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Greatest Cowboys By Their Jersey Numbers: #66

Part of the Greatest Players by Number Series

Jersey #66

Eleven players have worn #66 for the Cowboys. This includes four defensive linemen and seven offensive linemen.

George Andrie, DE, Marquette, 1962-72

Statistics: Unofficially, he is credited with 97 career sacks, including 18.5 in 1966 alone, and had one career interception.

Accolades: Five Pro Bowls and one first-team All Pro selection.

Longevity: Andrie played eleven seasons with the Cowboys.

Intangibles: The former sixth-round pick scored a touchdown during the Ice Bowl on a fumble return and also picked off a pass against San Francisco in the 1970 NFC Championship Game. He was a great big-game player.

Jesse Baker, DE, Jacksonville State, 1986

Statistics: Baker recorded one sack for the Cowboys.

Accolades: None.

Longevity: He played in only three games with Dallas.

Intangibles: The Cowboys picked up Baker after he had played several seasons with Houston. After Dallas released him, he returned to the Oilers.

Ben Fricke, G/C, Houston, 1999-01

Statistics: n/a

Accolades: None.

Longevity: He played three seasons with the Cowboys.

Intangibles: Dallas signed Fricke as a free agent in 1999, and he eventually started a few games at center. However, he never played a full season and was gone after three years.

Kevin Gogan, T, Washington, 1987-93

Statistics: n/a

Accolades: None with Dallas, though he was named to the Pro Bowl three times.

Longevity: He played seven seasons with the Cowboys.

Intangibles: At 6′7″, 317 pounds, Gogan was a giant for his era. He started at both guard and tackle until 1994, when he signed with the Raiders. He was named to the Pro Bowl as a Raider and 49er and also played for Miami and San Diego.

Ed Husmann, DT, Nebraska, 1960

Statistics: n/a

Accolades: None with Dallas. He later made the Pro Bowl in the AFL with the Houston Oilers.

Longevity: He played one season in Dallas.

Intangibles:Husmann played five seasons with the Chicago Cardinals before Dallas picked him up in the expansion draft in 1960. He later played five more seasons with Houston.

Tony Hutson, G, N.E. Oklahoma State, 1996-99

Statistics: n/a

Accolades: None.

Longevity: He played three seasons with Dallas.

Intangibles: Hutson started a handful of games in the late 1990s, but he was not an especially memorable player.

Tank Johnson, DT, Washington, 2007-

Statistics: Johnson recorded two sacks and nine tackles in 2007.

Accolades: None.

Longevity: Johnson will begin his second second in Dallas in 2008.

Intangibles: He was a controversial free agent pickup in 2007 who appears to have turned his life around. He may very well start at nose tackle in 2008.

Burton Lawless, G, Florida, 1975-79

Statistics: n/a

Accolades: None.

Longevity: He played five seasons in Dallas.

Intangibles: Lawless was the only member of the Dirty Dozen of the 1975 draft to earn a starting job as a rookie, but he lost that job to Herb Scott in 1976. He served as a messenger guard for most of the remainder of the decade before being traded to Detroit in 1980.

Jeremy McKinney, G/T, Iowa, 2002

Statistics: n/a

Accolades: None.

Longevity: He played less than a full season with the Cowboys.

Intangibles: McKinney started a couple of games in 2002 but was injured and released by November.

Chris Schultz, T, Arizona, 1983, 1985

Statistics: n/a

Accolades: None.

Longevity: He played two seasons in Dallas.

Intangibles: Schultz was a defensive lineman whom the Cowboys tried to convert to offensive line. He played sparingly in 1983 and was injured in 1984. He bulked up by 1985 and became a starter, but his knees were so bad that he called it a career after that season.

Norm Wells, G, Northwestern, 1980

Statistics: n/a

Accolades: None.

Longevity: Wells played one season in Dallas.

Intangibles: Wells was yet another former college defensive lineman who converted to offense. He was injured as a rookie, however, and seldom played.

Poll

Here is your chance to vote for the greatest player to wear #66.

Note: There is a poll within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post’s poll.

My Vote: Andrie

Andrie was a mainstay with the Doomsday Defense for more than a decade. Most older fans remember him well, but he does not get the credit he deserves when the subject of great defensive ends comes up. He made one more Pro Bowl than Harvey Martin and two more than Too Tall Jones, and frankly Andrie had more big-game plays than either did, even though Harvey was a Super Bowl MVP. I’m wouldn’t argue that he’s the greatest defensive end in history, but he needs to be mentioned in the same category as those two.

Lawless and Gogan were only part-time starters, and Johnson has only been around for half of a season. The others were mostly backups.

* * *

Here are two shots of Andrie chasing Bart Starr in the Ice Bowl and then returning Starr’s fumble for a touchdown.

The Status on Newman

Greatest Cowboys By Their Jersey Numbers: #65

Part of the Greatest Players by Number Series

Jersey #65

Seven players have worn #65 for the Cowboys. This includes six offensive linemen and one defensive lineman.

Andre Gurode, C, Colorado, 2002-present

Statistics: n/a

Accolades: Gurode has been named to two consecutive Pro Bowls.

Longevity: He will enter his seventh season in Dallas in 2008.

Intangibles: Gurode turned out to be one of the best draft picks of this decade. A second-round selection in 2002, he began his career starting at right guard (with moderate results), but he made the transition to center, where he has become a Pro Bowler.

Kurt Petersen, G, Missouri, 1980-85

Statistics: n/a

Accolades: He received second-team All-Pro by the Newspaper Enterprise Association in 1982.

Longevity: He played six seasons in Dallas.

Intangibles: Petersen took over at right guard in 1981 when Tom Rafferty became the starting center in 1981. He was solid during a career shortened by injury.

Ray Schoenke, T, Southern Methodist, 1963-64

Statistics: n/a

Accolades: None.

Longevity: He played two seasons in Dallas.

Intangibles: Schoenke played two years in Dallas but enjoyed a much longer career with the Washington Redskins.

Tony Slaton, G, Southern Cal., 1990

Statistics: n/a

Accolades: None.

Longevity: He spent one season in Dallas.

Intangibles: Slaton played in Los Angeles for five years before earning a spot in the starting lineup. After starting during the 1989 season for the Rams, though, he signed with Dallas, where he was mostly a backup.

Dave Stalls, DE, Northern Colorado, 1977-79

Statistics: His official stats are not available, but he was a pass-rush specialist who recorded a number of sacks.

Accolades: None.

Longevity: He played three seasons in Dallas.

Intangibles: Stalls worked hard in the weight room, and after serving as a backup in 1977 and 1978, he earned a starting job at left tackle in 1979. That lasted until the Cowboys acquired John Dutton and moved Larry Cole back to left tackle. Dallas traded Stalls to Tampa Bay the following year.

Ron Stone, G, Boston College, 1993-95

Statistics: n/a

Accolades: None with Dallas. He later became a Pro Bowler with the Giants and 49ers.

Longevity: He played two seasons in Dallas.

Intangibles: Stone was a backup in 1994 and 1995 before joining the Giants, where he became a longtime starter. He was a player Dallas wished it had back by 1997.

John Wilbur, T, Stanford, 1966-69

Statistics: n/a

Accolades: None.

Longevity: He played four seasons with the Cowboys.

Intangibles: Wilbur was another player who converted from defensive line to offensive line. He was known for fighting other Cowboys during training camp, and he was traded to the Rams in 1970.

Poll

Here is your chance to vote for the greatest player to wear #65.

Note: There is a poll within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post’s poll.

My Vote: Gurode

The only real contenders on this list are Gurode and Petersen, and I think Gurode is a better (and especially more durable) player than Petersen was. Gurode could improve his deep-snapping, but overall, he is becoming an excellent center.

Jason Witten Talks Cowboys

Cowboys Legacy Walk - Own A Piece Of Cowboys History

A Chance to Grow

Though it’s never good news to see a player go down with injury, Terrance Newman straining his groin might… just might, act as a gift and a curse. During 1-on-1’s, DBs vs WRs, Terrance Newman came up lame after getting “tangled up” with someone. Newman could not have been that severely hurt because he walked over to the trainer on his own power. Mr. Newman did not return to practice and he probably will not be practicing tomorrow. This comes at a time where the Cowboys have a few talents jockeying for his position.

The obvious person that comes to mind is Adam Jones. However, being not fully reinstated, he will not assume first team responsibilities. That will not stop him from taking on the challenge of lining up across from Terrell Owens (see video here). Also, Jones has been lining up on the right side of the defense, contrary to his left side position with the Titans so he is not in line for his position anyway.

Being drafted in the first round earns Mike Jenkins the task of taking first team reps. This baptism-by-fire is a great way to quickly make the transition from college to the league. When speaking on how Jenkins performed after assuming this role, Dave Campo, coach of the secondary said, “I felt he loosened up and did some good things.”

Fellow first first-year player Orlando Scandrick will be in the same boat as Jenkins, but being drafted four rounds later will defuse the expectations, giving him much more room to grow. Campo said “I think Scandrick came alive a little bit today. I thought this was a good practice for him.” He continued to say, “Today he was talking, he was communicating. He was doing a lot of things, so I see good things there.”

Alan Ball took Jenkins’ spot on the second team. This gave him a chance to face talent like Patrick Crayton, even though the passes were coming from third string (and unsigned) QB Richard Bartel.

I think this injury will turn out a lot like the waiving of Terry Glenn. Newman is obviously the starter. Sitting out practices will merely offer younger players a chance to display their talent. With the CB woes the Cowboys have faced in recent years, let’s hope this injury is not as much of a caveat as it is an opportune moment for the defense to grow.

Greatest Cowboys By Their Jersey Numbers: #64

Part of the Greatest Players by Number Series

Jersey #64

Eight players have worn #64 for the Cowboys. This includes seven offensive linemen and one defensive lineman.

Jim Arneson, C/G, Arizona, 1973-74

Statistics: n/a

Accolades: None.

Longevity: He played two seasons in Dallas.

Intangibles: He was a backup offensive lineman and a special teams player.

Jorge Diaz, G, Texas A&M-Kingsville, 2000

Statistics: n/a

Accolades: None.

Longevity: He played one season in Dallas

Intangibles: The Cowboys signed Diaz before the 2000 season, but he dressed for only nine games that year.

Bob Grottkau, G, Oregon, 1961

Statistics: n/a

Accolades: None.

Longevity: Grottkau played one season in Dallas.

Intangibles: Dallas acquired him via trade with Detroit prior to 1961, which was his final season in the NFL.

Halvor Hagen, C/G, Weber State, 1969-70

Statistics: n/a

Accolades: None.

Longevity: He played two seasons in Dallas.

Intangibles: Hegen began his career as a defensive lineman, but he moved to offensive line in 1970. He was later traded to New England.

Mitch Johnson, G, UCLA, 1965

Statistics: n/a

Accolades: None.

Longevity: He played one season in Dallas.

Intangibles: Johnson was a 17th round pick in 1965. He was traded to Washington in 1966.

Tom Rafferty, G/C, Penn State, 1976-89

Statistics: n/a

Accolades: None.

Longevity: He played 14 seasons with the Cowboys.

Intangibles: Very few players lasted as long as Rafferty, who began his career at guard before taking over at center in 1981 due to Robert Shaw’s injury. Rafferty never missed a game during his long career.

Jim Ray Smith, G/T, Baylor, 1963-64

Statistics: n/a

Accolades: None with Dallas. He was a five-time Pro Bowler with the Cleveland Browns.

Longevity: He played two seasons in Dallas.

Intangibles: Dallas acquired Smith in 1963 after he was coming off of another Pro Bowl season. He suffered a few injuries and retired after two seasons.

Daleroy Stewart, DT, Southern Miss, 2003-04

Statistics: Stewart recorded 1.5 sacks and 12 tackles with the Cowboys.

Accolades: None.

Longevity: He played less than two full seasons in Dallas.

Intangibles: Dallas selected Stewart in the sixth round of the 2002 draft. He finally saw action in 2003 as a backup, but he was released early in the 2004 season.

Poll

Here is your chance to vote for the greatest player to wear #63.

Note: There is a poll within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post’s poll.

My Vote: Rafferty

Rafferty was constant presence on the Dallas line for many years. He started his career playing guard in front of Roger Staubach, and he ended it playing center in front of Troy Aikman. Few lineman receive credit for individual plays, but he and Herb Scott made the key blocks on Tony Dorsett’s 99-yard touchdown run against Minnesota in 1982. I’ll show the video later.

As it turns out, though, Rafferty used to be a #72, as shown in this card from Penn State–

Cowboys Impressed With Impact Of Adam Jones

Jones, Jenkins Signed And Ready For Camp

Late Friday night, the Cowboys signed their two first round picks to contracts but the financial amounts are still undisclosed.  It has become quite common for this type of last-minute negotiating with draftees and reportedly they were both signed to 5-year deals.  The fact they shared the same agent helped significantly in the process.

As for camp, the first day went well and there were thousands of spectators on hand to watch and hordes of media also that got to see the first glimpse of what the next two-plus weeks of training camp will be like.  The first day’s highlight was most definitely a spectacular catch by rookie WR Danny Amendola, who has shown great promise since the beginning days with the team.  I highly recommend going to the Cowboys home site and watch the video, it’s a great catch but I did notice that it wasn’t thrown by Romo or Johnson, but by recently acquired QB Jeff Terrell.

Felix Jones and Mike Jenkins will be at the second practice this afternoon but missed the morning work-out due to the delay in signing them. 

History of Dallas Cowboys Training Camp Sites, 2008 Update

Last year about this time, I posted a piece about the history of training camp locations. This is an updated version of that post, incorporating additional information of interest.

Before we get to this post, the following video has been on the web for a few days, but it is so good I had to post it here.

1960: Pacific University, Forest Grove, Oregon

From Landry’s Boys by Peter Golenbock:

The Cowboys’ first training camp was at the University of the Pacific in Forest Grove, Oregon. It was in the middle of nowhere, a haul from the nearest big city, Portland. [Tom] Landry intended to run a boot camp, and Forest Grove was the perfect place to conduct it away from any distractions. The town had one movie theatre and one bar. Nearby was a maraschino cherry factory. The sweet, syrupy aroma permeated the place as the players sweated under blue skies.

1961: St. Olaf College, Northfield, Minnesota

From Golenbock, quoting Bob Lilly, who was a rookie in 1961:

“I went to St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota, for training camp. That was a beautiful campus, except you had to walk down 386 steps– I counted them– to get from the dorm to the playing field, plus I was on the third floor of the dorm.”

1962: Northern Michigan College, Marquette, Michigan

Ron Smith provided some great information about the Cowboys’ 1962 camp from the book Dallas Cowboys, Pro or Con? by Sam Blair.

In mid July the Cowboys found themselves moving into a new training camp again. This time they almost wound up in Canada.

The site was Northern Michigan College at Marquette, where the temperature rarely rose above the fifties during the day and a 20-m.p.h. wind frequently blew off nearby Lake Superior.

Marquette had become a rather sudden second choice for the Cowboys.They had planned to return to St. Olaf College at Northfield,Minnesota,but the athletic conference to which that school belonged ruled at its spring meeting that no member could house a professional team on its campus. So, with little time to check out prospective sites, the Dallas club settled on Northern Michigan,which greeted the players and staff cordially but assigned them to a girls dormitory which wasn’t occupied during summer school.The beds were shorter and the doors were lower than they were accustomed to and the taller men suffered some bruised noggins during their stay.

To those who had known some scorching Texas summers,the weather at Marquette was almost unbelievable. Water fountains on the campus were left running all night so as to not risk frozen pipes and rare was the July or August evening when the temperature didn’t dip into the thirties.

So many players were shivering that equipment manager Jack Eskridge laid in a large supply of thermal underwear.

Although the air was invigorating,the weather was not conducive to the hot and heavy work which players need during a training camp. There was an extremely high number of injuries, particularly pulled leg muscles and damaged knees,and you have to believe some of them resulted directly from the players’ inability to warm up properly.

1963-1989: California Lutheran College, Thousand Oaks, California

Most of us who are older than 30 or so remember that the Cowboys trained for years at the campus of California Lutheran College (now University) in Thousand Oaks, California. Here is a clip from Wikipedia:

. . . California Lutheran University served as the training camp location for the Dallas Cowboys. The CLU football practice field used by the Cowboys as well as the CLU Kingsmen football team was replaced by a large sports complex in 2006. The Cowboys Clubhouse in Thousand Oaks still stands across from the complex, and is currently a family residence.

1990-1997: St. Edward’s University, Austin, Texas

This is from NFL.com:

Before Johnson’s arrival, the Cowboys spent 27 years training at California Lutheran College in Thousand Oaks, Calif. Johnson held camp there his first season (Aikman’s rookie year), but he and owner Jerry Jones moved the operation to Austin, Texas, in 1990. Jones wanted to move camp closer to the team’s regional fan base. Aikman says Johnson supported the move because he wanted his players to experience the Texas heat, a weather condition he considered ideal to train a football team.

“Jimmy believed in a lot of contact, being physical and practicing in the heat. It was about 100 degrees [in Austin], the humidity was 90 percent,” Aikman said. “We were a young football team, and I think that maybe at that time, it was good for us. You certainly can’t argue with the results we got.

“But as the team got older and we continually practiced in that kind of heat, I think it had diminishing returns. It probably wasn’t until we made the playoffs in 1991 and achieved a pretty good level of success that Jimmy didn’t keep the foot down on the guys as much as he had in previous years. Early on, when he was trying to put the team together, it was really, really tough.”

1998-2002: Midwestern State University, Wichita Falls, Texas

There was once a site known as CowboysCamp.com, which had this to say about the Cowboys’ camp location in 1999:

As part of the team’s commitment to keeping their training camp in Texas, the Cowboys selected Midwestern State as the home of the Cowboys preseason preparations in 1999. This will mark the 10th year the Cowboys have held camp in Texas.

The new surroundings proved to be a success in 1998 as new head coach Chan Gailey helped lead the Cowboys to a 10-6 finish and the NFC Eastern Division title. Since making the move to a Texas-based training camp, the Cowboys have had just two non-playoff seasons.

In retrospect, however, the move to Wichita Falls wasn’t particularly positive:

For the last four years, the Cowboys trained in Wichita Falls. At first, people swarmed onto the campus of Midwestern State University. By 2001, however, attendance was way down.

Nick Gholson, sports editor at the Wichita Falls Times Record News, says 100-degree temperatures helped chase off the crowds, as did the fact that the Cowboys tumbled to last place in their division.

Also, fan expectations didn’t mesh with training-camp reality.

“A lot of people thought they were going to games, but they’d go there and see (the players) stretch for 30 minutes and realize they were watching a practice,” Gholson said. “And there is not much more boring than watching a football practice.”

Having the team in Wichita Falls brought about $16 million into the local economy over four years, and having the camp raised the North Texas city’s visibility.

In appreciation, a team photo was put on the cover of the 1999 Wichita Falls phone book.

Townspeople in Wichita Falls never got ho-hum about having the Cowboys, Gholson said, but they also stopped swooning when they ran into a player at the shopping mall.

2001: River Ridge Sports Complex, Oxnard, California

During one of the seasons that the Cowboys trained at Wichita Falls, they also spent time in Oxnard, California,which later became the regular site of their training camps.

2002-2003: The Alamodome, San Antonio, Texas.

The Cowboys moved south to San Antonio in 2002.

For the players, the differences between Wichita Falls and San Antonio will be noticeable.

The dorms at Midwestern State will be replaced by rooms in a luxury hotel on the bustling Riverwalk. And where the limited nightlife of Wichita Falls tempered opportunities for preseason mischief, San Antonio will present more than a few temptations.

The two towns do have one thing in common, and that’s heat.

August days in San Antonio average upward of 95 degrees. When the sun is high in the sky, however, the plan is for the Cowboys to practice inside the Alamodome on an artificial surface.

2004-2006: River Ridge Sports Complex, Oxnard, California

The Cowboys moved their camp back to California for three seasons, though the team hardly had the same success as it did for many of the years when camp was held in Thousand Oaks. Scheduling conflicts forced the Cowboys to move from San Antonio in 2004.

2007 : The Alamodome, San Antonio, Texas

The Cowboys signed a five-year contract in May 2006 to return to San Antonio. Here is a clip from that press release:

Remember the Alamodome? The Cowboys do.

Jerry Jones confirmed here Thursday the team will be making San Antonio its training camp home once again, the Cowboys’ owner and general manager announcing a five-year year contract has been struck with the city to return camp to the Alamodome starting in 2007.

“It’s great to be home,” Jones said in a joint announcement with San Antonio mayor Phil Hardberger inside the San Antonio City Council chambers. “We have a phrase in football that we like a player in a game to completely empty his bucket with his effort and emotions. When he’s done that, we’re satisfied that he’s given the Cowboys and our fans all he can do.

“That’s what we will represent to (San Antonio).”

2008: River Ridge Sports Complex, Oxnard, California

With the Alamodome unavailable for training camp, the Cowboys agreed in March to return to Oxnard. The team only plans to play there for one season before returning to San Antonio in 2009.

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