AUBURN, Ala. – Terry Beasley, a prolific pass catcher whose Auburn receiving records have lasted more than a half century, has passed away at the age of 73.
An All-American in 1970 and 1971, Beasley caught 141 career passes for 2,507 yards and 29 receiving touchdowns from 1969-71, program records that have stood the test of time.
Inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2002, Beasley’s famous No. 88 is one of three retired Auburn jerseys, along with his quarterback, Pat Sullivan’s No. 7, and Bo Jackson’s No. 34.
In 1970, Beasley’s 52 receptions, 1,051 yards and 72 points led the SEC. As a senior the following season, he caught 55 passes and scored 12 receiving touchdowns. After his senior season, Beasley was named the College Pass Receiver of the Year by the Touchdown Club of Columbus, Ohio.
“He would tell Pat, ‘You throw it, I’ll get it,'” remembered former Auburn athletic director and sports information director David Housel. “That’s the way it was. He’d run under it and make impossible catches.”
Former teammate Terry Henley recalled Beasley’s physical attributes: his long, reddish-golden hair and defined musculature in an era before weight training became popular.
“It was incredible to see how this guy was put together,” Henley said. “God gave him that.”
Beasley’s blazing speed and uncommon strength compensated for his small hands, Henley says.
“Terry’s hands were little but he had this grip on the ball when it came close to him, that he was going to get the ball one way or another,” Henley said. “You weren’t going to pull it away from him.
“I marveled at the way he could explode after one step. One step and he was gone. It didn’t take two.”
In the 1970 Iron Bowl near the end of his junior season, Beasley sustained a hard hit on the Legion Field artificial turf early in the game, missing most of the first half before returning to deliver one of the game’s signature plays, a long reverse run that led to an Auburn touchdown in the Tigers’ 33-28 victory. During Beasley’s breathtaking run,
Auburn announcer Gary Sanders famously referred to him as “the Mechanical Man.”
“One of the most amazing runs,” Housel said. “He ran through that whole Alabama football team, twisting, turning, cutting back. I’ve never seen anything like it.”
“It was a comeback play,” Henley said. “And there were many of those.”
Sullivan and Beasley’s finest hour may have occurred during the 1971 Auburn-Georgia game in a battle of unbeatens.
Georgia coach Vince Dooley described Beasley as “a boy wonder” after his performance riddled the Georgia secondary for 130 yards and two touchdowns in Auburn’s 35-20 win.
“He was a phenomenal player,” Henley said. “He could play the game today. In the offenses they run today, he would be so explosive.”
Beasley came to the Plains in 1968 from Montgomery, where he was a standout athlete at Robert E. Lee High School.
Beasley also holds Auburn’s record for consecutive games with a touchdown catch (8), 100-yard receiving games in a season (6) and a career (12). He held the program’s career receptions record with 141 for 27 seasons until Karsten Bailey broke it in 1998.
“Pat Sullivan was the leader, the quarterback, the Heisman Trophy winner, but the guy who made that whole passing game go was Beasley,” Housel said. “He is an Auburn legend. He is the standard by which all other Auburn receivers will be measured.
“Auburn’s had some good ones, but they’ve never had one like the Mechanical Man.”
Drafted in 1972 by the San Francisco 49ers in the first round, Beasley played three NFL seasons before retiring because of injuries in 1975.
Beasley’s returns to Jordan-Hare Stadium generated a sense of awe from younger generations of Auburn fans, who knew of Terry from their parents or from video clips.
“They can look at that No. 88 that’s retired,” Henley said. “Some of the greatest plays in Auburn history were made by that red-headed guy wearing that No. 88. He was a special guy.”
