Michael Crabtree and Elmer Tarbox Inducted into Texas Tech Football Ring of Honor
One of the neat things that came about after the early 2000s remodel of Jones AT&T Stadium was the façade space between the suite levels and the press box. Texas Tech Athletics has used a portion of that space to honor the members of the Texas Tech Ring of Honor.
Saturday night, Texas Tech officially added Michael Crabtree and Elmer Tarbox to the Ring of Honor.
Tarbox is a name known in many circles, Texas Tech football history and Texas political history. He played three seasons for the Red Raiders from 1936-38, when the rules still required two-way players. He played in the backfields on both offense and defense. Texas Tech Athletics notes that Tarbox was an honorable mention All-America selection as a half back as a senior.
In 1938, Tarbox set the Texas Tech single-season record with 11 interceptions. He finished his collegiate career with 17 interceptions. Also, in 1938, Tarbox ranked in the top-10 players for rushing and receiving, completing a final season that would have sent him straight to the Hall of Fame.
Tarbox was selected by the NFL's Cleveland Rams as the 18th pick in the 1939 Draft. However, he never played in the NFL. Instead, Tarbox enlisted to fight in the Army in World War II. Following his military service, Tarbox returned to Lubbock and became a prominent business leader. Then, in 1966 he was elected to the Texas House of Representatives.
Michael Crabtree's impact on Texas Tech Football history was made in just two seasons.
After redshirting the 2006 season, Crabtree was a starting wide receiver in 2007 and 2008. In 2007, Crabtree set NCAA freshman records in three categories: receptions, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns. His stat line was: 134 receptions, 1,962 receiving yards and 22 receiving touchdowns. After the 2007 season, Crabtree was named the Biletnikoff Award winner. Then, in 2008, he finished with 1,165 yards receiving and 19 touchdowns and won the Biletnikoff Award again, becoming the first two-time Biletnikoff Award recipient in NCAA history.
Crabtree was selected as the 10th pick of the 2009 NFL Draft by the San Francisco 49ers. He played six season with the 49ers, before moving on to stints with the Oakland Raiders, Baltimore Ravens and Arizona Cardinals. In his 11-year NFL career, Crabtree finished with 637 receptions for 7,499 yards and 54 touchdowns.
Following his professional career, Crabtree provided Texas Tech Athletics with a $100,000 matching gift to endow the Michael Crabtree Endowed Scholarship. The scholarship is presented annually to a Red Raider wide receiver.