Norman was born in Lincolnton, Georgia on January 4, 1939 to Fessor and Elease "Eloise" Norman as the youngest of ten children.. He attended West Charlotte High School in Charlotte, North Carolina where he made the team in his junior season and became a starter in his final year. He enlisted in the Air Force but was granted a release before attending boot camp due to a football scholarship offer from Johnson C. Smith University by then coach Eddie McGirt, without ever having seen him play He was named the starter and team MVP at split end as a freshman. He was a two-way player and became a two-time All-CIAA selection. As a senior he had a game with 5 receptions for 133 yards, 2 touchdowns and was credited with 14 tackles. He also lettered in track and field, once posting a 9.7 seconds 100-yard dash. The university's annual Pettis Norman Male and FemaleAthlete of the Year Award is given to the school's most outstanding student-athletes. In 1977, he was inducted into the Central Intercollegiate Athletic AssociationHall of Fame.
Norman was selected by the Dallas Texans in the 16th round of the 1962 AFL Draft, but wasn't chosen in the NFL Draft due to the Texans spreading rumors that they had already signed him to a contract. This situation influenced him to join the Dallas Cowboys in 1962 as an undrafted free agent. He was used mostly on special teams during his first two seasons. In 1963, he was initially used as a split end and started 6 games, before being moved to tight end because he excelled in blocking. The next year, he became a full-time starter and manned the Cowboys tight end position for nearly a decade, becoming part of the franchise's legacy of great tight ends that included: Jim Doran, Dick Bielski, Lee Folkins, Mike Ditka, Billy Joe Dupree, Jackie Smith, Doug Cosbie, Jay Novacek and Jason Witten. In 1965 and 1966, Norman split the tight end job with Franklin Clarke. He played in the 1967 NFL Championship Game, more commonly known as the Ice Bowl, against the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field in sub-zero temperatures. The Dallas Cowboys lost 21-17 in the last minutes of the game, due in large part to Bart Starr's quarterback sneak play. When Ditka joined the Cowboys in 1969 after having been a 4 time All-Pro tight end with the Chicago Bears, Norman remained the starter, but split playing time with Ditka to provide great blocking and leadership along the offensive line. Norman also started in Super Bowl V, which was a loss to the Baltimore Colts. The sports announcer Jack Buck during his two-year stint covering the Cowboys, famously referred to him on the air as Norman Pettis, prompting Blackie Sherrod, a sportswriter in Dallas, to write: "Dallas fans are tired of Pettis Norman constantly being referred to as Norman Pettis by broadcaster Buck Jack." After trading the troubled Lance Rentzel, the Cowboys replaced him with future hall of famer Lance Alworth and Norman was sent to the San Diego Chargers as part of the "Bambi trade" in May 1971, that also involved Ron East and Tony Liscio.
San Diego Chargers
In his first season with the San Diego Chargers, Norman was named the starter at tight end and had a career-high 27 catches for 358 yards. He played with the Chargers until he retired after the 1973 season because of a degenerative knee condition, having played 12 years and 162 games, receiving 183 passes for 2,492 yards and 15 touchdowns.
Personal life
Norman enlisted in the Texas Army National Guard in 1962 and served until 1968 while playing for the Dallas Cowboys. He married his junior high sweetheart, Margaret Ann Clinkscales, on December 22, 1962 and had three daughters before becoming widowed in 1991. The Reverend Jesse Jackson eulogized Norman's late wife. In 1995, Norman married Ivette Hightower, daughter of the late Master Chief Harry Hightower for whom Hightower Hall at Naval Station Norfolk was named. The Reverend Jesse Jackson officiated the wedding. Norman was active in changing the segregationist climate within the Cowboys and later the City of Dallas, helping to organize marches during the Civil Rights Movement, influencing the changing of the team's roommate assignments and breaking social barriers. He and several Dallas Cowboy teammates marched for civil rights with the Jesuits in 1965 in downtown Dallas. Norman protested again in 1971 when councilmember George Allen was passed over as Mayor Pro Tem of Dallas despite reassurances to the contrary. After his retirement from the NFL, Norman became a successful businessman in different ventures. In 1975, Norman was a television announcer and color commentator for the World Football League, formed in 1973 by attorney and businessman Gary Davidson. Norman appeared on WRET TV 36, WGHPTV 8, and WCTG TV 17 with John Sterling. He founded the Dallas Together Forum in the 1990s, an initiative that worked with Dallas CEOs to improve minority hiring and award contracts to women-owned and minority-owned businesses. Norman sued the Dallas Cowboys and San Diego Chargers, claiming medical negligence in the handling of his injured knee. On December 2, 2014, the Dallas Police Department reported that Sharneen Norman, who also went by "Shawn," died from a gunshot wound. She was the eldest of Norman's three daughters.
