Carmichael was told he had a workout in Dallas, he was speechless.
"'Harold you there?'" Carmichael said, remembering his response to the phone call. "I said, 'I can't go to the Cowboys. The things I've done to those people, talk about their parents and their girlfriends, and I tried to hurt them. I can't go down to Dallas.'"
Reluctantly, Carmichael wore the star for his final season. He had just one catch for seven yards in two games played.
"I got one of the greatest ovations at one game," Carmichael said. "After a while the whole stadium was chanting for me to get into the game. [Cowboys coach] Tom Landry turned around and said get in the game. So I went in, caught one pass. One more other game, I played one play.
"I said, why did they bring me down here? I really think they tried to keep me from going to any other team."