The Dallas Cowboys was first known as the Dallas
Steers, then the Dallas Rangers before settling on
the name "Dallas Cowboys" for the 1960 season. The
new Dallas Cowboys owners, Murchison and Wynne, subsequently
hired Tex Schramm as general manager, Tom Landry as head coach,
and Gil Brandt as player personnel director. The Dallas Cowboys
began play in the Cotton Bowl in 1960 and finished winless in
their first season with a record of 0111(with a tie
vs the New York Giants). They made their first NFL draft selection
the following year, choosing Texas Christian University defensive
tackle Bob Lilly with the 13th pick in the draft.
During the early and mid 1960s, The Dallas Cowboys gradually
built a contender. Quarterback Don Meredith was acquired in 1960,
running back Don Perkins, linebacker Chuck Howley and Lilly were
added in 1961, linebacker Lee Roy Jordan in 1963, cornerback
Mel Renfro in 1964, and wide receiver Bob Hayes in 1965. In 1966
The Dallas Cowboys posted their first winning record and playoff
appearance (1031, beginning an NFL-record 20 consecutive
winning seasons), and sent eight players to the Pro Bowl, including
Hayes, Howley, Meredith, Perkins, Lilly and Renfro. The 1966
and 1967 seasons ended with dramatic losses of 3427 and
2117 respectively to the Green Bay Packers in the NFL Championship
Game, the latter loss referred to as the Ice Bowl game. The 1966
season would mark the start of an NFL-record-setting eight consecutive
postseason appearances (The Dallas Cowboys later broke their
own record with nine consecutive trips to the playoffs between
19751983).
The Dallas Cowboys established themselves in the Dallas community.
The team competed for the affections of Dallasites with Lamar
Hunt's Dallas Texans of the American Football League (AFL). Although
the AFL's Texans had a much better record than the NFL's Cowboys,
in 1963 Hunt moved the Texans to Kansas City, Missouri, where
they became the Chiefs. By 1969, ground was being broken on a
new stadium for The Dallas Cowboys to replace the Cotton Bowl.
Texas Stadium in Irving, a Dallas suburb, was completed during
the 1971 season.
Although Meredith and Perkins retired after the 1968 season,
important new players joined the organization during the late
1960s and early 1970s, including offensive tackle Rayfield Wright
in 1967, quarterback Roger Staubach, tight end Mike Ditka, and
running back Calvin Hill in 1969, and cornerback Herb Adderly,
and safeties Cliff Harris and Charlie Waters in 1970. Led by
quarterback Craig Morton, The Dallas Cowboys made it to their
first Super Bowl, a mistake-filled Super Bowl V, where they lost
16-13 to the Baltimore Colts on a field goal by Colts' kicker
Jim O'Brien with five seconds remaining in the contest. The Dallas
Cowboys moved from the Cotton Bowl to Texas Stadium in week six
of the 1971 season, won their last seven regular season games,
and advanced through the playoffs to defeat the upstart Miami
Dolphins, 24-3, in Super Bowl VI, which remains the only Super
Bowl in which a team held its opponent without a touchdown.
During the rest of the 1970s, The Dallas Cowboys grew in popularity,
not just in Dallas, but nationwide. The Dallas Cowboys also continued
to add new talent to their roster, including defensive ends Harvey
Martin and Ed "Too Tall" Jones, wide receiver Drew
Pearson, and defensive tackle Randy White and running back Tony
Dorsett. The fresh influx of talent helped The Dallas Cowboys
win Super Bowl XII and make appearances in Super Bowls X and
XIII. Dallas ended the 1970s as the winningest NFL team of the
decade. |