Legends Of The Dallas Cowboys

It was January 28, 1960, and Clint Murchison and Bedford Wynne were standing at the NFL meetings in Miami Beach, Florida, awaiting the word. When other owners emerged from a room and told Murchison and Wynne that they were now the newest owners of an NFL franchise, no one expected the announcement would help turn the NFL into America’s newest pastime and the new expansion team, the Dallas Cowboys, into America’s Team. Five Super Bowl titles, seven Hall of Famers, and a litany of legendary players, characters, and games later, the Dallas Cowboys franchise has cemented itself among the most successful in all of sports and, with a fan base that extends all over the world, among the most well known. Legends of the Dallas Cowboys takes an in-depth look at 15 of the legends that have shaped the Cowboys’ identity, beginning with Tom Landry, the man who was hired before Murchison had been awarded a team and who is still the franchise’s enduring image. Also included is Tex Schramm, under whom the Cowboys had 20 straight winning seasons and who is considered the most forward-thinking NFL executive ever. Contributing to all the winning was a legacy of great quarterbacks: Don Meredith, the original Cowboys quarterback; Roger Staubach, who brought the team its first Super Bowl title; and Troy Aikman, who returned the team to greatness in the 1990s with three Super Bowl wins. Runners such as Emmitt Smith, the all-time rushing king, and Tony Dorsett, number five on that list, carried the Cowboys to victory. Legends of the Dallas Cowboys profiles Randy White and Ed "Too Tall" Jones from the famed "Doomsday Defense," as well as their predecessors, Bob Lilly, Lee Roy Jordan, and Mel Renfro. Also included are innovators like Bob Hayes, who forced the creation of the zone defense, and Michael Irvin and Thomas "Hollywood" Henderson, who forced the creation of behavioral clauses in contracts. Each of the legends played their own unique role in shaping the lore of one of sports’ greatest franchises, a franchise that began humbly on a winter day in Miami and is now a model of success.