Earl Cooper

Cooper is a Texas native who went to Rice and was the Niners’ first pick in the 1980 draft. A running back and tight end with the Niners through 1985, his career ended with the Raiders in 1986. He went on to coach sports and work with the Texas Youth Commission to rehab juvenile inmates. He sold his Super Bowl XVI ring at an auction in 2006. Early that year, he described his Super Bowl XVI touchdown in a profile : “I had a million things going through my head. Do I run for the pylon? Do I try to make a cut? Being 225 pounds, I decided to go straight upfield.”