In the 1990s, the National Football League was blessed with the presence of a cadre of talented running backs that left indelible memories in the minds of many fans.
These backs quickly became household names. Emmitt Smith, Barry Sanders, Thurman Thomas, Jerome Bettis and Terrell Davis, to name a few, were the toast of the sport throughout the decade.
Ricky Watters never quite got the recognition the others received, but he became a strong and accomplished back in his own right, and he ended his career with an impressive resume.
Growing Up in PA
Ricky Watters was born on April 7, 1969 in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
Very early in his childhood, he had something of an obstacle to overcome, as he was adopted by Ulysees “Big Jim” Watters, who earned a Purple Heart for his service in the Korean War, and Frances Marie Watters.
It’s a scenario that could often cause issues for many children, but instead, Watters decided to use it as motivation and to make himself stronger and greater than he may have been otherwise.
“[Being an adopted child] pushed me harder. It made me want to be the best in everything,” Watters said. “I wanted to be accepted, I wanted people to like me, I wanted people to think I’m cool, all that kind of stuff.
“It’s made me more understanding of other people and what they’re going through in their lives because it might look all shiny, but you can have something that you’re dealing with.
“It was something that I had to work through, and I think it made me a better player and a better person.”
As a child, Watters’ strong desire to be the best was evident in his passion for sports, as he was a standout baseball and basketball player. But it quickly became clear that football would be the sport he was destined for greatness in.
He was a star pewee, pony, and varsity grade school football player for Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament (OLBS) Golden Gales through the eighth grade. Once he entered Bishop McDevitt High School, Watters truly started to blossom.
He led his school to a championship, then became one of the nation’s top recruits. Just about every major football program in the NCAA wanted his services, but he decided to sign on with the University of Notre Dame Fighting Irish over in Indiana.
Revitalizing a Storied Program
When Watters arrived at the University of Notre Dame in the fall of 1987, the school’s football program had been in a lull. It had been a decade since the team had last won the national championship.
In an attempt to turn things around, Lou Holtz had been hired as the Fighting Irish’s new head coach a year earlier, replacing Gerry Faust.
Compared to his predecessor, Holtz was a stern disciplinarian who wasn’t afraid to challenge or confront his players and demand total compliance. His coaching style seemed to bring a change of culture to the team at an opportune time.
When Watters was a freshman, the Fighting Irish’s top player on offense was Tim Brown, a star wide receiver who would go on to achieve great success in the NFL and reach the Pro Football Hall of Fame. That season, Brown would be awarded the Heisman Trophy.
Brown’s presence led to Watters being mostly a backup running back who didn’t get onto the field during actual games much. When he did, however, he would show flashes of who he would eventually become, rushing for 373 yards and scoring three touchdowns.
The previous season, before the Pennsylvania native showed up, Notre Dame won only five against and lost six. In ’87, however, the Fighting Irish went 8-4, and their future looked pretty bright, even with Brown ready to leave for the pros.
Brown’s departure left a void that Holtz decided to call on Watters to fill. Instead of using the sophomore chiefly as a running back, the head coach decided to also feature Watters at wideout.
The decision worked very well. Although Watters posted paltry numbers on the ground (71 rushing yards and no touchdowns in 11 games), he was fairly productive at his new position, with 286 receiving yards and two touchdowns, while leading the team in receptions with 15.
Ricky Watters, Notre Dame pic.twitter.com/Kp4fgHyFg4
— t͎d͎w͎1͎2͎4͎ (@tdw124) August 10, 2018
The 1988 campaign would become something of a dream season for the University of Notre Dame. It would go undefeated through its 12-game schedule, although it wouldn’t be easy.
One of the most-hyped matchups of the season would be the game against Jimmy Johnson and the University of Miami Hurricanes, otherwise known as “Catholics vs. Convicts.”
The Hurricanes were riding a 36-game regular-season winning streak and were well-known for possessing a swagger that bordered on arrogance. Despite playing at home, the Fighting Irish were underdogs, and the team and its fans were whipped into a frenzy in advance of the contest.
Notre Dame won a very close contest, and it moved on with its season, as another showdown, this time against the No. 2-ranked University of Southern California, beckoned.
Prior to that game, Watters and star teammate Tony Brooks showed up late for a team meeting. Holtz decided to teach both a lesson by suspending them and heading to Los Angeles for the big matchup without them.
The Fighting Irish still managed to defeat the Trojans, and went on to beat the University of West Virginia Mountaineers in the Fiesta Bowl to win the national championship.
The 1988 Notre Dame national champions honored as they celebrate their 30 year anniversary. pic.twitter.com/HaNz34rMm2
— Redeemer Radio 957 Sports (@957Sports) September 2, 2018
The 1989 season would also be a success for Watters and the Fighting Irish. He went back to playing mostly running back, and the team went 12-1, culminating with a win in the Orange Bowl over the University of Colorado.
After losing to Colorado in the following season’s Orange Bowl, Watters left Notre Dame, ready for the next step of the NFL.
While in college, Watters wasn’t just an athlete. Skilled at math and engineering, he studied architecture while in South Bend, Ind., and he would eventually receive a degree in graphic design.
Watters Heads to the Bay
After winning four Super Bowl championships in the past decade, by 1991 the San Francisco 49ers were in something of a transition.
Legendary quarterback Joe Montana had suffered a severe elbow injury, and his future with the team was in question. Steve Young had replaced him, and although he had proven himself to be a strong QB in his own right, critics doubted he could carry the Niners all the way as Montana often did.
In addition, running back Roger Craig, a key part of the team’s last three Super Bowl wins, had just left to join the Los Angeles Rams. Clearly, the Niners needed to replenish their roster a bit, and they did just that by taking Watters with the 45th overall pick of the 1991 NFL Draft.
Unfortunately, his rookie year would turn out to be a lost season for him, as he would appear in nary a contest due to injuries. Without him, the Niners, who also dealt with an injury to Young, won just 10 games and missed the playoffs.
Watters finally took the field in ’92, and he had a marvelous campaign, posting 1,013 rushing yards and nine rushing touchdowns. The Niners ranked tops in the NFL in offense for the first time since 1989, which happened to be the last time they won the world championship.
Unlike most running backs of the era, Watters would quickly prove himself to be a dual-threat back. The Niners would also use him at times as a receiver from the backfield, just as Holtz often did at Notre Dame.
His unique high-stepping running style led the great ESPN NFL analyst Chris Berman to nickname him Ricky “Running” Watters.
In his rookie year, Watters would flash his ability as a threat via the pass by hauling in 43 passes for 405 yards and two touchdowns.
With Montana returning near the end of the season, San Francisco put up a gaudy 14-2 record, and hope grew in Northern California that it just may return to the top of the NFL.
Instead, the Niners would fall in the NFL Championship Game to Smith, Troy Aikman, Michael Irvin and the eventual Super Bowl champion Dallas Cowboys, 30-20.
By now, there was a full-blown quarterback controversy between Montana, the aging but still stellar veteran, and Young, the hungry young gunslinger. Montana averted any real drama by requesting a trade, and as he wished, he was dealt to the Kansas City Chiefs prior to the 1993 season.
It was now the Steve Young era in the Bay, but Watters was more than happy to help keep the team in title contention. The Niners’ offense was still the league’s best in terms of scoring and yards gained in ’93, and Watters was a pivotal part of that with 950 rushing yards and 10 rushing touchdowns, despite missing three contests.
After posting a 10-6 record, the Niners headed to the playoffs hoping to regain their old magic of yesteryear. They started off by facing the 11-5 New York Giants in the NFC divisional round.
It wasn’t quite the same Giants team that had upset the Niners in the 1990 NFC Championship Game en route to a Super Bowl win, although star quarterback Phil Simms was still there.
In this game, Watters made it known that he was a star, as he rushed for 118 yards and scored five touchdowns. It remains a league record, and it seemed to validate his second consecutive appearance in the Pro Bowl.
10,643 rushing yards.
4,248 receiving yards.Happy birthday to one of the star dual-threat RBs of the 90s, @RickyWatters! pic.twitter.com/S2Zw2s3gGy
— NFL Legacy (@NFLLegacy) April 7, 2021
Thanks to Watters’ prolific day, the Niners made the Giants look like dwarves in a 44-3 drubbing.
You know you’ve been a #49ers fan for a long time when…
…you remember when Ricky Watters single-handedly emasculated the Giants’ defensive players in their 93-94 Divisional Round playoff victory. #49ersMemories pic.twitter.com/PUHoNYO8i4
— 904 Niners Nation (@904NinersNation) August 8, 2018
But San Francisco still wasn’t ready to go all the way, as they again fell short to the Cowboys in the NFC Championship Game, 38-21.
Striking Gold
The Niners’ front office, led by owner Eddie DeBartolo, Jr., realized that the defensive side of the ball was the team’s weak link. To that end, San Francisco acquired linebacker Ken Norton Jr., who ironically had been a key member of the Cowboys.
The Niners also brought in Deion Sanders to strengthen its secondary. He was one of the few two-sport stars at the pro level, as he played several seasons in Major League Baseball at a high level.
With more help around him, Watters continued to refine his game in the 1994 season. His rushing numbers dipped a bit, but he also notched 719 yards and five touchdowns as a receiver.
The Niners won 13 games that year, and as they hoped, their defense also improved considerably.
They advanced to the NFC Championship Game yet again against the Cowboys. This time, however, San Francisco outlasted the two-time defending world champs, 38-28, and returned to the Super Bowl for the first time in five years.
There, they would face the San Diego Chargers, who were led by quarterback Stan Humphries, making it one of the rare Super Bowls that featured two teams from the same state.
The Bolts were simply outmatched by their counterparts from the north, and Watters was a major reason why.
He scored one touchdown on the ground and two as a receiver, as the Niners defeated San Diego in a blowout to regain the world title.
Happy birthday to @RickyWatters!
Only five players have scored 3 TDs in a #SuperBowl.
Jerry Rice did it twice (XXIV, XXIX). Roger Craig did it (XIX). Ricky Watters did it too.
Here's his 3-TD performance from Super Bowl XXIX. #Random49ers #49ers pic.twitter.com/klydSdjQf9
— #Random49ers (@Random49ers) April 7, 2021
His performance, however, was overshadowed by that of Young, who threw for a record six touchdown passes. In addition, Jerry Rice, considered by most to be the greatest wide receiver ever, had three touchdowns himself.
Still, Watters could now say that he had won championships at the high school, college and pro levels as a star player, a rare feat indeed.
Moving to Philly
After earning his Super Bowl ring, Watters was a free agent in the spring of 1995, and he decided to sign with the Philadelphia Eagles.
A big reason why was that the team had just hired Ray Rhodes, who had been the Niners’ defensive coordinator, as its new head coach, and he had convinced Watters to join him in Philly.
Watters’ tenure with the team got off to a cloudy start. The Eagles lost badly to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and on one play, he didn’t make a full effort to catch a pass from quarterback Randall Cunningham that likely would’ve resulted in him getting hit hard by a Bucs defender.
When he was asked about it, he responded:
“For who, for what?”
Philly fans are considered the roughest, least-forgiving fans in American sports, and Watters drew their ire with that line.
He had a strong year on the field, setting new personal bests with 1,273 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns while earning his fourth straight Pro Bowl nod.
Ricky Watters. @NFL_Journal @Ol_TimeFootball @PHLEaglesNation @FootballHistory @ProFootballHOF @RickyWatters pic.twitter.com/mPTJvc8UUa
— Eagles Over the Years (@EaglesOrtheYear) December 3, 2021
The 1996 season was ever better, as Watters had career-highs of 1411 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns.
But he was starting to develop a reputation for being brash.
In both seasons, the Eagles finished 10-6 and lost early in the playoffs. The next season, Philly had a losing record and failed to reach the postseason.
In 1998, Watters joined the Seattle Seahawks and spent his last four seasons there. In his first three years in the Pacific Northwest, he continued to rush for over 1,000 yards each season. In his final season, he appeared in only five contests.
In Watters’ tenure with the Seahawks, they reached the playoffs only once in 1999.
He called it quits following the 2001 season with quite a resume. He retired with over 10,000 rushing yards, as well as 78 rushing touchdowns.
After Retirement
Watters has made a nice second career for himself. He wrote his autobiography while poking fun at the infamous comment he made as a member of the Philadelphia Eagles by titling the book “For Who For What: A Warrior’s Journey.”
He has become a motivational speaker, focusing on speaking to kids who, like him, were adopted. He and his wife Catherina have an adopted child of their own named Shane.
They had their first child, Tigero, in 1999. Tragically, after being born prematurely, Tigero passed away.
Watters would eventually pay tribute to Tigero’s memory while trying his hand at a new craft. He started an independent record label named “Tigero Records” while producing music and writing lyrics for himself and other musicians.
The former running back has also done some activism and philanthropy. He and Catherina started the Ricky Watters Family Foundation to help give foster and at-risk kids a solid foundation.
The initiative aims to help children by building self-confidence through sports, the arts, academics, life skills and learning about different cultures.
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Watters has also teamed up with legendary running back Jim Brown and his Amer-I-Can program to help mentor young men, especially those who are in a gang, currently serving prison time.
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In addition, he has done some work in the area of pediatric cancer, and he even spent some time coaching high school football in the Orlando, Fla. area.
A Missing Accomplishment
Watters’ accomplishments stack up pretty well with the other stalwart running backs of his era. How many such players from the ’90s, let alone any era, had amassed over 10,000 rushing yards, as well as more than 4,000 receiving yards, and have also won championships at every level?
Still, some 20 years after he hung up his cleats, he still hasn’t made it to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Why?
Is it because of his big mouth and me-first reputation?
Defenders would probably say that plenty of star players, especially on the offensive side of the football, have such qualities. After all, they may argue, NFL players are sometimes infamous for being a bit flamboyant.
Whoa. Really? RT @TheFoyeEffect: "for who, for what" debacle doesn't change the fact that Ricky Watters should be in the Hall of Fame.
— Bob Glauber (@BobGlauber) April 28, 2010
As a proof of concept, Terrell Owens, one of the league’s best wide receivers of the late 1990s and 2000s, had a far worse reputation than Watters, not to mention no championship rings, yet he is enshrined in Canton, Ohio.
Or is it because voters simply feel that Watters’ pro accomplishments simply fall a bit short?
Perhaps his off-the-field work and advocacy will help his case in the not-so-distant future by virtue of the old “halo effect.”
Sources:
https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/W/WattRi00.htm
https://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/?date=19980903&slug=2769933
https://goldengatesports.com/2015/10/05/ricky-watters-for-his-family-for-the-fans-for-football/3/
https://www.espn.com/blog/notre-dame-football/post/_/id/20898/ricky-watters-finishing-what-he-started
https://fanbuzz.com/nfl/ricky-watters-now/
https://www.rickywatters.com/about-ricky
https://www.sfgate.com/49ers/article/Ex-49ers-RB-Ricky-Watters-shows-there-s-life-6617515.php
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Notre_Dame_Fighting_Irish_football
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/players/ricky-watters-1.html
https://www.uhnd.com/history/national-championships/notre-dame-1988-national-championship/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_San_Francisco_49ers
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roger_Craig_(American_football)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deion_Sanders
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1994_San_Francisco_49ers_season
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
In 1997 I war’s representing the company I worked for as a NFL Sponsor at the Pro Bowl in Hawaii. As a sponsor I was able to go down to the field on Press Day and talk to the players and get some autographs. Of the players I approached to ask for an autograph Ricky was the only player not to sign. He looked and acted like he was jacked on something. He didn’t sign and talked trash as I walked away. This act is a microcosm of why he isn’t in the hall of fame. Of all the players on the field that day Ricky was the only one not to exhibit humility amongst the games best. You reap what you sew.