Dallas Cowboys History
Cowboy Cheerleader
DALLAS SUPER BOWLS
Super Bowl V January 17, 1971 Dallas 13 Baltimore 16 1st loss
Super Bowl VI January 16, 1972 Dallas 24 Miami 3 1st win
Super Bowl X January 18, 1976 Dallas 17 Pittsburgh 21 2nd loss
Super Bowl XII January 15, 1978 Dallas 27 Denver 10 2nd win
Super Bowl XIII January 21, 1979 Dallas 31 Pittsburgh 35 3rd loss
Super Bowl XXVII January 31, 1993 Dallas 52 Buffalo 17 3rd win
Super Bowl XXVIII January 30, 1994 Dallas 30 Buffalo 13 4th win
Super Bowl XXX January 28, 1996 Dallas 27 Pittsburgh 17 5th win
DECEMBER 27, 1959
Giants defensive assistant coach Tom Landry is signed by Clint Murchison, Jr., and Bedford Wynne. They want Landry to be head coach when they get an NFL expansion franchise.
1960s
THE BEGINNING IN 1960
Clint Murchison, Jr. and Bedford Wynne are given the Dallas Cowboys franchise.
1960
Bob Lilly was named a Kodak All-America defensive tackle at TCU. A 35mm camera and 200 rolls of film came with the award. He had never taken a picture before and that was the first camera he ever owned.
MARCH 13, 1960
From the 12 teams, the Cowboys selected 36 players in 1 day, 3 from each team.
JULY 19, 1960
The first Cowboys training camp at Pacific University in Forest Grove, Oregon starts.
DECEMBER 4, 1960
The Cowboys don't win any games this season but tie this one with New York, 31-31.
DECEMBER 11, 1960
The Cowboys end their season, 0-11-1.
1961
Bob Lilly was selected as the Cowboys first ever draft choice.
JULY 9, 1961
Training camp starts at St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota.
SEPTEMBER 17, 1961
The Cowboys win their first game against Pittsburgh, 27-24.
DECEMBER 17, 1961
The Cowboys end their season, 4-9-1.
JULY 13, 1962
Training camp starts at Northern Michigan College in Marquette, Michigan.
OCTOBER 14, 1962
Cowboys made NFL history in the Philadelphia game by making two 100 yard runs in the same game. Mike Gaechter returned a pass interception for 100 yards and Amos Marsh returned a kickoff for 101 yards.
DECEMBER 16, 1962
The Cowboys end their season, 5-8-1.
1963
Lamar Hunt's AFL Dallas Texans were a bigger draw than the Cowboys at this point since the Texans were winning more games. But Dallas abruptly became the only pro football team in the city when the Texans became the Chiefs after they moved to Kansas City.
FEB. 1964
The Dallas fans were demanding for Landry to go after another losing season. Cowboys owner Clint Murchison kept the fans quieted down by giving a 10 year contract to Coach Landry.
1965
North Dallas Forty [Paperback] Gent (Author)
1965
A Cotton Bowl overflow crowd of 76,251 in a Cleveland game gave the Cowboys their FIRST sellout game.
JANUARY 1, 1967
Green Bay is ahead of Dallas, 34-27, in the 1966 NFL Championship. And the Cowboys have the ball at the Green Bay 22 when Packers defensive back Tom Brown is called for pass interference in the end zone. That put the ball on the 2 yard line for Dallas. The momentum changed when Brown intercepts a fourth down Don Meredith pass in the end zone. Green Bay wins the game, 34-27, and the Cowboys lose their 1st NFL championship game.
DECEMBER 31, 1967
Green Bay's Bart Starr executes his now famous 1 yard quarterback sneak (with 13 seconds left on the clock)into the end zone giving the Packers the win over the Cowboys 21-17. Dallas loses their 2nd NFL championship game, "The Ice Bowl", in -16 degree weather. The CBS play-by-play announcer for this game was Jack Buck.
JULY 1969
Quarterback and last member of the original Cowboys, Don Meredith, retires.
Don Perkins, Cowboys running back, retires.
1970s
JANUARY 1971
The Baltimore Colts defeat the Cowboys in the Pokes 1st Super Bowl appearance, 16-13. Kicker Jim O'Brien makes a last moment field goal.
OCTOBER 1971
The Cowboys, in their 1st game in Texas Stadium in Irving, blast the Patriots, 44-21.
JANUARY 1972
With Roger Staubach as quarterback, the Cowboys win their 1st Super Bowl against Miami, 24-3.
1974
The Cowboys had the number 1 pick in the draft for the first time in their history, and they use it to select Ed "Too Tall" Jones.
NOV. 1974
Dallas is losing 16-3 to the Redskins. Clint Longley comes into the game for Roger Staubach and turns the game around for the Cowboys, with 2 touchdown passes, the best of which is a 50 yard throw to Drew Pearson for a score, with 28 seconds left. The Cowboys eat their delicious Thanksgiving dinner along with a spectacular victory, 24-23.
1975
Cowboys seven time all-pro defensive tackle Bob Lilly retired after 14 great seasons with the Cowboys. He is the 1st inductee into the Cowboys Ring of Honor. Bob Lilly day is held at Texas Stadium. During his career, he went to 11 Pro Bowls, which was a Cowboys record.
DEC. 1975
In a game with the Vikings, the Cowboys are losing 14-10. But Staubach comes through, with the famous 50 yard "Hail Mary" pass to Drew Pearson that clinches the victory, 17-14. Staubach pushes Dallas 85 yards for the winning touchdown, with less than 2 minutes in the game. (1st round playoff victory)
JAN. 1976
In Super Bowl X, Pittsburgh defeats Dallas, 21-17.
NOV. 1976
The next Ring of Honor inductees are Don Meredith and Don Perkins.
OCT. 1977
Chuck Howley is inducted into the Ring of Honor.
1977
This was Mel Renfro's last season with the Cowboys. He holds the Cowboys record for interceptions, 52. His 1st 10 seasons in the NFL, he went to the Pro Bowl. He was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1996.
JAN. 1978
The Cowboys gain their 2nd Super Bowl victory against Denver, 27-10.
JAN. 1979
Dallas completes their 13rd consecutive winning season, and enters into their record 5th Super Bowl. AND Pittsburgh beats Dallas, 35-31, in Super Bowl XIII. After the 1978 season, Bob Ryan, NFL films editor, names the Cowboys "America's team".
AUGUST 3, 1979
North Dallas Forty. Movie with Nick Nolte, Mac Davis, Bo Svenson, John Matuszak, Steve Forrest, G.D. Spradlin, Dabney Coleman. The writer of North Dallas Forty, Pete Gent, played for the Cowboys 1964-1968.
1980s
MARCH 1980
Roger Staubach retires after 11 years with the Cowboys. This news item leads the evening news that night.
AUG. 1980
Bob Lilly is inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
DEC. 1980
Dallas completes their 15th consecutive winning season. AND Tom Landry joins George Halas and Curly Lambeau as the only NFL coaches with 200 victories.
OCT. 1981
Mel Renfro is inducted into the Ring of Honor.
JAN. 1982
Dallas is winning against the 49ers, 27-21, with 58 seconds left in the game. But Joe Montana throws to Dwight Clark (who makes the famous leap called "The Catch" in the end zone) who scores the touchdown that won the game for the 49ers, 28-27. Dallas loses the NFC championship.
1982
The Cowboys go 6-3 in the strike year. They did not play the New York Giants this year.
1983
Cowboys enjoy their 18th consecutive winning season.

Groundbreaking takes place at the new Cowboys training facility, Valley Ranch.

Roger Staubach is the next inductee into the Cowboys ring of honor.

MAR. 1984
Bum Bright buys the Cowboys.
MAY 1984
Bright's purchase turns out to be $60 million for the team, and $20 million for a 65 year lease on Texas Stadium.
DEC. 1984
Dallas completes their 19th consecutive winning season.
AUG. 1985
Roger Staubach is inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
OCT. 1985
The 6th player in NFL history to rush for 10,000 yards is Tony Dorsett.
NOV. 1985
Dallas obtains an NFL record, by completing their 20th consecutive winning season.
1986
The Cowboys go 7-9 this year and break the streak of 20 consecutive winning seasons.
1987
This year, Tony Dorsett requested a trade from the Cowboys when Herschel Walker was brought in. Tony regretted being dealt to the Broncos.
MAR. 1987
The founder of the Cowboys, Clint Murchison, Jr., passes.
DEC. 1987
Tony Dorsett goes over 12,000 yards.
SEPT. 1988
Curly Lambeau had coached the longest of any NFL coach. Tom Landry becomes 2nd on that list, as he starts his 29th consecutive season with Dallas.
1988
Coach Landry goes 3-13 in his last year with Dallas.
1989
The 1989 Herschel Walker trade to Minnesota brought the following to Dallas:
(1) 1992 1st round draft choice
(2) 5 players
(3) 6 conditional draft choices.
This sent Emmitt Smith, Russell Maryland (later went to the Raiders), and 8 players from the 1992 draft including Kevin Smith to Valley Ranch.
FEB. 1989
Jerry Jones buys the Cowboys, and brings in Jimmy Johnson to replace Tom Landry.
APR. 1989
Cowboys president and general manager Tex Schramm resigns.
1989
Troy Aikman is selected as the Cowboys #1 draft pick.
The next inductee to the Cowboys ring of honor is Lee Roy Jordan.
The Cowboys get their dismal season, 1-15, out of the way. However, the future is bright.
1990s
AUG. 1990
Tom Landry is inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
1990
NFC offensive rookie of the year is Cowboys runningback Emmitt Smith.
After an improving 7-9 season, Coach Jimmy Johnson is selected coach of the year.
SEPT. 1991
The Super Bowl champion Giants lose to Dallas, 21-16.
NOV. 1991
Dallas beats Washington, ending the Redskins 11 game winning streak.
DEC. 1991
Dallas, for the 1st time since 1985, goes to the playoffs.
1991
The Cowboys are back with an 11-5 season and 1 playoff victory.
The NFL rushing title goes to Emmitt Smith.
Michael Irvin leads the league in receiving yards.
Tex Schramm is inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
1992
The Cowboys, in the 1992 season, set a club record 13 victories for 1 season, with the win over the Bears, 27-14. That game was significant for Emmitt Smith. He completed the season with 1,713 yards, winning back to back NFL season rushing titles.
After a spectacular 13-3 season, the Cowboys win the Super Bowl again, thrashing Buffalo, 52-17.
The Cowboys set a road attendance record, averaging 75,523 fans a game.
NOVEMBER 24, 1992
Bob Lilly: Reflections [Paperback] Bob Lilly (Author), Sam Blair (Author)
JAN. 1993
Dallas wins the NFC championship game, 30-20, against the 49ers.
Dallas appears in a record 6 Super Bowls, and overpowers the Bills 52-17, in Super Bowl XXVII.
1993
Coach Landry is the next inductee into the Cowboys ring of honor.
Emmitt wins yet another rushing title, his 3rd in a row.
The Pro Bowl selects a record 11 Dallas Cowboys.
1994
New Dallas head coach Barry Switzer replaces Jimmy Johnson.
Going 12-4 into the playoffs, Dallas loses 38-28 to San Francisco in the NFC title game.
Again, Dallas sends 11 players to the Pro Bowl.
Randy White and Tony Dorsett are inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
OCTOBER 14, 1994
Emmitt Smith plays himself in the movie Little Giants.
1995
Cowboys finally gain their revenge on Pittsburgh with a win in a Super Bowl, 27-17.
Emmitt gains a 4th rushing title.
1996
Mel Renfro is the next Cowboy inductee into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
After a 10-6 season, the Cowboys gain their 5th straight NFC East title, win a Wild Card playoff game against Minnesota, then lose to the Carolina Panthers.
1997
The Cowboys go an awful 6-10, in coach Barry Switzer's last season.
1998
Head coach Chan Gailey replaces Switzer, goes 10-6, then loses in the 1st playoff round to Arizona.
The Cowboys are the only NFC East team to go undefeated against all the NFC East division teams. (1998 Season)
2000s
JAN. 2000
After Dallas loses miserably to Minnesota in the playoffs, Jerry Jones relieves Chan Gailey of his coaching duties. Gailey exits Valley Ranch with the distinction of being the only Dallas head coach that never won a Super Bowl. He is only the 4th head coach in Cowboys history.
Jerry Jones decides to hire a head coach from inside Valley Ranch, defensive coordinator, Dave Campo.
JANUARY 27, 2000
Chicken Soup for the Golden Soul: Heartwarming Stories for People 60 and Over (Chicken Soup for the Soul) [Paperback] Jack Canfield (Author), Mark Victor Hansen (Author), Paul J. Meyer (Author), Amy Seeger (Author), Barbara Russell Chesser (Author). In this book, Tom Landry wrote an article called "Greater Than a Super Bowl", about helping at-risk children at Happy Hill Farm.
FEBRUARY 12, 2000
Legendary Dallas coach Tom Landry (1924-2000) passes on at age 75 from complications of leukemia. Our respectful prayers go out to the Landry family. Coach Landry will be deeply missed but he's in a better place now.

Landry's great record with the Cowboys was 270-178-6. He had 2 Super Bowl titles and 5 NFC titles. He was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1990.

MARCH 2000
Thomas "Hollywood" Henderson, the former Dallas Cowboys player (1975-1979) who was in 3 Super Bowls, had the winning ticket to the $28 million lottery. The money he wins will go to his charities, his children and to his mother to get her a Town Car. He said he brought $100 worth of lottery tickets for that particular lottery that he won.
APRIL 8, 2000
Troy gets married.
JUNE 2000
Fullback Darryl "Moose" Johnston, age 34, retires, after 11 years with the Cowboys. In the 1989 draft, he was the 2nd pick of Dallas. He played in 149 consecutive games before his first injury. He had a 1997 operation for a neck problem.
JULY 2000
34 year old receiver Michael Irvin retires. During his career, he caught 750 passes for 11,904 yards. Both stats were 9th in league history when he made his final play, which was the October 10th, 1999 Philadelphia game. Irvin hit his head on the turf after being tackled and left the game in an ambulance. He was temporarily paralyzed with a herniated disc. He was extremely lucky not to have damaged his spine early on in his career, because examinations showed how fragile it was. The team won 3 Super Bowls during his tenure. He started in 1988 with the Cowboys. In 1996, he pleaded no contest to drug charges and successfully completed his probation.
A relative of a former Cowboys owner has died when his plane went down near the Athens, Texas airport. John Joseph Coffman, age 47, a Dallas real estate developer, was married to Barbara Murchison Coffman, daughter of the late John Murchison, who used to co-own the Dallas Cowboys with his brother Clint Murchison, Jr. His plane was a 1968 Cessna T210. Coffman was an experienced instrument rated private pilot.
DECEMBER 2000
Cowboys end the season badly, at 5-11.
JANUARY 2001
Troy and his wife are expecting their first child. Mrs. Aikman has a 10-year-old daughter, Rachel, from a previous marriage. Troy is undecided about his football future as is Jerry Jones. Aikman gets a $7 million bonus if he's still on the Cowboys roster March 8. Troy' s health is at issue with the numerous concussions that he has suffered through.
APRIL 2001
Dallas signs quarterback Tony Banks, age 27, apparently to replace Troy Aikman. Banks agreed to a 1 year $500,000 deal with Dallas. Banks was cut by the Baltimore Ravens March 1, just before he would have been due $2.8 million on a 4 year $18.6 million contract he signed in February 2000.
MAY 2001
"Bullet" Bob Hayes becomes the 11th inductee into the Cowboys Ring of Honor. Hayes is the only athlete to win a Super Bowl ring and an Olympic gold medal. Hayes won two gold medals in the 1964 Olympics and earned the title of "world's fastest human" after rallying the United States to a gold medal in the 400 meter relay. The Cowboys drafted him the next year. The "Bullet" had more than 7400 receiving yards while with the Cowboys from 1965-74.
SEPTEMBER 2001
Tony Dorsett will be the 2001 recipient of the Doak Walker Award. Dorsett will be the fourth player to receive the award. Gale Sayers was one of the other recipients. The 1998 award was created to honor former running backs who excelled at the collegiate level and showed themselves to be leaders. Dorsett played 12 years in the NFL, gained 12,379 yards and played in 2 Super Bowls.
OCTOBER 2001
The old Dallas-Fort Worth Turnpike was renamed the Tom Landry Highway. The highway signs have a picture of Landry's signature fedora. The Tom Landry section of the highway runs on Interstate 30 between Interstate 35E in Dallas and Interstate 35W in Fort Worth, which runs for 40 miles. Landry died when he was 75 after fighting leukemia for nine months. Landry coached the team from 1960-1988. During Landry's tenure the Dallas Cowboys had 270 victories, 5 Super Bowl appearances and 2 Super Bowl victories.
DECEMBER 24, 2001
The incredible Harvey Martin passed on the day before Christmas. He had pancreatic cancer and was 51 years old. He used to help the competition to their feet. But he had to change and fast since he was told if he didn't he wouldn't make the team. He responded quickly. The defensive end was drafted by Dallas from East Texas State University in 1973. Harvey became known for his rough style. Martin lead the team in sacks in 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1979, 1980 and 1982. The team record of 114 sacks belongs to Harvey. Harvey, Randy White and Too Tall Jones from the Doomsday Defense greatly helped Dallas beat Denver in the 1978 Super Bowl. Harvey did his best in 1977. His rushing style resulted in 85 assorted tackles, a club-record 20 sacks, two fumble recoveries in the NFC championship game, All-Pro and the Associated Press NFL defensive player of the year award, and the Super Bowl co-MVP award with White. Strange to say, Harvey is the first Super Bowl MVP to pass on. During one game the Texas Stadium screen said "Martinized!" after he trapped a quarterback. After football, Martin suffered with substance abuse and bankruptcy. He received probated sentences on cocaine and domestic violence charges. He spent 8 months in a treatment center. Later, he talked to kids about the dangers of drugs. COME ON JERRY, WHY IS HARVEY NOT IN THE RING OF HONOR?
MAY 2002
The Cowboys have decided that the Alamodome in San Antonio will be the location for their training camp. Camp runs from July 26-August 23. Climate-controlled practices inside the 72-degree Alamodome was a factor in the decision.
SEPTEMBER 2002
"Bullet" Bob Hayes, one of the best athletes of his generation, passed on at age 59 from kidney failure. Hayes also had prostate cancer. "The world's fastest human" won 2 Olympic gold medals. The inside of the casket was embossed with the Cowboys blue star.
OCTOBER 21, 2002
OCTOBER 22, 2002
Somebody at Valley Ranch really didn't like Sunday's game against the Cardinals. Dallas punter Micah Knorr was released. He bobbled a good snap and didn't give kicker Billy Cundiff a chance to get off an extra point. In a previous game, Micah failed to realize that a fake field goal had been called off and ruined the play.
DECEMBER 30, 2002
Jerry Jones announced Coach Dave Campo's firing at a news conference. "This change is more about a change in philosophy, not about what Dave didn't do," Jerry said. Another reason was to bring in a proven coach.

3 years ago Chan Gailey was fired. Then, Dave Campo, a lifelong assistant, was promoted from defensive coordinator. Dave was a defensive assistant for 2 years, then secondary coach, then defensive coordinator. Dallas won the Super Bowl in Dave's 1st year as defensive coordinator. The 1st Cowboys coach to leave with a losing record, Campo was 15-33. He is also the first never to make the playoffs or never to win the division. Besides Troy Aikman, Dave Campo had 7 starting quarterbacks in 3 seasons. Dave was the last assistant coach hired for Jimmy Johnson's 1989 staff. He was Jimmy's secondary coach at the University of Miami.

One of the negatives in Campo's tenure came against San Francisco. Giving a speech with vulgar language in the locker room, Jerry was ticked off that Campo tried a field goal on 4th and 1 from the 28 when a 1st down likely would have ended the game. The kick was missed and the 49ers went on to win. San Francisco overcame being down by 10 points in the last 7 minutes of the game.

JANUARY 2, 2003
The Cowboys new head coach is two-time Super Bowl champion Bill Parcells. He took the Giants, the Patriots and the Jets from losing records to the playoffs in 2 seasons. Dallas had the NFL's lowest scoring this season per game. The Cowboys have sold out 104 consecutive home games at Texas Stadium since 1990.
JANUARY 6, 2003
Bill Parcells hires Maurice Carthon as offensive coordinator. They worked together on the Patriots and the Jets. He also played for Parcells as a running back on the Giants 2 Super Bowl winning teams. He replaces Bruce Coslet, who was with Dallas for 1 season. Under Coslet, Dallas had the NFL's lowest scoring offense, averaging fewer than 14 points a game. The West Coast style offense didn't work for the Cowboys.
JANUARY 3, 2004
The Cowboys lose to the Panthers, 29-10, in the 2003 NFC Wild Card Game.
FEBRUARY 3, 2005

EMMITT SMITH retired after 15 years in the NFL

MAY 27, 2005
Former Cowboys receiver Michael Irvin plays the character of Deacon Moss in the movie "The Longest Yard".
SEPTEMBER 1, 2005
Landry's Boys: An Oral History of a Team and an Era [Hardcover] Peter Golenbock (Author)
SEPTEMBER 19, 2005
Michael Irvin, Troy Aikman and Emmitt Smith were inducted into the Ring of Honor during halftime on this Monday night game at Texas Stadium with the Redskins. They came to the Cowboys in that order. There are 17 Cowboys in the Ring of Honor.
NOVEMBER 14, 2005
On this day, Bill Parcells goes to his brother's funeral and also, the Monday night game with the Eagles. Was his mind on the game? If it was, it shouldn't have been.
NOVEMBER 20, 2005
In this game against the Lions, Cowboys kicker Billy Cundiff boots a 56 year field goal, the longest in team history. Cowboys beat the Lions, 20-7. Cundiff was just re-signed by the Cowboys on November 19, the day before this game.
DECEMBER 23, 2005
Cowboys cheerleader Lynlee Allen appears with a Marine in a picture on the front cover of USA Today. (from Camp Victory in Baghdad)
DECEMBER 26, 2005
Kicker Billy Cundiff is out and Shaun Suisham is in. Shaun was the Cowboys' kicker for two earlier games in this season. Billy beat out Tim Seder for the kicking job during 2002 training camp.
JULY 2, 2007
The 7-2-07 issue of "Sports Illustrated" has an article about Bob Lilly and his photography.
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Photographs of landscape and Dallas Cowboys from Hall of Famer Bob Lilly

Cliff Harris and Charlie Waters Website

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NFL: Greatest Games Series: Dallas Cowboys 10 Greatest Games - DVD by Warner's.

Houston Texans Link
Tony Romo : A Great NFL Player
Dallas Cowboys History last updated 12/25/11