The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team in the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference (NFC) in the National Football League (NFL). They are based in the Dallas suburb of Irving, Texas. The team currently plays their home games at Texas Stadium in Irving, but they are scheduled to move to a new stadium in nearby Arlington in 2009. The Cowboys joined the NFL as a 1960 expansion team. The team's national following might best be represented by its NFL record of consecutive games in front of sold out stadiums. The Cowboys' streak of 160 sold-out regular and post-season games began in 1990, and included 79 straight sellouts at their home, Texas Stadium, and 81 straight sell-outs on the road.
An article on Forbes Magazine's website, published September 13, 2007, lists the Cowboys as the most valuable football franchise in the world, with an estimated value of approximately $1.5 billion, ahead of the Washington Redskins ($1.467 billion) and the New England Patriots ($1.199 billion). They are also one of the wealthiest teams in the NFL, generating almost $250 million in annual revenue.
The Cowboys are the most successful team of the modern era (since 1960). They have won 5 Super Bowls and 8 Conference Championships. The Cowboys have more victories (40) on Monday Night Football than any other NFL team; the Miami Dolphins are 2nd with 39 and the San Francisco 49ers are 3rd with 38. They hold NFL records for the 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 (28, which includes another league record of 55 postseason games, winning 32 of them), the most appearances in the NFC Championship Game (14), and the most Super Bowl appearances (8), two more than any other NFL team. The Cowboys also played in 2 NFL championship games before the NFL's 1970 merger with the American Football League. 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). They are also tied with the San Francisco 49ers and the Pittsburgh Steelers for having the most Super Bowl wins (5). The Cowboys' success and popularity has earned them the nickname "America's Team".
Originally, the formation of an NFL expansion team in Texas was met with strong opposition by Washington Redskins owner George Preston Marshall. This was no surprise, for Marshall's Redskins had enjoyed a monopoly as the only NFL team to represent the Southern States of the US for several decades. This came as little surprise to the would-be Dallas team owners, Clint Murchison, Jr. and Bedford Wynne. 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 was 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 to this day.
The team was first known as the Dallas Steers, then the Dallas Rangers before settling on the name "Cowboys" for the 1960 season. The new Dallas owners, Murchison and Wynne, subsequently hired Tex Schramm as general manager, Tom Landry as head coach, and Gil Brandt as player personnel director. The Cowboys began play in the Cotton Bowl in 1960 and finished winless in their first season with a record of 0-11-1(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 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 Cowboys posted their first winning record and playoff appearance (10-3-1, beginning an NFL-record 20 consecutive winning seasons), and sent eight players to the Pro Bowl, including Hayes, Howley, Meredith, Perkins, and future Pro Football Hall of Fame members Lilly and Renfro. The 1966 and 1967 seasons ended with dramatic losses of 34-27 and 21-17 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 Cowboys later broke their own record with nine consecutive trips to the playoffs between 1975-1983).
The 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 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 (and future Hall of Famer) 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 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 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 Cowboys grew in popularity, not just in Dallas, but nationwide. The 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 two future Hall of Famers, defensive tackle Randy White and running back Tony Dorsett. The fresh influx of talent helped the 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.
Danny White became the Cowboys' starting quarterback in 1980 after the future Hall of Fame quarterback Roger Staubach retired. White led the Cowboys to the playoffs five times and won two Division Championships. However, despite playing in the NFC Championship Game three consecutive years (1980-1982), the Cowboys did not reach the Super Bowl during the 1980s. In 1984, H.R. "Bum" Bright purchased the Dallas Cowboys from Murchison. As the Cowboys suffered through progressively poorer seasons (from 10-6 in 1985 to 7-9 in 1986, 7-8 in 1987, and 3-13 in 1988), Bright became disenchanted with the team. During an embarrassing home loss to Atlanta in 1987, Bright told the media that he was "horrified" at Landry's play calling. Bright sold the Cowboys to Jerry Jones on February 25, 1989.
Jones immediately fired Tom Landry, the only head coach in franchise history and a future Hall of Famer, replacing him with University of Miami head coach Jimmy Johnson. With the first pick in the draft, the Cowboys selected UCLA future Hall of Fame quarterback Troy Aikman. Later that same year, they would trade veteran running back Herschel Walker to the Minnesota Vikings for five veteran players and eight draft choices. Although the Cowboys finished the 1989 season with a 1-15 record, the worst record since the team's inception, the trade later allowed Dallas to draft a number of impact players to rebuild the team.
Johnson quickly returned the Cowboys to the NFL's elite. Skillful drafts added fullback Daryl Johnston and center Mark Stepnoski in 1989, running back Emmitt Smith in 1990, defensive tackle Russell Maryland and offensive tackle Erik Williams in 1991, and safety Darren Woodson in 1992. The young talent joined holdovers from the Landry era such as wide receiver Michael Irvin, guard Nate Newton, linebacker Ken Norton Jr., and offensive lineman Mark Tuinei, and veteran pickups such as tight end Jay Novacek and defensive end Charles Haley. In 1992 Dallas set a team record for regular season wins with a 13-3 mark. In January 1993, only three years after their 1-15 season, the Cowboys earned their first Super Bowl trip in 14 seasons. Dallas crushed the Buffalo Bills 52-17 in Super Bowl XXVII, during which they forced a record nine turnovers. Johnson became the first coach to claim a National Championship in college football and a Super Bowl victory in professional football. The following season, they again defeated the Buffalo Bills in Super Bowl XXVIII, 30-13. The Cowboys sent a then-NFL record 11 players to the Pro Bowl in 1993: Aikman, safety Thomas Everett, Irvin, Johnston, Maryland, Newton, Norton, Novacek, Smith, Stepnoski, and Williams.
Only weeks after Super Bowl XXVIII, however, friction between Johnson and Jones culminated in Johnson stunning the football world by announcing his resignation. Jones then hired former University of Oklahoma head coach Barry Switzer to replace Johnson. The Cowboys finished 12-4 in 1994, but missed the Super Bowl by losing to the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Championship Game, 38-28. In 1995, Jones lured All-Pro cornerback Deion Sanders away from San Francisco, and Dallas once again posted a 12-4 regular season record. The Cowboys defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers 27-17 at Sun Devil Stadium in Super Bowl XXX for their fifth world championship. Switzer joined Johnson as the only coaches to win a college football National Championship and a Super Bowl.
Yet the glory days of the Cowboys were again beginning to dim as free agency, age and injuries began taking their toll. The Cowboys went 6-10 in 1997, with discipline and off-field problems becoming major distractions. As a result, Switzer resigned as head coach in January 1998 and former Steelers offensive coordinator Chan Gailey was hired to take his place. Gailey led the team to a 10-6 record in 1998 and an NFC East championship, but was let go after an 8-8 playoff season in 1999, becoming the first Cowboys coach who did not win a Super Bowl. Nonetheless, the Cowboys posted more wins in the 1990s than any other NFL team.
Defensive coordinator Dave Campo was promoted to head coach, but he could only post three consecutive 5-11 seasons. 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 did not want to be involved with personnel duties so that Jones himself could manage them. Jones then lured 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 by having the best overall defense in the NFL. However, during the next two seasons, the Parcells-led Cowboys missed the playoffs. The Cowboys then finished an up-and-down 2006 season with a 9-7 record and a playoff appearance, but after a last second loss in the Wild Card Game against the Seattle Seahawks, Parcells retired and was succeeded by Wade Phillips. In his first season as head coach, Phillips and his coaching staff led the franchise to its best seasonal start ever and its 16th NFC East championship title, the most of any team in that division. (Washington and Philadelphia are tied for second with seven championships each.) The Cowboys were eliminated by the Giants in the divisional round of the playoffs, the first NFC #1 seed to do so since the 1990 playoff re-alignment.
The Dallas Cowboys' white home jersey has royal blue (PMS 661) solid socks, numbers, lettering, and two stripes on the sleeves outlined in black. The home pants, according to the Dallas Cowboys official media guide, are a unique metallic silver-green color (PMS 8280) that help bring out the blue in the uniform. The navy (PMS 282) road jerseys (nicknamed the "Stars and Stripes" jersey) have white lettering and numbers with navy pinstripes. A white/gray/white stripe are on each sleeve as well as the collared V-neck and Cowboys star logo was placed upon the stripes. A "Cowboys" chest crest was placed directly under the NFL shield. The away pants are a pearlish metallic-silver color (PMS 8240) and like the home pants, enhance the navy in the uniforms. The team also currently use a "serifed" font for the lettered player surnames on the jersey nameplates.
The team's helmets are also a unique silver with a tint of blue known as "Cowboys Blue" and has a blue/white/blue vertical stripe placed upon the center of the crown. The Cowboys are also one of the few, if not the only, team that attach blue Dymo tape with the player's name on the backside of the white portion of the blue/white/blue decal.
When the Dallas Cowboys franchise debuted in 1960, the team's uniform included a white helmet adorned with a simple blue star and a blue-white-blue stripe down the center crown. The team donned blue jerseys with white sleeves and a small blue star on each shoulder for home games and the negative opposite for away games. Their socks also had two horizontal white stripes overlapping the blue.
In 1964 thru 1965, the Cowboys opted for a more simpler look (and essentially the team's current uniform) by changing their jersey/socks to one solid color with three horizontal blue stripes on the sleeves. The star-shouldered jerseys were replaced with shoulder "TV" numbers. The pants and helmet were changed from white to silver and a white border was added to the blue star.
In 1966, the team narrowed the stripes to two per sleeve/sock and the following year in 1967, the white border was moved farther into the blue star and was now a white pinstripe. The logo and this version of the uniform has seen little change to the present day.
The only notable changes in the last 40 years were:
* from 1970-1973 when the "TV" numbers were moved from the shoulders to the sleeves above the stripes
* from 1981-1988 the pants featured a white uniform number in an elliptical blue circle worn near the hip.
* the removal of the indented serifs on the front and back jersey numbers in the early 80's (seen currently on the throwback jersey)
* from 1981-1994 the dark jerseys sported numbers that were gray with white borders and a blue pinstripe. The stripes on the sleeves and socks also used the same gray with white border scheme (sans navy pinstripe).
* the 1996 addition of the word "Cowboys" in the center of the neckline which lasted until 1998 on the white jersey but currently remains on the blue jersey.
During the 1976 season, the blue-white-blue stripe on the crown of the helmets were temporarily changed to red-white-blue to commemorate the United States' bicentennial anniversary.
In 1994, the NFL celebrated their 75th Anniversary and the Dallas Cowboys celebrated their back-to-back Super Bowl titles by unveiling the white "Double-Star" jersey on Thanksgiving Day. This jersey was used for special occasions and was worn throughout the 1994-1995 playoffs.
During the 1995 season, the team wore the navy "Double-Star" jersey for games at Washington and Philadelphia. This jersey was not seen again until the NFL's Classic Throwback Weekend on Thanksgiving Day 2001-2003
In 2004, the Cowboys resurrected their original 1960-1963 uniform. This now serves as the team's alternate or "3rd jersey" and usually worn only on special occasions such as the annual Thanksgiving Day game.
The Cowboys were the first NFL team to primarily wear their white jersey at home, as it was an unofficial rule that teams wear their colored jersey at home. This tradition started in the 1960s by Tex Schramm, who wanted fans to see a variety of opponents' colors at home games. Since then, a number of other teams have worn their white uniforms at home, including the Washington Redskins and Miami Dolphins.
Throughout the years, the Cowboys' blue jersey has been popularly viewed to be "jinxed" because the team often seemed to lose when they wore them. This curse purportedly became popular after the team lost Super Bowl V, when they were forced to wear their colored jersey because they were the designated home team. Since then, the rules were changed to allow the Super Bowl home team to pick their choice of jersey. Most of the time, Dallas will wear their blue jersey when they visit Washington, Miami, or one of the handful of other teams that traditionally wear their white jersey at home during the first half of the season due to the hot climates in their respective cities. Occasionally opposing teams will wear their white jerseys at home to try to invoke the curse, as when the Philadelphia Eagles hosted the Cowboys in the 1980 NFC Championship Game. Although Dallas has made several tweaks to their blue jerseys over the years, Schramm said he did not believe in the curse.
Historically, the Washington Redskins have been the Cowboys' greatest rival. Divisional opponents in the NFC East, Dallas and Washington have played each other twice each season since the early 1960s, fueling the rivalry. Redskins coach George Allen enhanced the rivalry during the 1970s.
The Cowboys also have strong rivalries with the other NFC East teams, the New York Giants and the Philadelphia Eagles. The competition with Philadelphia has been particularly intense since the late 1970s, when the long-moribund Eagles returned to contention. In 1981, the two teams faced off in that year's NFC Championship, with Philadelphia winning, 20-7 (The Eagles subsequently lost to the then-L.A. Raiders in Super Bowl XV). A series of other factors heightened tensions during the 1980s and 1990s, including several provocative actions by Philadelphia fans and Eagles head coach Buddy Ryan. Among these were the 1989 "Bounty Bowls," in which Ryan allegedly placed a bounty on Dallas kicker Luis Zendejas and Veterans Stadium fans pelted the Cowboys with snowballs and other debris. A 1999 game at Philadelphia saw Eagles fans cheering as Michael Irvin lay motionless and possibly paralyzed on the field.
The San Francisco 49ers have been another major Cowboy rival. Dallas has played seven postseason games against San Francisco. The Cowboys defeated the 49ers in the 1970 and 1971 NFC Championship games, and again in the 1972 Divisional Playoff Game, when Roger Staubach threw two touchdown passes with less than two minutes remaining for a 30-28 win. The 1981 NFC Championship Game in San Francisco, which saw the 49ers' Joe Montana complete a game-winning pass to Dwight Clark in the final minute (now known as "The Catch"), is one of the most famous games in NFL history. San Francisco subsequently won their first of five Super Bowls. During the 1992-1994 seasons, Dallas and San Francisco faced each other in the NFC Championship Game. Dallas won the first two match-ups, and San Francisco, loaded with star players from other teams in the new era of free-agency, won the third. In each of the three seasons, the game's victor went on to win the Super Bowl.
The Cowboys have a lesser rivalry with the Green Bay Packers that began in the 1960s. The two teams have faced each other in the postseason six times. Green Bay defeated Dallas in the 1966 and 1967 NFL Championship games (the latter, known as the "Ice Bowl", is another of pro football's most famous games). Dallas, in turn, defeated Green Bay in the second round of the 1982 playoffs, the 1993 and 1994 NFC Divisional Playoff games, and the 1995 NFC Championship Game. Texas Stadium is one of the few places where the Packers quarterback Brett Favre has never won; he is 0-9 at Dallas. The rivalry was renewed during the 2007 season, when both teams met in a late-season matchup. Anticipations ran high as both teams boasted 10-1 records, and battled for first place in the NFC playoff hunt. Dallas prevailed, winning 37-24, and clinched the top seed a few weeks later. Many people expected a rematch in the NFC Championship game, and while Green Bay advanced, Dallas lost to the New York Giants in a Divisional Playoff game.
Some consider the Pittsburgh Steelers a rival. The teams have met in three Super Bowls, all of which were close. The Steelers won Super Bowl X and Super Bowl XIII; both games were decided in the final seconds. The Cowboys won Super Bowl XXX in 1996.
The Houston Texans are and the Houston Oilers were considered by some to be rivals of the Cowboys because of the in-state affiliation Though the Cowboys have played their downstate rival during preseason play almost every year since 1967, no real rivalry has yet developed.
