A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE DALLAS COWBOYS

For a franchise that became known as "America's Team," the Dallas Cowboys had rather humble beginnings.

The NFL granted a franchise to Clint Murchison, Jr., and Bedford Wynne on January 28,1960. The Cowboys, at first they were going to be called the Rangers-were the league's thirteenth franchise. Texas native Tom Landry, who had been a player and assistant coach with the New York Giants, was named head coach.

The Cowboys, admitted too late to take part in the 1960 college draft, initially were built through an expansion draft of players from other teams. Few quality players showed up in Dallas by this route. Dallas did, however, sign SMU All-America quarterback Don Meredith and obtained New Mexico fullback Don Perkins in a trade with the Colts.

Tex Schramm, a former Rams and television executive, was the team's first general manager. Gil Brandt, a successful photographer from Wisconsin, ran the scouting department in the early years. He logged thousands of miles evaluating and signing undrafted free agents.

When the Cowboys opened the 1960 NFL season, Landry used a unique system at quarterback. He alternated Meredith, a rookie, and veteran Eddie LeBaron on successive plays. Each took the field with the play that Landry wanted to run. The Cowboys lost their first 10 games. The highlight of the year was Landrys' return to New York, where the Cowboys tied his old team 31-31. Dallas finished its inaugural year with an 0- 11 - 1 record.

The Cowboys improved slightly in 1961. Perkins, who missed his rookie season with a foot injury, wished for 815 yards. Defensive tackle Bob Lilly, who eventually would be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, was the team's first draft pick. The Cowboys finished 4-9-1, winning their first two games over Pittsburgh and the expansion Minnesota Vikings. Frank Clarke led the team in scoring with 9 touchdown catches, and linebacker Chuck Howley was obtained in a trade with the Bears. To show that Landry was the coach for the long hard, in 1964 Dallas extended his original contract, which had a year remaining, by 10 years. The next year, and succeeding years, proved the wisdom of stability at the top of the organization. The Cowboys went 7-7 and finished second in the Eastern Conference in 1965.

From 1966-1985, the Cowboys posted 20 consecutive winning records. During that span, Dallas won 13 division championships and appeared in Super Bowls V, VI, X, XII and XIII, winning VI and XII.

By serving as hosts of a televised Thanksgiving Day game each year, beginning in 1966, the Cowboys increased the nation's awareness of their team, Landry's exciting, multiple-formation offense was the NFL's best show. The Doomsday Defense took shape as Lilly, George Andrie, Jethro Pugh, Lee Roy Jordan, Howley, Mel Renfro, and Cornell Green matured, Safeties Charlie Waters and Cliff Harris, both fearless hitters, came along in 1970.

Craig Morton led the Cowboys to their first Super Bowl, but after that it was Roger Staubach's team. Calvin Hill, Duane Thomas, and Walt Garrison were the team's top runners, and Drew Pearson and Tony Hill were young receivers who came to prominence.

The Cowboys reached Super Bowl V after the 1970 season, only to lose a mistake-laden game 16-13 to the Colts as time expired. Howley was chosen the game's most valuable player despite playing for the losing side. The team returned to win Super Bowl VI over the Miami Dolphins 24-3. Staubach, who had led the NFL in passing, threw 2 touchdown passes and was named the game's MVP.

After making the playoffs for eight consecutive years, the Cowboys missed in 1974. In 1975, a dozen draft choices made the team and had a dramatic impact on the Cowboys' fortunes. Randy White, Thomas (Hollywood) Henderson, Bob Breunig, Button Lawless, and Herb Scott were the most notable of the rookies who helped propel Dallas to Super Bowl X, where the Cowboys were beaten 21-17 by Pittsburgh.

After the 1977 season. the team earned its second Super Bowl victory by stopping the Denver Broncos 27-10 in XII Defensive linemen Harvey Martin and White were named co-MVPs.

The Cowboys posted their thirteenth consecutive winning season in 1978. They shut out the Rams 28-0 for the NFC title but could not repeat as champions, losing to Pittsburgh 35-31 in Super Bowl XIII.

Staubach retired after the 1979 season, From 1980-88, Dallas enjoyed moderate success, but was not the dominant team that it was in the 1970s.

H.R. (Bum) Bright bought the team from Murchison in 1984 and in turn sold it to Jerry Jones on February 25, 1989. Jones replaced the legendary Landry with Jimmy Johnson, who had guided the University of Mimi to the national title in 1987.

With the first overall draft pick in 1989, the Cowboys took quarterback Troy Aikman. Once the season got underway, they traded Herschel Walker, who gained 1,514 yards for Dallas in 1988, to Minnesota. The Cowboys acquired five veteran players and eight draft choices, The Cowboys finished the season 1-15, but those acquisitions proved to be the foundation for Dallas's brilliant 1992 season, which ended with a 52-17 victory over Buffalo in Super Bowl XXVII In Super Bowl XXVIII, the Cowboys again defeated Buffalo 30-13 behind MVP Emmitt Smith.

Jones and Johnson parted ways before the 1994 season and former Oklahoma head coach Barry Switzer was hired to replace Johnson.

In 1994, Switzer led Dallas to a 12-4 mark, But in the NFC title game against San Francisco, the Cowboys quickly found themselves in a deep hole as a result of turnovers. They couldn't overcome a 21-0 first-period deficit and lost 38-28.

In 1995, the Cowboys seemed in disarray, but, at the very end of the season and through the playoffs, they were running like a well-oiled machine. Smith won his fourth rushing crown and set a league record with 25 touchdowns. For half of Super Bowl XXX, they continued to run smoothly. The Steelers made a game of it late, but Larry Brown's 2 second-half interceptions clinched a 27-17 victory and gave Dallas its third Super Bowl title in four years.

The next two years brought a sharp decline for the Cowboys. Free agency, injuries and the salary cap began to take their toll on Americas Team. A divisional playoff loss to the expansion Panthers in '96 followed by a 6-10 record in '97 called for the firing of Switzer and the hiring of former Steelers offensive coordinator Chan Gailey.

Gailey, who assumed the role of head coach and offensive coordinator in 1998, brought with him a new offensive philosophy which Jones hoped would put Dallas back on top. He almost did, leading the Cowboys to another Division title and a sweep of the NFC East, something that had never been done before. His first season came to an abrupt halt though with a first round playoff loss to the Cardinals. '99 dealt Gailey's Cowboys some hard blows. The loss of perennial standouts Michael Irvin and Daryl Johnston to career ending injuries, and another first round playoff loss to Minnesota. Chan Gaily was shown the door.

       In 2000, Jerry Jones promoted the Cowboys defensive coordinator Dave Campo to be his next head coach. He had his work cut out for him. Several bad drafts, coupled with the release of future Hall of Fame quarterback Troy Aikman had depleted the level of talent that Dallas had gotten used to. Campo found himself in the unenviable position of rebuilding Americas Team. But his failure to find a consistent starting quarterback to lead the team condemned the Cowboys to three consecutive 5-11 seasons. He was swiftly run out of town in 2003 in favor of a proven head coach, Bill Parcells.

         Over the next four years Parcells managed to rebuild the Dallas Cowboys through free agency and the draft, install a highly effective 3-4 defense and make two playoff appearances. The quarterback situation remained a problem though. Several candidates were brought in from aging veterans to former baseball players. But the future of the franchise may have been found in an undrafted longshot, Tony Romo.