Information AboutDallas Cowboys |
The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American Football team based in the Dallas, Texas Metropolitan Area , and play their home games in the suburb of Irving . They are currently members of the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference (NFC) in the National Football League (NFL). The Cowboys joined the NFL as a 1960 Expansion Team . The team is sometimes referred to colloquially as '' America's Team '' due to its having a large fanbase that lives outside its immediate local area (the term itself is derived from the title of the team's 1979 NFL Films Highlight Film ). The Cowboys are one of the most successful teams in the history of the NFL, holding the league records for most consecutive winning seasons (20, from 1966 to 1985) and most seasons with at least 10 wins (24). The team has earned the most postseason appearances (27, as of 2004, which includes another league record of 54 postseason games, winning 32 of them) and the most Super Bowl appearances (8). The Cowboys became the first team in NFL history to win 3 Super Bowls in just 4 years (a feat that has been matched only once since, by the New England Patriots ), and are tied with the San Francisco 49ers and the Pittsburgh Steelers for having the most Super Bowl wins (5). FRANCHISE HISTORY 1960s Originally, the formation of an NFL expansion team in Texas was met with strong opposition by Washington Redskins owner, George Preston Marshall . Despite being located in the nation's capital, Marshall's Redskins had enjoyed a monopoly as the only NFL team to represent the Southern States of the US for several decades, so a new team in Texas was unwanted competition. This came as little surprise to would-be team owners, Clint Murchison, Jr. and Bedford Wynne , so to ensure the birth of their expansion team, the men bought the rights to the Redskins fight song, " Hail To The Redskins " and threatened to refuse to allow Marshall to play the song at games. Needing the song, which had become a staple for his "professional football team of Dixie", Marshall changed his mind, and the city of Dallas, Texas , was granted an NFL franchise on January 28 , 1960 . This early confrontation between the two franchises no doubt triggered what would become one of the more Significant Rivalries In The NFL , which continues even to this day. The new Dallas owners, Murchison and Wynne, immediately hired Tex Schramm to be the general manager and Tom Landry to be the head coach. In the Cowboys' first season, they finished winless with a 0-11-1 record. The following year, the Cowboys made their first NFL draft selection, selecting Bob Lilly with the 13th pick in the draft. The year 1961 also saw the Cowboys' first victory, a 27-24 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers on September 17 . During the 1960s, the Cowboys continued to improve their team. , Chuck Howley , "Dandy" Don Meredith, Don Perkins, and future Pro Football Hall of Famers, Bob Lilly and Mel Renfro . Similarly, the Cowboys were becoming an important part of the people of Dallas. For their first years, the Cowboys were always playing second fiddle to Lamar Hunt 's Dallas Texans of the AFL because the Texans were the more established team and had the better record. But in 1963 when the Texans moved to Kansas City and became the Kansas City Chiefs , the Cowboys became the only professional football draw in town. By 1969, ground was being broken on a new stadium for the Cowboys to replace the Cotton Bowl . Texas Stadium in Irving , a Dallas County suburb, would be completed for the 1971 season. Since they didn't leave Dallas County, there were no moves to change the name of the team. In 1967, the Cowboys finished with a 9-5 record and had their first playoff victory: a 52-14 affair over the Cleveland Browns . They went on to face the Green Bay Packers in the NFL Championship game. The game, which happened on December 31 , 1967 at Lambeau Field in Green Bay , turned out to be one of the coldest NFL games on record (about -13° F with a -40° Wind Chill ). The Cowboys lost 21-17 on a one-yard Quarterback Sneak by Packers quarterback Bart Starr . The game would later come to be known as the " Ice Bowl ." 1970s In the 1970s, the NFL underwent many changes as it absorbed the AFL and became a unified league, but the Cowboys also underwent many changes. Meredith and Perkins retired in 1969 and many new players were joining the organization, like Cliff Harris , Lee Roy Jordan , Rayfield Wright , Dan Reeves , plus Pro Football Hall of Famers Mike Ditka and Roger Staubach . Led by quarterback Craig Morton , the Cowboys made it to their first Super Bowl , a mistake-filled Super Bowl V , where they lost 16-13 to the Baltimore Colts courtesy of a Field Goal by Colts' kicker Jim O'Brien as time expired. However, the disappointing Super Bowl loss was made up for the next year when the Cowboys, led by Staubach, won their first NFL Championship in 1971, Super Bowl VI , a 24-3 victory over the Miami Dolphins . The Cowboys were now beginning to grow in popularity not just in Dallas, but nationwide. Their televised appearances on Thanksgiving Day games beginning in 1966 helped bring the Cowboys to a nationwide audience. Under Tom Landry, the so-called "Doomsday Defense" became a powerful and dominating force in the NFL and their offense was also exciting to watch. The Cowboys faltered slightly in 1974, missing the playoffs for the first time in eight years. However, the Cowboys drafted well following the season, adding new legends like Randy White and Thomas "Hollywood" Henderson . The fresh influx of talent helped the Cowboys to Super Bowl X , where they lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers , 21-17. But the Cowboys would again taste Super Bowl victory, defeating the Denver Broncos 27-10 in Super Bowl XII . Bob Ryan, an NFL films editor, would dub the Cowboys "America's Team" following this season, a nickname that has earned derision from non-Cowboys fans but has stuck through both good times and bad. The glory days of the Cowboys in the 1970s were coming to an end. They would reach one final Super Bowl, Super Bowl XIII , losing once again at the hands of the Pittsburgh Steelers, 35-31, despite a last-minute effort by Staubach which failed. Roger Staubach retired following the 1979 season (replaced by punter Danny White , who did double-duty as quarterback and punter for a few years) and the Cowboys' stardom seemed to fade in the NFL. 1980s While the Cowboys would return to the playoffs 5 times and win 2 Division Championships, the team failed to claim a single Conference Championship in the 80's and would not return to the Super Bowl during that decade. In the 1981 NFC Championship Game , the Cowboys lost to the San Francisco 49ers on a Touchdown pass from Joe Montana to Dwight Clark in the final minute of play. Clark's famous leap in the end zone would come to be known as "The Catch" and represented a changing of the guard in the NFC from the dominant Cowboys teams of the 1970s to the dominant 49ers teams of the 1980s. In 1984, on February 25 , 1989 . Jones promptly fired Tom Landry, the only coach the Cowboys had ever known, and replaced him with University Of Miami head coach, Jimmy Johnson . With the first pick in the draft, the Cowboys selected quarterback Troy Aikman and traded away veteran running back Herschel Walker to the Minnesota Vikings for five veteran players and eight draft choices. The Cowboys finished the 1989 season with a 1-15 record, the worst record since the team's inception, but the foundations for the Cowboys' return to glory had been set. 1990s In 1990, the Cowboys drafted running back Emmitt Smith and the trifecta of Aikman, Smith and Wide Receiver Michael Irvin was now set. The Cowboys finished 7-9, but Smith was named NFC Offensive Rookie of the Year and Jimmy Johnson was selected as Coach of the Year. By 1991, the Cowboys finished with an 11-5 record, making the playoffs for the first time in six years. In 1992, the Cowboys finished 13-3 (second best in the league) and exacted their revenge on the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Championship Game, 30-20. The Cowboys went on to defeat the , Daryl Johnston , Russell Maryland , Nate Newton , Ken Norton Jr , Jay Novacek , Mark Stepnoski and Erik Williams . However, Jimmy Johnson and Jerry Jones had a falling out, so Johnson left the organization prior to the 1994 season. Jones hired former University Of Oklahoma head coach Barry Switzer to be the team's new head coach. The Cowboys would finish 12-4, but lost in the NFC Championship game to the 49ers, 38-28. However, another 12-4 season in 1995 would earn the Cowboys a fourth straight Division Championship (17th total) and send the Cowboys to the playoffs once more where they claimed their 8th NFC Championship title by defeating the Green Bay Packers, 38-27. The Cowboys eventually defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers 27-17 in Super Bowl XXX , getting revenge against the Steelers for the two four-point losses in Super Bowl X and Super Bowl XIII . Their fanbase "Cowboys Country" expanded into Houston, Texas after the Houston Oilers moved to Tennessee in 1997 . However, the glory days of the Cowboys were again beginning to dim as Free Agency and injuries began taking their toll. The Cowboys went 6-10 in 1997, with discipline and off-field problems becoming major distractions, and in January of 1998, Switzer resigned. Former Steelers offensive coordinator Chan Gailey was hired to take over head coaching duties. Gailey led the team to a 10-6 record in 1998, but was let go after an 8-8 season in 1999. 2000s to present Defensive coordinator Dave Campo was promoted to head coach, but he could only post three consecutive 5-11 seasons, with his fate likely being sealed by an opening day loss in 2002 to the expansion Houston Texans . Many fans and media were beginning to blame Jerry Jones for the team's ills, noting that he refused to hire a strong coach, preferring to hire coaches who didn't want to be involved with personnel duties so that Jones himself could manage them. However, Jones proved them wrong in 2003 by luring Bill Parcells out of retirement to coach the Cowboys. The Cowboys became the surprise team of the 2003 season, posting a 10-6 record and a Playoff berth with the best overall defense in the NFL. However, the 2004 season was one of turmoil. Injuries and persistent penalty problems hobbled the Cowboys, but a preseason quarterback controversy also caused trouble when Quincy Carter was suddenly terminated for drug use in favor of 40-year-old veteran Vinny Testaverde , brought to the Cowboys from the New York Jets by his former coach in the off-season. The Cowboys started strong, with victories against the Cleveland Browns and Washington Redskins , but quickly fell off to a 3-5 record by midseason, finishing the season 6-10. In November of 2004, a vote was passed by the City of Arlington in Tarrant County to build a new stadium adjacent to the existing Ameriquest Field In Arlington . The deadline for either the City of Arlington or the Dallas Cowboys to back out of the deal for the new stadium has passed. The team will begin playing at the new site in 2009 after thirty-eight years playing in the City of Irving, and forty-nine years in the entire Dallas County. The Cowboys improved their defense before the 2005-2006 season with the additions of first round draft picks Demarcus Ware and Marcus Spears . Parcells drafted these two in the hopes of jumpstarting the team's transition from the traditional 4-3 defense to a 3-4 defense, which he believes favors the talents (speed and athleticism over power) of the current lineup. Jerry Jones also added a number of savvy veteran players, acquiring Nose Tackle Jason Ferguson and Cornerback Anthony Henry via free agency, and Linebacker Scott Fujita via the Kansas City Chiefs . On offense, the Cowboys felt the need to upgrade their passing game to complement their top 2004 draft pick, running back Julius Jones , acquiring both Quarterback Drew Bledsoe and Wide Receiver Peerless Price via free agency. Bledsoe had a solid year and gave the Cowboys stability at the QB position, but Price battled injuries and a lack of playing time, and Price was released at the end of the 2005 season. The Cowboys finished an up-and-down 2005 season with a 9-7 record, and in 3rd place in the NFC East. During his tenure, Parcells has made a point of signing players that have played for him in the past, including Bledsoe and Wide Receiver Terry Glenn (both with the Patriots); Cornerback Aaron Glenn , Wide Receiver Keyshawn Johnson and Fullback Richie Anderson (all with the Jets; Johnson and Anderson are no longer with the Cowboys). During the 2006 offseason, the team signed kicker Mike Vanderjagt and highly controversial wide receiver Terrell Owens , who has developed a reputation for causing conflicts with teammates, coaches, opposing players, and fans. LOGO AND UNIFORMS When the Cowboys debuted in 1960, the team's logo was a simple blue star. The team wore blue jerseys with white sleeves and small stars on their shoulders. They also wore white helmets with the blue star logo. Dallas started to use their current logo and uniform design in 1964. The star logo was modified to include a white border/pinstripe. Although the 1964-present uniform design has undergone a series of minor changes through the years, it basically consists of silver helmets, silver pants, and either white jerseys or blue jerseys. The white jerseys have royal blue numbers, lettering, and two stripes on the sleeves. The dark jerseys feature a navy blue (similar to that of the star logo) with white numbers and lettering. The team wears pearlish silver-colored pants with the blue jerseys. On the other hand, metallic silver-blue-green-colored pants are worn with the white jerseys to further bring out the royal blue numbers and stripes. Other than the 1965 season when there were three blue stripes on the sleeves, or the 1996 addition of the logo mark (the word "Cowboys") in the center of the neckline, the white jerseys have roughly remained the same since 1964. The blue jerseys have also received minor modifications. The numbers on the blue jerseys were changed from white to silver with white borders in 1981. Then in 1996, the Cowboys star logo was added to the sleeves as well as a white/gray/white stripe on the V-neck collar. The numbers also became all white with a navy pinstripe border, and the "Cowboys" logo mark was placed on the neckline. Because of the combination of the Cowboys star logo and the stripes on the sleeves, the 1996 version became known as either the "Stars and Stripes" or "Stars and Bars" jersey. During the 1976 season, the team honored the United States Bicentennial by having the centerstripes down their helmets be red, white, and blue instead of their traditional blue, white, and blue stripe pattern. In 1994, the Cowboys unveiled a white alternate jersey entitled the "Double-Star" jersey that featured two giant stars on each of its shoulders to celebrate their consecutive Super Bowl championships during the two previous seasons. This jersey featured a white torso with royal blue sleeves, stars, and numbers. The team first wore the Double-Star jerseys during their Thanksgiving game verses the Green Bay Packers . They later wore them during a '' Monday Night Football '' game against the New Orleans Saints and throughout the playoffs. At the time, the NFL only allowed each team to wear two jerseys during the season, a white and a dark, colored one. Therefore, for the following 1995 season the Cowboys reverted back to their traditional white jerseys, but wore navy versions of the Double-Star jerseys instead of their normal blue jerseys. The navy Double-Star jerseys were later worn for their Thanksgiving games against the Denver Broncos in 2001, the Washington Redskins in 2002, and the Miami Dolphins in 2003. In the 2004 season, the Cowboys revived their 1962 Throwback Uniform s featuring white helmets and pants for their Thanksgiving showdown against the Chicago Bears . The 1962 uniforms became the team's alternate jersey in 2005, as they wore them during a September 19th Monday night game against the Washington Redskins as well as another Thanksgiving game against the Denver Broncos . The Cowboys were the first NFL team to primarily wear their white jerseys at home, as oppose to most other teams who wear their colored jerseys at home. This tradition started in the 1960s by then-general manager and the Washington Redskins , have followed the tradition of wearing their white jerseys at home. Throughout the years, the team's blue jerseys have been popularly viewed to be " Jinx ed" due to the coincidence that they always seem to lose when they wore them. The Cowboys have lost the following playoff games when wearing their dark jerseys:
SEASON-BY-SEASON RECORDS
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