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Dallas Cowboys, professional football team and
one of five teams in the Eastern Division of the National Football
Conference (NFC) of the National Football League (NFL). The
Cowboys play at Texas Stadium in Irving, Texas, and wear uniforms
of blue, silver, and white. The team takes its name from the
state’s cattle ranching history, and the star on the players’
helmets is emblematic of Texas’s nickname, the Lone Star
State.
Tom Landry Dressed in a jacket, tie, and trademark hat, coach
Tom Landry was a familiar sight on the Dallas Cowboys sideline
from 1960 to 1988. During his 29-year career the Hall of Fame
strategist guided the Cowboys to five Super Bowl appearances
and compiled 270 career wins.SportsChrome-USA
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Dallas is one of the most successful franchises
in NFL history, having appeared in eight Super Bowls—more
than any other team. The Cowboys won five of these games, a
record matched only by the San Francisco 49ers. Tom Landry,
one of the most successful coaches in professional football
history, led the club to two Super Bowl victories during the
1970s, with teams starring safety Mel Renfro and quarterback
Roger Staubach. Under head coaches Jimmy Johnson and Barry Switzer,
the team won three Super Bowls during the 1990s, with lineups
featuring quarterback Troy Aikman and running back Emmitt Smith.
The Cowboys joined the NFL as an expansion team in 1960. During
its first season, the team failed to win a single game. In 1965,
under Landry, the Cowboys earned their first of nine consecutive
trips to the playoffs. Quarterback Don Meredith, receiver Bob
Hayes, and running back Dan Reeves propelled Dallas to consecutive
NFL Championship Games in 1966 and 1967. Both years, the Green
Bay Packers defeated the Cowboys and went on to win the Super
Bowl. (Before 1971, the NFL and American Football League champions
met in the Super Bowl after their respective league championships.)
Dallas reached Super Bowl V in 1971 after defeating the Houston
Oilers (now Tennessee Titans) and the Detroit Lions in the playoffs.
The NFL crown evaded the Cowboys, however, as they lost the
game on a last-minute field goal by the Baltimore Colts (now
Indianapolis Colts). The next year Roger Staubach took over
as quarterback and led the league in passing; he was named the
1972 NFC player of the year. The Dallas defensive lineup that
year was called the Doomsday Defense because of the way it overwhelmed
Dallas’s opponents. Outstanding players included linebackers
Chuck Howley and Lee Roy Jordan, end Bob Lilly, and safety Mel
Renfro. The franchise won its first Super Bowl that year, besting
the Miami Dolphins 24-3.
Under Landry the Cowboys became the NFC’s most consistent
team of the 1970s and early 1980s. Landry’s highly sophisticated
game plans produced one of the NFC’s most potent offenses,
and the team made three more trips to the NFL title game. The
Cowboys lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1976, defeated the
Denver Broncos in 1978, and lost to the Steelers in 1979 in
one of the most thrilling Super Bowls ever played. Pittsburgh’s
quarterback Terry Bradshaw had passed for four touchdowns and
the Steelers led the game 35-17 with 6 minutes 51 seconds left
to play. But Staubach then passed for a quick touchdown, and
the Cowboys recovered an onside kick that led to another Dallas
score. A second onside kick attempt failed, however, and Pittsburgh
won the game, 35-31.
Dallas’s many standouts during this period included several
future Hall of Fame members, including running back Tony Dorsett
and wide receivers Tony Hill and Drew Pearson. On defense, end
Ed “Too Tall” Jones and tackle Randy White, also
a future Hall of Famer, were two of the era’s most feared
pass-rushers.
Dallas entered a rebuilding phase in the late 1980s, and after
three consecutive losing seasons, Landry retired in 1989. During
his career at Dallas, Landry made 19 postseason appearances
in 29 seasons. With 270 career wins he ranks behind only Don
Shula (347) and George Halas (324) on the NFL career list.
Landry’s replacement was former University of Miami head
coach Jimmy Johnson. After two losing seasons he guided Dallas
back to the postseason in 1991. Johnson earned coach of the
year honors in 1990 for his rebuilding success. His Dallas teams
featured quarterback Troy Aikman, wide receiver Michael Irvin,
tight end Jay Novacek, and running back Emmitt Smith. In 1993
Smith became only the fourth player to win three consecutive
NFL rushing titles, joining Jim Brown, Earl Campbell, and Steve
Van Buren. Dallas captured back-to-back Super Bowls in 1993
and 1994, routing the Buffalo Bills in both games.
After a disagreement with team owner Jerry Jones, Johnson left
the Cowboys. Former University of Oklahoma head coach Barry
Switzer then headed the team from 1994 to 1997. Switzer guided
the franchise to a fifth Super Bowl success with a victory over
the Steelers in 1996, and the Cowboys became the first team
to win three Super Bowls in four seasons. However, in the late
1990s the Cowboys struggled and had little postseason success.
1971 V Lost to Baltimore Colts, 16-13
1972 VI Defeated Miami Dolphins, 24-3
1976 X Lost to Pittsburgh Steelers, 21-17
1978 XII Defeated Denver Broncos, 27-10
1979 XIII Lost to Pittsburgh Steelers, 35-31
1993 XXVII Defeated Buffalo Bills, 52-17
1994 XXVIII Defeated Buffalo Bills, 30-13
1996 XXX Defeated Pittsburgh Steelers, 27-17
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