(AP photo)
People still think of Billy "White Shoes" Johnson as the man who invented the end zone dance, Ickey Woods and Clarence Verdin who expanded it into parody and Terrell Owens who took the genre to its ultimate extended-play destination.
But one man predated them all. And unlike the others, he didn't really plan or choreograph any of it the first time. He just danced in spontaneous celebration.
Nothing was contrived about Elmo Wright's first end zone dance in 1969. It just sort of happened. As a wideout for the Houston Cougars, he beat Florida's All America defensive back, future New York Jet Steve Tannen on an out-and-up for a score.