Making a Difference with His Life After Football
8/27/2018 6:09:00 PM | General
Walter Abercrombie Has Led Tremendous Growth in "B" Association.
Until his father's dying days, Walter Abercrombie never had the kind of close relationship with his dad that he really wanted.
While his dad, a local pastor, was always around the family, Walter never developed a close, personal relationship with him. "My father was an outstanding leader of his church congregation and a great provider for our family, but he was old-school, rarely showed his emotions."
So, when the former Baylor and Pittsburgh Steelers running back became a dad himself, he didn't have that kind of example to lean on. Instead, he had to grow into that role and become a dad that's not afraid to show his emotions.
"I kind of struggled with it and tried to learn how to be a dad," said Abercrombie, who returned to his alma mater as Associate AD of the "B" Association 14 years ago. "It's taken me a number of years to be OK with hugging my kids, or be OK with telling them I love them. Because I didn't have that experience. So, it has been a real humbling journey for me to get to that spot to be the kind of dad I didn't have."
That's the dad that his sons, Wesley and Warren, and daughters, Ryann and Peyton, now see.
"It was always uncomfortable for me from the beginning to let them see me as a person. As a dad, I felt like I had to be this perfect person," he said. "So, it was tough to let them see a softer side of me, which I hope they see now. But, it took me a number of years to learn how to be a father."
Growing up in South Waco, a stone's throw from Baylor Stadium, Walter was a Baylor fan "from the time I can remember."
His first memory of watching the Bears on television was the 1966 season opener against Syracuse, when Baylor running back John Westbrook broke the color barrier and became the first African American to play in a Southwest Conference football game.
"Before then, a lot of African Americans were going to historically black schools like Southern, Grambling, Morgan State, Tennessee State," Abercrombie said. "I thought maybe one day I would get a chance to play for Eddie Robinson at Grambling. That was a big goal of mine. And then when I saw Westbrook play, I thought maybe there's a chance I can play right here at Baylor."
Playing basketball and football and running track while growing up, Walter suffered a torn ACL at the end of his sophomore season at University High School.
"At the time, it was pretty much considered a career-ending injury," he said. "Dr. (James) Bowden, who was a young doctor straight out of medical school, tried this new technique with me, and I credit him for really not having a lot of problems with my knee for the rest of my career."
As an all-state running back, Walter got scholarship offers from Baylor, Arkansas, Texas Tech, Rice and SMU. Texas coach Fred Akers came in at the last minute, "but I chose to stick with Baylor because they had been with me since my junior year."
Legendary Baylor coach Grant Teaff, who personally recruited Walter, said he "pegged him from the get-go" as a no-doubt star.
That prophecy came true on Oct. 21, 1978, when Teaff burned his freshman running back's redshirt six games into the season after injuries to Greg Hawthorne and Frank Pollard. All he did was rush for a school-record 207 yards on 19 carries in a 24-6 upset of the Aggies at Kyle Field.
"It was my introduction to college football, and it came in a big way," Walter said. "I wasn't going to play that year, but we ended up having all those injuries and Coach was like, 'OK, who are we going to go with?' So, they pulled my redshirt off. It was just surreal."
Two years later, Walter rushed for a school-record 1,187 yards in the Bears' run to the Southwest Conference championship, earning SWC Player of the Year and third-team All-America honors from the Associated Press.
"We just had the chemistry, we had the talent, at least two-deep," he said of the 1980 Bears that finished 10-2. "You start going to the second team, and that's where some teams had the advantage and could wear you down. But, we had pretty good players at the second position, probably as good as we had in my time at Baylor."
Abercrombie's 3,665 career yards rushing stood as the program record for 35 years before Shock Linwood finally broke it in 2016.
In the 1981 media guide, Teaff said, "Walter can do it all. Not only can he run inside and out, he can block, catch the football and fake as well as any back I've ever had."
That ability as an all-purpose back, along with his size (6-0, 210), attracted hordes of NFL scouts as well. Courted by teams from coast to coast, Walter was taken in the first round by the Steelers with the 12th pick overall, two spots after the Raiders selected Heisman Trophy winner Marcus Allen.
Joining "The Team of the '70s," Walter played for the Steelers for six seasons before finishing his career with the Philadelphia Eagles.
The 1982 Steelers team included 11 Pro Football Hall of Fame honorees, including coach Chuck Noll, quarterback Terry Bradshaw, running back Franco Harris, receivers Lynn Swann and John Stallworth and center Mike Webster.
"I will never forget, walking into that locker room for the first time and seeing L.C. Greenwood," Walter said of the 6-6, 245-pound All-Pro defensive end. "I knew his nickname was 'Hollywood Bags,' so I said, 'Hollywood Bags!' He turned around and said, 'What did you say to me?' I was like, 'Dang, did I read that wrong?' He just started laughing and was like, 'Man, I'm just messing with you.'''
Walter also remembers being Bradshaw's Friday night "movie date," because the Pro Bowl quarterback loved going to movies but didn't enjoy the limelight of having to sign autographs and constantly being hounded.
"He was a real super star," Walter said of Bradshaw. "I was the No. 1 pick, but this is the Super Bowl quarterback, big-time celebrity. That's the first time I had ever seen that, and all that comes along with it, just by hanging around him."
After playing one year in Philadelphia and then sitting out the 1989 season with an injury, Walter officially retired from pro football in 1990. His career numbers in the NFL were 3,357 yards and 22 touchdowns rushing and another 1,351 yards and seven TDs on 139 catches.
"I didn't really have a lot of dreams like making it to the NFL Hall of Fame. I just wanted to be as good of a player as I could be," he said. "Now, I did want to go to the Super Bowl. We almost went in 1984. We made it to the AFC Championship game. Miami beat us in that game, and they went to the Super Bowl and we didn't."
Transitioning to life after football, Walter originally moved back to a 100-acre ranch in nearby Riesel, Texas, where he had horses and cattle.
"I've always been a big animal lover. And it doesn't really matter what kind," he said. "The thing I love about horses is I loved riding, but I am a natural trainer. You can learn a lot by training an animal – their personality, what motivates them. Ultimately, step by step, you get the horse to do what you're asking him to do. That's not an easy chore. But, I really enjoy that."
Introduced through his agent, Walter met a California girl named Kim South, and he brought her to Texas two years later when they were married in 1992.
"Coming from California, it was like life screeched to a halt for her," Walter said.
1992 turned out to a big year in Walter's life. Not only did he get married and move back into Waco, he finished his master's at Baylor in education administration, was hired at Baylor to work with Academic Services and also got to know his dad.
"I knew him from the pulpit, but I didn't really know my father that well," Walter said of his Dad, Roscoe Abercrombie, who was a Baptist preacher. "They told me he only had six months to live, he had leukemia. And I got to know my dad more in those six months than I did in the previous 33 years. That's not a very good story, but I'm glad I did, because I would be living with a lot of regrets if I hadn't."
After three years at Baylor, Walter accepted the first NFL Fellowship in Athletics Administration in 1995 and went to work with Coach Teaff at the American Football Coaches Association. As the Director of Education and Special Projects, he worked alongside Teaff in developing policy for a number of issues with the 11,000-member organization.
"Not all great athletes can transition into excellent leaders," Teaff said. "A leader has to be humble and willing to give credit to others. And sometimes, that's very difficult for very successful athletes. I think that's one of the things that was such a benefit for Walter, and still is, he does not in any way carry himself or think of himself as a great football player."
Nine years later, he came back to Baylor as the first full-time Executive Director of the "B" Association lettermen's group at one of the toughest times in the university.
"I thought about it long and hard, because I knew it was going to be hard to get people excited about the university," he said. "But, I thought by coming back I could make a difference. I came back, sort of naively, believing that I had some ability to make a change."
What helped more than anything, he said, was when Kim Mulkey's Lady Bears won the 2005 NCAA national championship.
"People started coming around and we started having lettermen functions," he said, "and our lettermen came out of the woodwork, man, to support this lady and the Lady Bears. It really was the shining light for us."
During Walter's tenure, the "B" Association has increased its member by 50 percent, its support programs by 70 percent and its endowments and financial contributions by an amazing 400 percent.
"Walter is a highly regarded member of our family," said Baylor VP and Director of Athletics Mack Rhoades. "He has great wisdom and calmness about him that is infectious. He is a man of great integrity, and his passion for Baylor runs deep. We are grateful to have him on our team."
Already named to the Baylor Athletics Hall of Fame in 1992, Walter was inducted into the Southwest Conference Hall of Fame four years ago.
"There is nobody, in my immediate recollection, that has been any more consistent than Walter has," Teaff said. "He was consistent as an athlete, as a young person, he's been consistent as a husband and as a father, and he's done really a great job with the lettermen's association. My shirt pops when I think of him, his life, his family and the kind of man he is."
Once on track to be an athletic director – he was a finalist for the Grambling position one year – Walter said that idea has become less and less appealing.
"While I think I had some applicable skills to that position, at my age (59), I'm really just happy where I am," he said. "I've grown into this job, I've grown to love the people I get to work with.
The folks serving on the board, getting to know them and seeing their passion about Baylor, it's inspiring."
Walter said he had to come to a place where, "if this is all it is for me, I'm OK with that."
"Having been an athlete at the highest level, and seeing other athletes have a difficult time transitioning to being a regular person and in other persons, I feel like I've done some things I can be proud of," he said. "And I'm OK. If I died tomorrow, here's what I want people to remember about me: Was he a good person? Did he treat you with kindness and respect? Did he help someone along the way? And did he make a difference."
While his dad, a local pastor, was always around the family, Walter never developed a close, personal relationship with him. "My father was an outstanding leader of his church congregation and a great provider for our family, but he was old-school, rarely showed his emotions."
So, when the former Baylor and Pittsburgh Steelers running back became a dad himself, he didn't have that kind of example to lean on. Instead, he had to grow into that role and become a dad that's not afraid to show his emotions.
"I kind of struggled with it and tried to learn how to be a dad," said Abercrombie, who returned to his alma mater as Associate AD of the "B" Association 14 years ago. "It's taken me a number of years to be OK with hugging my kids, or be OK with telling them I love them. Because I didn't have that experience. So, it has been a real humbling journey for me to get to that spot to be the kind of dad I didn't have."
That's the dad that his sons, Wesley and Warren, and daughters, Ryann and Peyton, now see.
"It was always uncomfortable for me from the beginning to let them see me as a person. As a dad, I felt like I had to be this perfect person," he said. "So, it was tough to let them see a softer side of me, which I hope they see now. But, it took me a number of years to learn how to be a father."
Growing up in South Waco, a stone's throw from Baylor Stadium, Walter was a Baylor fan "from the time I can remember."
His first memory of watching the Bears on television was the 1966 season opener against Syracuse, when Baylor running back John Westbrook broke the color barrier and became the first African American to play in a Southwest Conference football game.
"Before then, a lot of African Americans were going to historically black schools like Southern, Grambling, Morgan State, Tennessee State," Abercrombie said. "I thought maybe one day I would get a chance to play for Eddie Robinson at Grambling. That was a big goal of mine. And then when I saw Westbrook play, I thought maybe there's a chance I can play right here at Baylor."
Playing basketball and football and running track while growing up, Walter suffered a torn ACL at the end of his sophomore season at University High School.
"At the time, it was pretty much considered a career-ending injury," he said. "Dr. (James) Bowden, who was a young doctor straight out of medical school, tried this new technique with me, and I credit him for really not having a lot of problems with my knee for the rest of my career."
As an all-state running back, Walter got scholarship offers from Baylor, Arkansas, Texas Tech, Rice and SMU. Texas coach Fred Akers came in at the last minute, "but I chose to stick with Baylor because they had been with me since my junior year."
Legendary Baylor coach Grant Teaff, who personally recruited Walter, said he "pegged him from the get-go" as a no-doubt star.
That prophecy came true on Oct. 21, 1978, when Teaff burned his freshman running back's redshirt six games into the season after injuries to Greg Hawthorne and Frank Pollard. All he did was rush for a school-record 207 yards on 19 carries in a 24-6 upset of the Aggies at Kyle Field.
"It was my introduction to college football, and it came in a big way," Walter said. "I wasn't going to play that year, but we ended up having all those injuries and Coach was like, 'OK, who are we going to go with?' So, they pulled my redshirt off. It was just surreal."
Two years later, Walter rushed for a school-record 1,187 yards in the Bears' run to the Southwest Conference championship, earning SWC Player of the Year and third-team All-America honors from the Associated Press.
"We just had the chemistry, we had the talent, at least two-deep," he said of the 1980 Bears that finished 10-2. "You start going to the second team, and that's where some teams had the advantage and could wear you down. But, we had pretty good players at the second position, probably as good as we had in my time at Baylor."
Abercrombie's 3,665 career yards rushing stood as the program record for 35 years before Shock Linwood finally broke it in 2016.
In the 1981 media guide, Teaff said, "Walter can do it all. Not only can he run inside and out, he can block, catch the football and fake as well as any back I've ever had."
That ability as an all-purpose back, along with his size (6-0, 210), attracted hordes of NFL scouts as well. Courted by teams from coast to coast, Walter was taken in the first round by the Steelers with the 12th pick overall, two spots after the Raiders selected Heisman Trophy winner Marcus Allen.
Joining "The Team of the '70s," Walter played for the Steelers for six seasons before finishing his career with the Philadelphia Eagles.
The 1982 Steelers team included 11 Pro Football Hall of Fame honorees, including coach Chuck Noll, quarterback Terry Bradshaw, running back Franco Harris, receivers Lynn Swann and John Stallworth and center Mike Webster.
"I will never forget, walking into that locker room for the first time and seeing L.C. Greenwood," Walter said of the 6-6, 245-pound All-Pro defensive end. "I knew his nickname was 'Hollywood Bags,' so I said, 'Hollywood Bags!' He turned around and said, 'What did you say to me?' I was like, 'Dang, did I read that wrong?' He just started laughing and was like, 'Man, I'm just messing with you.'''
Walter also remembers being Bradshaw's Friday night "movie date," because the Pro Bowl quarterback loved going to movies but didn't enjoy the limelight of having to sign autographs and constantly being hounded.
"He was a real super star," Walter said of Bradshaw. "I was the No. 1 pick, but this is the Super Bowl quarterback, big-time celebrity. That's the first time I had ever seen that, and all that comes along with it, just by hanging around him."
After playing one year in Philadelphia and then sitting out the 1989 season with an injury, Walter officially retired from pro football in 1990. His career numbers in the NFL were 3,357 yards and 22 touchdowns rushing and another 1,351 yards and seven TDs on 139 catches.
"I didn't really have a lot of dreams like making it to the NFL Hall of Fame. I just wanted to be as good of a player as I could be," he said. "Now, I did want to go to the Super Bowl. We almost went in 1984. We made it to the AFC Championship game. Miami beat us in that game, and they went to the Super Bowl and we didn't."
Transitioning to life after football, Walter originally moved back to a 100-acre ranch in nearby Riesel, Texas, where he had horses and cattle.
"I've always been a big animal lover. And it doesn't really matter what kind," he said. "The thing I love about horses is I loved riding, but I am a natural trainer. You can learn a lot by training an animal – their personality, what motivates them. Ultimately, step by step, you get the horse to do what you're asking him to do. That's not an easy chore. But, I really enjoy that."
Introduced through his agent, Walter met a California girl named Kim South, and he brought her to Texas two years later when they were married in 1992.
"Coming from California, it was like life screeched to a halt for her," Walter said.
1992 turned out to a big year in Walter's life. Not only did he get married and move back into Waco, he finished his master's at Baylor in education administration, was hired at Baylor to work with Academic Services and also got to know his dad.
"I knew him from the pulpit, but I didn't really know my father that well," Walter said of his Dad, Roscoe Abercrombie, who was a Baptist preacher. "They told me he only had six months to live, he had leukemia. And I got to know my dad more in those six months than I did in the previous 33 years. That's not a very good story, but I'm glad I did, because I would be living with a lot of regrets if I hadn't."
After three years at Baylor, Walter accepted the first NFL Fellowship in Athletics Administration in 1995 and went to work with Coach Teaff at the American Football Coaches Association. As the Director of Education and Special Projects, he worked alongside Teaff in developing policy for a number of issues with the 11,000-member organization.
"Not all great athletes can transition into excellent leaders," Teaff said. "A leader has to be humble and willing to give credit to others. And sometimes, that's very difficult for very successful athletes. I think that's one of the things that was such a benefit for Walter, and still is, he does not in any way carry himself or think of himself as a great football player."
Nine years later, he came back to Baylor as the first full-time Executive Director of the "B" Association lettermen's group at one of the toughest times in the university.
"I thought about it long and hard, because I knew it was going to be hard to get people excited about the university," he said. "But, I thought by coming back I could make a difference. I came back, sort of naively, believing that I had some ability to make a change."
What helped more than anything, he said, was when Kim Mulkey's Lady Bears won the 2005 NCAA national championship.
"People started coming around and we started having lettermen functions," he said, "and our lettermen came out of the woodwork, man, to support this lady and the Lady Bears. It really was the shining light for us."
During Walter's tenure, the "B" Association has increased its member by 50 percent, its support programs by 70 percent and its endowments and financial contributions by an amazing 400 percent.
"Walter is a highly regarded member of our family," said Baylor VP and Director of Athletics Mack Rhoades. "He has great wisdom and calmness about him that is infectious. He is a man of great integrity, and his passion for Baylor runs deep. We are grateful to have him on our team."
Already named to the Baylor Athletics Hall of Fame in 1992, Walter was inducted into the Southwest Conference Hall of Fame four years ago.
"There is nobody, in my immediate recollection, that has been any more consistent than Walter has," Teaff said. "He was consistent as an athlete, as a young person, he's been consistent as a husband and as a father, and he's done really a great job with the lettermen's association. My shirt pops when I think of him, his life, his family and the kind of man he is."
Once on track to be an athletic director – he was a finalist for the Grambling position one year – Walter said that idea has become less and less appealing.
"While I think I had some applicable skills to that position, at my age (59), I'm really just happy where I am," he said. "I've grown into this job, I've grown to love the people I get to work with.
The folks serving on the board, getting to know them and seeing their passion about Baylor, it's inspiring."
Walter said he had to come to a place where, "if this is all it is for me, I'm OK with that."
"Having been an athlete at the highest level, and seeing other athletes have a difficult time transitioning to being a regular person and in other persons, I feel like I've done some things I can be proud of," he said. "And I'm OK. If I died tomorrow, here's what I want people to remember about me: Was he a good person? Did he treat you with kindness and respect? Did he help someone along the way? And did he make a difference."
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