1977 BYU Hall of Fame
In 1962 Eldon became the first BYU first-team All-American football player. He was selected Outstanding Back in eight of the ten games he played that year, and was named WAC Outstanding Back on three of those occasions. In November 1962, he was named Sports Illustrated Back of the Week. His talents led to participation in four postseason games during his senior year—the 1963 North-South Game in Miami, the All-American Game in Tucson, the Hula Bowl in Hawaii, and the Coaches All-American Bowl. In 1963 he received the Dale Rex Memorial Award for his contribution to amateur athletics in Utah. The BYU student body formally retired Eldon’s football jersey (number 40) in 1962.
Along with his athletic accomplishments, Eldon was named to the All-Conference Academic Team in 1961. After receiving his B.S. degree in 1963, he played a year of professional football for the Edmonton Eskimos of the Canadian League.
- Led the nation in total offense for eight weeks, and at the end of the season finished second behind Terry Baker with 1,963 total yards and 14 touchdowns
- Ran for 272 yards in a single game against the George Washington, the single best running game of any BYU player in school history until 2016
- Fortie's No. 40 was retired after the season, the first BYU student to have that honor
- Ran for 1,149 yards and 14 TDs but more impressively also threw for 814 yards with 7 touchdowns
- Finished 10th in the Heisman Voting.