The Dream Catcher: Interview with Former NFL and MLB Player D.J. Dozier

The College Years

After a .500 start in 1966, Penn State head coach Joe Paterno quickly changed Happy Valley into a perennial title contender. The 1967 season ended with an 8-2-1 record followed by back-to-back 11-0 campaigns. Without benefit of settling the score on the field, college teams and their coaches were relegated to the will of sports writers and polls to determine national champions.

What had eluded “Joe Pa” for decades was finally realized in 1982 – a national championship. Thanks to a 27-23 Sugar Bowl win over the Georgia Bulldogs, and – yours truly, as a young tike, was there – coach Paterno captured his first national title.

In the fall of 1982, Dozier was “that guy,” running over and past defenders for Virginia Beach’s Kempsville High School. Signing with the Nittany Lions, Dozier was committed to playing for a coaching legend.

“The great thing about Paterno, he was a great teacher,” Dozier said. “One of the things that I remember, the practices were always harder than the games because he got on you physiologically. He would release that pressure right before the game. Game time was kind of like play time.

“I really appreciated that philosophy and that approach. There are other approaches – he always told us that adverse weather was to our advantage. And he believed it. Until then, I hated playing in rain but that year, the year I learned that, everything changed for me physiologically – no matter what the field looked like.

“I really learned a lot of great things from Paterno and playing with players who were top level athletes. Overall, it was a great experience.”

Following the title winning squad was not easy, and Dozier had big shoes to fill. Among the nine players the Nittany Lions lost to the NFL in ’83, the Seattle Seahawks drafted tailback Curt Warner third overall and the Kansas City Chiefs took quarterback Todd Blackledge four picks later.

Dozier reflected on his freshman season at Penn State.

“We had some major challenges. I remember after the ’82 championship team, when I came in as a freshman in ’83, we started the season off 0-3. It was the first time a Paterno team had a season start off like that.

“I remember him coming to the locker room, giving us what was almost like an ultimatum. We stepped up and that season ended up being salvaged. I think we ended up 8-3-1 or 8-4-1. That was a great learning experience.”

During the 8-4-1 campaign in 1983, Dozier rushed for 1,002 yards in 12 games on 174 carries with 7 rushing scores. Showing versatility early in his collegiate career, he snagged 19 passes for 189 yards with another trip into the end zone.

A common phrase in sports circles is “rebuilding,” perhaps for the Nittany Lions it was a maturation process. The young team took some lumps in 1984 (6-5) but rebounded for a standout season in ’85 (11-1), ending the year ranked No. 3 in the final AP poll.

Yet another sports dream was had in 1986 when Dozier and his teammates delivered Paterno his second national championship. With an 11-0 record, second-ranked Penn State entered the Sunkist Fiesta Bowl as the underdog against No. 1 Miami. PSU prevailed 14-10.

The Fiesta Bowl Offensive MVP – Dozier. Down 10-7 in the fourth quarter, Dozier’s 6-yard touchdown run with 8:13 remaining proved to be the game-winner. Dozier earned a hard-fought 99 yards on the ground off 20 carries against a stacked Hurricanes defense.

“For the world, I think that was an underdog story,” Dozier said. “But for us, we thought we were as good as anybody. That played into the confidence we had going into that game.

“Although Miami had a tremendous team, obviously a Heisman Trophy winner in (Vinny) Testaverde, we had desire and we had what we thought was destiny. The year before that, some people may remember, we lost the national championship to Oklahoma (25-10 – Orange Bow). We were No. 1 at the time and ended up losing. That team was made up of a lot of seniors, some who could have gone onto the pros but came back to put us in the position to win a championship.

“We went into that game believing this was our time. Our defense played an incredible game. They created a lot of turnovers, but we turned the ball over – I think we had at least three turnovers, maybe four. That was untypical of a Penn State offense.

“It was a back-and-forth game – I am just very thankful for that moment and that time. It changed everything.

“I had a chance to see (FB) Alonzo Highsmith (Miami) at the NFL Combine a couple of year ago, he, of course, reminded me of the game. In a joking way, he said that I had his ring.”

Dozier continued, reminiscing about his time in Happy Valley.

“Great years. Anytime you go to a program like that, that has a legendary coach, obviously he attracted great players, I had the privilege of playing with some great guys. Great guys as individuals, personality wise, behavioral wise, but also great athletes. The experience was second to none.”

And with the 14th Overall Pick in the 1987 NFL Draft

“I grew up an NFL fan, of course, since I could remember,” Dozier said. “I had great admiration for a lot of players at that level. I never imagined – of course in the back of your mind you think that would be awesome but never imagined it would ever happen.

“When I got to high school and started to hear some of the positive things that were being said about my abilities, I still didn’t really believe that. When I got to college and saw some of my teammates go onto the pros, then I realized how close I was and how real the opportunity was and how close the dream was.

“For me, I am thankful that I had parents that taught me to be humble and respectful. They taught me to be thankful for everything you have and to have desire to go after whatever there is that is out there.

“When I got to that point at Penn State, saw how close I was, and then it happened. It certainly was a dream.

“Of course, things didn’t work out quite like I had hoped they would, to get there and experience it was incredible experience.”

“Take me out to the ball game, Take me out with the crowd”

Life is full of twists and turns, one never knows how things will go. While Dozier was romping on defenders in high school, he was also crushing the ball on the diamond. Even though MLB scouts were sure Dozier was headed off to play college football, the Detroit Tigers selected him in the 18th round of the 1983 draft.

The chance to “root, root, root for the home team” in 1987 ended with another dream realized in 1992.

Asked about achieving what many dream of, reaching the highest level for another professional sport, Dozier shared how the opportunity came about:

“That is a great word, because it really was a dream especially for someone like myself, because I grew up playing baseball,” Dozier said. “I was supposed to play baseball at Penn State but didn’t play. I was there for four years, I was supposed to be on the baseball team for at least three years, but it didn’t happen. That is a long story.

“When I got to the NFL, baseball was not on my mind until I went to the World Series. I went in ’87, the year I was drafted. The Minnesota Twins were playing against the (St. Louis) Cardinals in the World Series. I went to three of the four home games where the Twins won.

“In the second or third game that I watched, something happened to me mentally. I just had this overwhelming thought that I could play – that I could do it.

“At that moment it was just a thought. It was overwhelming but it was just a thought. I wasn’t actually thinking about doing it until 1989, after my third year in the pros, that is when I decided I have to do something with this thought that I’ve had. That is when I tried out with the Met.

Dozier detailed how he made his dream a reality.

“I called Dick Rosenfeld (“Rosey”), who was here, at the time as the (Norfolk) Tides general manger. He got in contact with Joe McIlvaine, who at the time was the minor league director for the Mets. When they started talking, he said, ‘Yes, we’ll give him a tryout.’

“For me, to eventually make it, but to play in the minors was still a dream. The first day I walked onto the field at High-A ball in St. Lucie (Fla.), that was an amazing experience for me because baseball had been gone. To be there and to be able to compete in this sport that I loved was an absolute dream.

“When I made it to the big leagues a couple of years later, it was certainly and incredible experience. I would have loved to play longer but the story of getting there was amazing.

“I love telling that story. I like to remind people, dreams are real. When you get there, it may not happen the way you want it to but the fact that you climbed the ladder, it means something. That is a message I will share for the rest of my life.

Asked about his experiences signing autographs and interacting with collectors at events, the fan in Dozier came out.

“The No. 1 thing that I have to talk about with that question, I am not asked that question often, as you asked that question, there is one thing that comes to my mind, it is when I had the opportunity to meet Pete Rose.

“There was a signing up in Northern Virginia. I grew up a Reds fan, and I played against Pete Rose Jr. in the minors – during spring training. For me going to a signing and seeing some of the old guys from the Reds, especially Pete, and meeting him, being able to shake his hand and get some pictures with him was unbelievable.

“That experience for me tops every other experience. I love talking to people and meeting people, especially ones that I have connections with in some way, shape, or form, whether it is Penn State, Pennsylvania, Virginia, or someone I played against, it is always fascinating to meet with them. But overwhelmingly for me, it was that opportunity to meet Pete Rose. That is at the top of the list.”

Another fun fact about Dozier: not everyone can say they were traded for a four-time Gold Glove winner, five-time All-Star, and World Series champion. In October of 1992, the Mets and San Diego Padres swapped players. The Mets sent catcher Raul Casanova, pitcher Wally Whitehurst, and Dozier to San Diego for shortstop Tony Fernandez.

D.J. Dozier and Coach Joe Paterno Card and Magazine List

*Click the link to buy cards or magazines on eBay

• 1985 Sports Illustrated Nov. 11
• 1986 Street & Smith’s College Football Official Yearbook
• 1988 Topps #150 D.J. Dozier SR RC
• 1989 Topps #88 D.J. Dozier
• 1989 Penn State #9 Joe Paterno CO
• 1990 Star #9 D.J. Dozier
• 1992 Front Row #14 D.J. Dozier
• 1992 Front Row #1 Joe Paterno
• 1992 Donruss #20 D.J. Dozier RR
• 2005 Topps All American #69 D.J. Dozier
• 2007 Penn State TK Legacy All American Autographs #AA13 D.J. Dozier