50 Seasons Series: 1960 Regular Season, Part 1

Eddie LeBaron scrambles from pressure against the Pittsburgh
Steelers in the Cowboys’ first regular season game on September 24,
1960.

For each of the 50 seasons covered over the next year, many of the posts will focus on the individual games. For the sake of keeping the posts a little bit shorter, these posts will divide each season into two parts.

The 1960 season for the Cowboys is a little bit easier to cover than the others. The regular season still consisted of 12 games, and as most people know, the Dallas team suffering from a nearly complete lack of talent struggled to an 0-11-1 record. The 1960 season was not without its exciting moments, though most would still probably rather forget that this season actually occurred.

Week 1: September 24, 1960 in Dallas

Pittsburgh 35, Dallas 28

The Cowboys actually led 14-0 in their first regular season game in history, played in the Cotton Bowl. Touchdown passes by Eddie LeBaron to Jim Doran (75 yards) and Frank Dugan (7 yards) put Dallas in front by two touchdowns. Dallas even led at the half, thanks to a five-yard touchdown run by Don McIlhenny, the former star at SMU who was picked up from Green Bay.

The Dallas defense had a difficult time stopping Pittsburgh quarterback Bobby Layne, who threw for four touchdowns. Nevertheless, LeBaron hit Doran on another touchdown pass covering 54 yards, and the Cowboys held a 28-21 lead in the third quarter. After the Steelers tied the game late in the third quarter, Dallas again drove into Pittsburgh territory. However, LeBaron was intercepted by Bert Rechichar at the Pittsburgh 26. Both teams had their chances down the stretch, but it was the Steelers who pulled it out, as Layne hit running back Tom Tracy on a deep pass pattern, and Tracy ran it in for a 65-yard touchdown.

LeBaron finished with 345 yards passing and three touchdowns, but he was also picked off three times. Doran had 154 yards on four receptions, which certainly helped his cause when he was voted to the Pro Bowl that year.

Dallas Morning News: Steelers Outscore Cowboys, 35-28 | Box Score (Pro-Football-Reference)

Week 2: September 30, 1960

Philadelphia 27, Dallas 25

The Cowboys had another tough contest in their second game of 1960 against the Eagles, who went on to win the World Championship that season. The big difference in the game came down to extra points, as Philadelphia defensive back Bobby Freeman blocked two extra point attempts by Fred Cone.

Dallas trailed 13-6 at the half, but a 75-yard touchdown pass from LeBaron to Clarke nearly even things up. But Freeman blocked the extra point, and Dallas trailed 13-12. The Eagles took a 20-12 lead thanks to a 10-yard run by Billy Ray Barnes early in the fourth quarter. The Cowboys bounced back with a touchdown run by LeBaron, but Cone’s kick was blocked again. A 23-yard touchdown run by Barnes effectively put the game out of reach, though LeBaron’s touchdown pass to Gene Babb kept the final score close.

Dallas Morning News: Eagles Turn Back Cowboys | Box Score (Pro-Football-Reference)

Week 3: October 9, 1960

Washington 26, Dallas 14

Washington kicker Bob Khayat hit four field goals, as the Redskins beat the Cowboys in the first road game for the Dallas franchise. LeBaron had a another big day passing, finishing with 296 yards, but he threw three interceptions. His two touchdown passes went Clarke and tight end Dick Bielski. Bielski’s touchdown catch, which cut the Redskin lead to 19-14 in the fourth quarter was notable for its distance. The pass play officially gained two inches, which is still an NFL record.

Washington put the game away thanks to a drive led by quarterback Ralph Guglielmi. He hit Sam Horner on a long pass play, which set up a short touchdown run by Johnny Olszewski.

Dallas Morning News: Redskins Tip Cowboys, 26-14, on 4 Field Goals | Box Score (Pro-Football-Reference)

Week 4: October 16, 1960

Cleveland 48, Dallas 7

Dallas suffered its first blowout loss in week four of the 1960 season, thanks to the play of Bobby Mitchell. He scored three of the Browns’ first five touchdowns, including a 46-yard pass reception, a 30-yard run, and a 90-yard kickoff return. The Cowboys trailed 28-0 at halftime. The game was so bad that both Don Heinrich and Don Meredith saw playing time in the second half. Heinrich’s touchdown pass to Billy Howton was the only score of the game for the Cowboys.

Dallas Morning News: Cleveland Rocks Cowboys, 48 to 7 | Box Score (Pro-Football-Reference)

Week 5: October 23, 1960

St. Louis 12, Dallas 10

The Cowboys very nearly won their first NFL game against St. Louis. A three-yard run by L.G. Dupre gave Dallas a 10-9 fourth quarter lead. However, Dupre later fumbled the ball, and following the fumble, St. Louis drove into field goal range. Gerry Perry, 240-pound kicker and defensive end, kicked an 18-yard field goal to give the Cardinals a 12-10 win.

John Roach, who later played for Dallas, had to replace an injured George Izo for St. Louis, and the Cardinals managed only four completions during the game. However, Dallas could not stop John David Crow and the St. Louis rushing attack, which gained 226 yards on the ground. The Dallas running game struggled, as the Cowboys only managed 51 rushing yards.

Dallas Morning News: Late Field Goal Beats Cowboys, 12-10 | Box Score (Pro-Football-Reference)

Week 6: October 30, 1960

Baltimore 45, Dallas 7

For the second time in three weeks, Dallas suffered a blowout loss. Raymond Berry caught touchdown passes of 68, 52, and 70 yards from Johnny Unitas, as the Colts took a 31-0 halftime lead. Dallas managed only 147 yards, and the lone touchdown was a third quarter pass from Heinrich to Howton.

Dallas Morning News: Baltimore Tramples Cowboys, 45 to 7 | Box Score (Pro-Football-Reference)

Synopsis of the First Half of the 1960 Season

In their first three games of the 1960 season, Dallas averaged 355 on offense and scored an average of 22.3 points. In week four through six, though, Dallas managed an average of only 163 yards per game, and the Cowboys picked up a combined total of 26 first downs in three games. The Cowboys had realistic chances to beat two of their first six opponents (Pittsburgh and St. Louis), but the young team had trouble putting games away.

Coming Up

The Cowboys continued to struggle during the second half of the 1960 season, but a tie gives fans something to cheer about.

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New Super Bowl History Index on Pro-Football-Reference is Amazing

I don’t advertise at pro-football-reference, nor do I know a single person who works for it. I can thus say this is a completely objective promotion: the site now features a Super Bowl History Index, and it is well worth checking out.

The page includes leaders in 39 categories and complete standings along with starting quarterbacks. Moreover, it has a Super Bowl play finder. Want to know how many touchdowns the Cowboys have scored in Super Bowl history?

The answer is 22.

Want to know how many plays the Cowboys have run from their own 12 in Super Bowl history?

The answer is one. Dallas had a first-and-ten play in the fourth quarter of Super Bowl XXX against Pittsburgh. The play was a 22-yard gain on a pass from Troy Aikman to Kevin Williams.

Anyway, I had to share this.

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50 Seasons in 50 Weeks Series: Building the 1960 Dallas Cowboys

This is the first entry in the 50 Seasons in 50 Weeks Series on this blog. Today marks the 49th anniversary of the date the NFL granted a new franchise in Dallas to Clint Murchison, Jr. and Bedford Wynne, so this seems like a good starting point.

This entry focuses on how the Cowboys developed the original 1960 roster, which was probably the least talented among any in the history of the franchise. Most of the names have been long since forgotten, but not on here.

The NFL held its college draft in late November 1959, so the Dallas franchise could not have participated in it at that time. George Halas drafted SMU quarterback Don Meredith but then traded him to Dallas. Without a formal team, Murchison and Wynne signed Meredith to a personal services contract reportedly worth $150,000, which guaranteed that Dallas would have a franchise player for most of the decade. The other player Dallas signed at this time was New Mexico running back Don Perkins, who gained more than 6,000 yards rushing during his career in Dallas.

Expansion Draft

Other than Meredith and Perkins, most of the original 1960 Cowboys were not well-regarded and were picked up during the expansion draft or off the street. The expansion draft in 1960 allowed Dallas to take up to three players off of each of the existing 12 clubs, but those clubs were able to protect most of their players from the pool.

These facts have been posted here before, but here are some tidbits about the expansion draft and the results of the draft itself:

* Of the players selected, 22 played for the Cowboys at least during the 1960 season.
* The 22 players who made the 1960 team averaged 2.14 years with the team.
* 11 players played only one year with Dallas.
* Eight players (including Jack Patera, who was injured early in the 1961 season) played in 1960 and 1961.
* The three remaining players from the draft started for several years, including: Bob Fry, Tackle, 1960-64; Jerry Tubbs, Linebacker, 1960-66; and Frank Clarke, Wide Receiver, 1960-67.

Original Team Player Pos. Experience
Baltimore Colts L.G. Dupre RB 1955-59, Baltimore Colts; 1960-61, Dallas Cowboys.
Ray Krouse DE 1951-1955, N.Y. Giants; 1956-57, Detroit Lions; 1958-59, Baltimore Colts; 1960, Washington Redskins.
Dave Sherer WR/P 1959, Baltimore Colts; 1960, Dallas Cowboys.
Chicago Bears Don Healy DT 1958-59, Chicago Bears; 1960-61, Dallas Cowboys; 1962, Buffalo Bills (AFL).
Jack Johnson DB 1957-59, Chicago Bears; 1960-61, Buffalo Bills (AFL); 1961, Dallas Texans (AFL).
Pete Johnson RB 1959, Chicago Bears.
Cleveland Browns Leroy Bolden RB 1958-59, Cleveland Browns.
Frank Clarke WR/TE 1957-59, Cleveland Browns; 1960-67, Dallas Cowboys.
Ed Modzelewski RB 1952, Pittsburgh Steelers; 1955-59, Cleveland Browns.
Detroit Lions Charlie Ane C 1953-59, Detroit Lions
Gene Cronin LB 1956-59, Detroit Lions; 1960, Dallas Cowboys; 1961-62, Washington Redskins.
Jim Doran WR 1951-59, Detroit Lions; 1960-61, Dallas Cowboys.
Green Bay Packers Nate Borden DE 1953-59, Green Bay Packers; 1960-61, Dallas Cowboys; 1962, Buffalo Bills (AFL).
Bill Butler S 1959, Green Bay Packers; 1960, Dallas Cowboys; 1961, Pittsburgh Steelers; 1962-64, Minnesota Vikings.
Don McIlhenny RB 1956, Detroit Lions; 1957-59, Green Bay Packers; 1960-61, Dallas Cowboys; 1962, San Francisco 49ers.
Los Angeles Rams Tom Franckhauser CB 1959, Los Angeles Rams; 1960-61, Dallas Cowboys; 1962-63, Minnesota Vikings.
Bob Fry T 1953-59, Los Angeles Rams; 1960-64, Dallas Cowboys.
Duane Putnam G 1952-59, Los Angeles Rams; 1960, Dallas Cowboys; 1961, Cleveland Browns; 1962, Los Angeles Rams.
New York Giants Al Barry G 1954, 1957, Green Bay Packers; 1958-59, New York Giants; 1960, Los Angeles Chargers (AFL).
Melwood “Buzz” Guy G 1958-59, New York Giants; 1960, Dallas Cowboys; 1961, Denver Broncos (AFL); 1962, Houston Oilers (AFL).
Don Heinrich QB 1954-59, New York Giants; 1960, Dallas Cowboys; 1961, Oakland Raiders (AFL).
Philadelphia Eagles Dick Bielski TE 1955-59, Philadelphia Eagles; 1960-61, Dallas Cowboys; 1962-63, Baltimore Colts.
Gerry Delucca T 1959, Philadelphia Eagles.
Bil Striegel LB 1959, Philadelphia Eagles; 1960, Boston Patriots (AFL); 1960, Oakland Raiders (AFL)
Pittsburgh Steelers Ray Fisher T/DT 1959, Pittsburgh Steelers.
Bobby Luna RB 1955, San Francisco 49ers; 1959, Pittsburgh Steelers.
Ray Mathews WR 1951-59, Pittsburgh Steelers; 1960, Dallas Cowboys.
St. Louis (Chicago) Cardinals Bob Cross T 1952, Chicago Bears; 1954-55, Los Angeles Rams; 1957, San Francisco 49ers; 1958-59, Chicago Cardinals; 1960, Boston Patriots (AFL)
Ed Husmann DT 1953, 1956-59, Chicago Cardinals; 1960, Dallas Cowboys; 1961-65, Houston Oilers.
Jack Patera LB 1955-57, Baltimore Colts; 1958-59, Chicago Cardinals; 1960-61, Dallas Cowboys.
San Francisco 49ers Fred Dugan WR 1958-59, San Francisco 49ers; 1960, Dallas Cowboys; 1961-63, Washington Redskins.
John Gonzaga DE 1956-59, San Francisco 49ers; 1960, Dallas Cowboys; 1961-65, Detroit Lions; 1966, Denver Broncos (AFL).
Jerry Tubbs LB 1957-58, Chicago Cardinals; 1958-59, San Francisco 49ers; 1960-66, Dallas Cowboys.
Washington Redskins Tom Braatz LB 1957, 1958-59, Washington Redskins; 1958, Los Angeles Rams; 1960, Dallas Cowboys.
Joe Nicely C 1959, Washington Redskins (complete experience unknown).
Doyle Nix RB 1955, Green Bay Packers; 1958-59, Washington Redskins; 1960, Los Angeles Chargers (AFL); 1961, Dallas Texans (AFL).

Of the 27 players listed in Pro-Football-Encyclopedia as starters for the 1960 Cowboys, 16 came from the expansion draft. The Cowboys signed most of the other 11 as free agents or obtained them through trades. Here is a look at those starters.

Offensive Starters

QB Eddie LeBaron

Originally drafted: Washington Redskins / 10th / 123rd pick / 1950

LeBaron had retired from the Washington Redskins and was studying for the Texas bar in Midland, Texas. Although he had offers to do television work for ABC, he chose to agree to play for Dallas.

HB Don McIlhenny

Originally drafted: Detroit Lions / 3rd / 27th pick / 1956

Expansion draft pick from Green Bay.

HB L.G. Dupre

Originally drafted: Baltimore Colts / 3rd / 27th pick / 1955

Expansion draft pick from Baltimore. Dupre was a significant contributor to the 1958 NFL Champion Colts.

FB Walt Kowalczyk

Originally drafted: Philadelphia Eagles / 1st / 6th pick / 1958

Dallas obtained Kowalczyk in a trade with Detroit, which had signed the fullback after he spent two seasons with the Eagles.

FB Gene Babb

Originally drafted: San Francisco 49ers / 19th / 224th pick / 1957

Babb signed as a free agent after being out of football in 1959.

FL Billy Howton

Originally drafted: Green Bay Packers / 2nd / 15th pick / 1952

Howton signed as a free agent and was one of the best pick-ups for the original team.

SE Fred Dugan

Originally drafted: San Francisco 49ers / 7th / 80th pick / 1957

Expansion draft pick from San Francisco.

TE Jim Doran

Originally drafted: Detroit Lions / 5th / 55th pick / 1951

Expansion draft pick from Detroit.

LT Bob Fry

Originally drafted: Los Angeles Rams / 3rd / 36th pick / 1953

Expansion draft pick from the Los Angeles Rams.

LG Duane Putnam

Originally drafted: Los Angeles Rams / 6th / 66th pick / 1952

Expansion draft pick from the Los Angeles Rams.

C John Houser

The Cowboys claimed Houser off waivers after he spent three seasons with the L.A. Rams.

RG Buzz Guy

Originally drafted: Cleveland Browns / 3rd / 34th pick / 1958

Expansion draft pick from the New York Giants.

RG Mike Falls

Originally drafted: New York Giants / 20th / 237th pick / 1956

Falls was cut by Green Bay during training camp, and Dallas signed him just before the start of the 1960 season.

RT Paul Dickson

Originally drafted: Los Angeles Rams / 1st / 9th pick / 1959

Dallas signed Dickson after he played one season in Los Angeles.

Defensive Starters

LDE Nate Borden

Originally drafted: Green Bay Packers / 25th / 293rd pick / 1955

Expansion draft pick from Green Bay.

LDT Don Healy

Originally drafted: Chicago Bears / 3rd / 37th pick / 1958

Expansion draft pick from Chicago.

RDT Ed Husmann

Originally drafted: Chicago Cardinals / 9th / 99th pick / 1953

Expansion draft pick from the Cardinals.

RDE John Gonzaga

Expansion draft pick from San Francisco.

LLB Wayne Hansen

Originally drafted: Chicago Bears / 6th / 76th pick / 1950

Hansen was out of football in 1959 but signed with the Cowboys for the 1960 season.

MLB Jerry Tubbs

Originally drafted: Chicago Cardinals / 1st / 10th pick / 1957

Expansion draft pick from San Francisco.

RLB Gene Cronin

Originally drafted: Detroit Lions / 7th / 74th pick / 1956

Expansion draft pick from Detroit.

LCB Tom Franckhauser

Originally drafted: Los Angeles Rams / 3rd / 33rd pick / 1959

Expansion draft pick from the L.A. Rams.

RCB Don Bishop

The Cowboys claimed Bishop off waivers prior to the 1960 season.

LS Bob Bercich

Originally drafted: New York Giants / 15th / 179th pick / 1959

Dallas picked up Bercich from the Giants before the 1960 season.

RS Bill Butler

Originally drafted: Green Bay Packers / 19th / 217th pick / 1959

Expansion draft pick from Green Bay.

Special Teams

K Fred Cone

Originally drafted: Green Bay Packers / 3rd / 27th pick / 1951

Cone had been out of football for three years when he got his shot to make the Cowboys.

P Dave Sherer

Originally drafted: Baltimore Colts / 2nd / 24th pick / 1959

Expansion draft pick from Baltimore.

Other Significant Players

In addition to Meredith and Perkins, Dallas acquired two other players who had important roles in early team history. One was Frank Clarke, whom the Cowboys picked up in the expansion draft. The second was center Mike Connelly, who was an important backup lineman for many year and who started during the 1967 season when Dave Manders went out of action with an injury.

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And Yet Even More Classic Trivia Answers

We will begin the 50 Seasons in 50 Weeks project tomorrow. Meanwhile, I posted some trivia questions in June 2007 but never posted the answers. If you like this sort of stuff, these are pretty interesting.

1. True or False: No team that has lost to the Cowboys in a Super Bowl has ever scored in the end zone that features the Cowboys’ logo.

Odd as it may be, this is true. In five wins, no opponent scored a touchdown in the end zone marked with the Cowboys’ logo.

2. Who made the following quote?: When asked if Tom Landry smiled, “How the hell should I know, I only played for Dallas nine years.”

Walt Garrison

3. Who made this quote?: “If you needed four yards, you could give the ball to Walt and he’d get you four yards. If you needed twenty yards, you could give the ball to Walt and he’d get you four yards.”

Don Meredith

4. And this quote?” “Don was a great football player who took the punishment to build Dallas a winning team . . . Don Meredith would have taken Dallas to some Super Bowl victories in the 1970s. Don Meredith was a very good quarterback, and he had the confidence of the team.”

Roger Staubach

5. Even though Tony Dorsett was a starter for only part of the 1977 season, what record did he establish that season?

Dorsett set the record for most rushing touchdowns in one season with 12. He broke the mark (11) set by Duane Thomas in 1971.

A small irony is that Herschel Walker tied the record in his first season with Dallas, even though he was not a full-time starter that season.  Emmitt Smith tied the record with 12 TDs in 1991 before finally breaking it with 18 in 1992.

6. Name the man who was drafted in 1967 by the Cowboys, and instead of winning Super Bowls, he went on to win NBA championships.

Pat Riley, NBA player and legendary NBA coach.

7. Don Perkins led all Cowboys rushers during the decade of the 1960s with 6217 rushing yards. Who had the second highest number of total rushing yards during that decade?

Hint: It was not Dan Reeves or Walt Garrison, nor was it a quarterback.

Amos Marsh, who rushed for 2065 yards.

8. What future Hall-of-Famer did Dallas select in the seventh round of the 1967 draft?

Rayfield Wright, who began his career as a tight end but then moved to tackle.

9. Name the Top 3 Dallas Cowboy Career Passer Rating QBs in order. QBs have to have played min 3 years.

At the time these questions were posted, the answer was: (1) Roger Staubach (83.4), (2) Danny White (81.7), and (3) Troy Aikman (81.6). As of the end of the 2008 season, though, the top-rated passer among those with three years’ experience is Tony Romo, who has a career passer rating of 94.7.

10. In the Cowboy’s final game in 1960 (a loss to the Lions), our punter Dave Sherer was called to duty by the Texas Air National Guard. Who did the punting?

Quarterback Eddie LeBaron, who averaged 33.0 yards on three punts.

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Classic Dallas Cowboys Trivia Answers

Here are the answers to the trivia questions posted on Saturday:

1. What position did Tex Schramm hold immediately before being named as general manager of the Cowboys (then the Rangers)?

He was assistant director of sports, where he oversaw the 1960 Winter Olympic Games in Squaw Valley, California. These games were held less than a month after the NFL granted a franchise to Dallas.

2. With which team was Schramm previously associated prior to holding the position from question #1?

Schramm held several positions with the Los Angeles Rams, including publicity director, assistant director, and general manager.

3. Who recommended Schramm to Clint Murchison, Jr.?

George Halas of the Chicago Bears.

4. What job did Gil Brandt hold when he was hired by the Dallas franchise?

He was a baby photographer prior to joining the Cowboys.

5. What was Brandt’s first title with the team?

Player scouting director.

6. Along with Murchison, who was the other franchisee (co-owner) when Dallas was awarded an NFL franchise?

Bedford Wynne

7. Which two teams originally drafted Don Meredith?

The Chicago Bears of the NFL and the Dallas Texans of the AFL.

8. How did the Dallas franchise obtain the rights to Meredith?

Dallas traded future draft picks to the Chicago Bears for the rights to Meredith, who was taken in the third round by the Bears. The team then signed Meredith to a personal services contract, which was contingent on Dallas receiving a franchise.

9. On January 3, 1960, Meredith starred in what game?

Meredith starred in the East-West Shrine Game on that date. His nine-yard touchdown pass to Don Bass of the College of the Pacific won the game for the West.

10. True or False: Meredith originally agreed to a three-year, $100,000 per-year contract with an AFL team before backing out of the deal.

False. Meredith was reportedly offered this amount, but he immediately made it clear he would play in the NFL.

11. Shortly after Lamar Hunt and other owners announced the formation of the American Football League, Chicago’s George Halas in August 1959 announced that two cities would likely receive NFL franchises. Dallas was one city. What was the other?

The other city was Houston, which had not yet been offered an AFL franchise.

12. What did Hunt call the move announced by Halas?

Hunt referred to the move as “sabotage.”

13. Which franchise was Murchison interested in purchasing in 1952 but could not because he was out of the country?

Murchison wanted to buy the Dallas Texans before the franchise was sold to Carroll Rosenbloom, who moved the team to Baltimore to become the Colts. According to Dallas Cowboys Trivia Challenge by Gary Stratton and Robert Krug, Murchison was in South America at the time and was unable to buy the team. Peter Golenbock in Landry’s Boys, however, reported that Murchison asked NFL commissioner Bert Bell for a 24-hour grace period to study the team’s books. Bell refused the request and awarded Rosenbloom the franchise. Golenbock’s account is probably accurate.

14. Which current NFL franchise did Murchison try to purchase during the 1950s?

There are actually two– the Chicago Cardinals and the Washington Redskins.

15. At the NFL owners’ meeting in Miami in January 1960, four cities were in the running to receive an expansion team. In addition to Dallas, what were the other three cities?

The other three cities included Miami, Minneapolis-St. Paul, and St. Louis. The Cardinals later that year moved from Chicago to St. Louis, and Minneapolis-St. Paul received an expansion team in 1961. Miami received an expansion team in the AFL in 1966.

16. Tom Landry succeeded which quarterback at the University of Texas in the late 1940s?

Bobby Layne.

17. Landry reportedly had at least three head coaching offers prior to accepting the job with the Cowboys. Which teams were interested in hiring him?

Three other teams included the Los Angeles Rams, who had just fired coach Sid Gillman; the Houston Oilers of the AFL, who eventually hired Lou Rymkus; and the Dallas Texans, who hired Hank Stram, a backfield coach with the University of Miami.

18. True or False: Landry served as a coach during a pro football game at the Cotton Bowl prior to his arrival as head coach of the Cowboys in 1960.

True. The New York Giants travelled to Dallas in August 1959 to play an exhibition game against the World Champion Baltimore Colts in the Cotton Bowl. Landry was still the defensive coach of the Giants at that time.

19. Landry was well-known as a businessman in Dallas before he was hired as the head coach of the Dallas franchise. What was his area of business during the offseason?

Landry sold insurance in Dallas during the off-seasons.

20. In December 1959, Dallas tried to obtain the rights to a halfback who chose instead to sign with the AFL’s Dallas Texans. Who was this player?

Abner Haynes.

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A Forgotten Founder of the Dallas Cowboys

Question #6 of yesterday’s trivia post asked who was the original co-owner of the Dallas Cowboys, along with Clint Murchison, Jr. Except for some fans who have been with the team for a long time and those who enjoy history and trivia, few probably would remember the name Bedford Wynne off the top of their heads.

Most accounts of the efforts to bring an NFL team to Dallas treated Murchison and Wynne as partners, and Wynne clearly served as the spokesman of this partnership. Wynne was the one who announced the hiring of Tex Schramm as general manager of the proposed team in November 1959. Wynne was also present at the meeting in Miami in 1960 when NFL owners officially approved the Dallas club as a franchise.

The picture above shows Wynne and Murchison, left, along with Redskins owner George Preston Marshall and Tex Schramm. Marshall had been one of the more vocal opponents of expansion, especially to the Southwest.

Wynne’s story is actually quite fascinating. Born July 14, 1923, he attended high school in Longview before graduating from the New Mexico Military Institute. He spent three and a half years in the Army and then attended the University of Texas. After graduating from UT, he moved on to SMU Law School and was later admitted to practice in Texas.

He came from a prominent family in East Texas. His father was a lawyer and active on the political scene. His brother was a successful real estate developer, and his uncle was a famous oilman. Wynne joined his family’s law firm and became a partner.

His interests were diverse. He was a director with such companies and organizations as Reliance Life Insurance Company, the Sweetwater Development Center, Junior Achievement, Children’s Development Center, the Cotton Bowl Athletic Association, University of Texas Ex-Students Association, Highland Park United Methodist Church, and the nonprofit Garrett Foundation. He was also co-owner of Wynne & Black, an oil business, as well as the Garrett-Wynne Angus Ranch of Longmont, Colorado.

In 1959, he earned media attention when he bought a share of a famed Black Angus bull named Prince 105, which reportedly carried a hefty price tag of $230,000. During the same year, Wynne was actively involved with an effort to bring top professional bowlers to the Dallas area. At that time, he was an official with Great Southwest Lanes of Arlington.

When Dallas millionaire Lamar Hunt and others announced the formation of the American Football League during the summer of 1959, the NFL moved quickly to announce that the older league would expand as early as 1961. The first two cities named as possible locations were Dallas and Houston, and Murchison and Wynne appeared in the newspapers constantly during negotiations. These negotiations ultimately succeeded, and Dallas received a franchise a year earlier than originally announced.

Because Wynne appeared in the newspaper so often, many thought he was an equal co-owner. However, Clint Murchsion owned 95% of the team with his brother John, while Wynne was only a minority owner along with Toddie Lee Wynne and W.R. “Fritz” Hawn. Bedford Wynne held the position of director and secretary of the Cowboys.

In 1967, Wynne decided to sell his shares in the Cowboys to help organize the expansion New Orleans Saints. He also left his law practice in 1967 and began to focus on other business ventures.

After 1967, Wynne’s name surfaced less and less. In one interesting story, he won a camper at the Byron Nelson Classic in Fort Worth when he hit a tee shot closer to the mark than opponent Mickey Mantle.

He was chairman of a group that operated and managed Teen America Associates, which produced a teen beauty pageant for several years, and he later became president of Family Recovery Inc., a family counseling service.

Wynne died at the age of 65 on December 30, 1989 of a heart attack. He was survived by three daughters and a son, along with six grandchildren.

Interestingly, although Bedford Wynne has no entry on Wikipedia, his name shows up on Wikipedia under the entries for both the Dallas Cowboys and Clint Murchison, Jr. There is also an entry for Bedford’s brother, Angus, who founded Six Flags over Texas.

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Dallas Cowboys Early History Trivia Questions

Even before they were officially “born” on January 28, 1960, the Dallas Cowboys (nee Rangers) had an interesting history. Here are twenty trivia questions focused on the history of the team prior to its official formation.

1. What position did Tex Schramm hold immediately before being named as general manager of the Cowboys (then the Rangers)?

2. With which team was Schramm previously associated prior to holding the position from question #1?

3. Who recommended Schramm to Clint Murchison, Jr.?

4. What job did Gil Brandt hold when he was hired by the Dallas franchise?

5. What was Brandt’s first title with the team?

6. Along with Murchison, who was the other franchisee (co-owner) when Dallas was awarded an NFL franchise?

7. Which two teams originally drafted Don Meredith?

8. How did the Dallas franchise obtain the rights to Meredith?

9. On January 3, 1960, Meredith starred in what game?

10. True or False: Meredith originally agreed to a three-year, $100,000 per-year contract with an AFL team before backing out of the deal.

11. Shortly after Lamar Hunt and other owners announced the formation of the American Football League, Chicago’s George Halas in August 1959 announced that two cities would likely receive NFL franchises. Dallas was one city. What was the other?

12. What did Hunt call the move announced by Halas?

13. Which franchise was Murchison interested in purchasing in 1952 but could not because he was out of the country?

14. Which current NFL franchise did Murchison try to purchase during the 1950s?

15. At the NFL owners’ meeting in Miami in January 1960, four cities were in the running to receive an expansion team. In addition to Dallas, what were the other three cities?

16. Tom Landry succeeded which quarterback at the University of Texas in the late 1940s?

17. Landry reportedly had at least three head coaching offers prior to accepting the job with the Cowboys. Which teams were interested in hiring him?

18. True or False: Landry served as a coach during a pro football game at the Cotton Bowl prior to his arrival as head coach of the Cowboys in 1960.

19. Landry was well-known as a businessman in Dallas before he was hired as the head coach of the Dallas franchise. What was his area of business during the offseason?

20. In December 1959, Dallas tried to obtain the rights to a halfback who chose instead to sign with the AFL’s Dallas Texans. Who was this player?

I’ll post the answers in a couple of days. If you know the answers, please use the comments section.

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A Dallas Quarterback Should Expect Turmoil

In 29 years as head coach of the Dallas Cowboys, Tom Landry went through a total of six primary starters at quarterback. The icon some called Plastic Man had a singular focus on winning, but as one of the great teachers among NFL coaching legends, he placed winning in its proper context.

Generally, achieving goals…which in many cases means winning…is really the ultimate in this life we live in. Being the best at whatever talent you have, that’s what stimulates life. I don’t mean cheating or doing things that are bad. That’s the negative side. But here’s the thing: what are the alternatives? If you don’t believe in winning, you don’t believe in free enterprise, capitalism, our way of life. If you eliminate our way of life, the American way of life, what is the effect…what are the alternatives?

Achievement builds character. People striving, being knocked down and coming back…this is what builds character in a man. The Bible talks about it at length in Paul, in Romans. Paul says that adversity brings on endurance, endurance brings on character, and character brings on hope.

Current Dallas quarterback Tony Romo does not appear to have a great mentor to guide him, and he is now taking heat for comments made after the team’s final loss at Philadelphia. The quote, “If I’m never going to win the Super Bowl, I’ll be content in life,” has many diehard fans questioning his leadership (or simply giving up on him altogether), and the pressure he will face in 2009 may very well be greater than any previous season.

In one of the leading stories this week, Troy Aikman was openly critical of Romo on Michael Irvin’s radio show. In an article today, Romo countered that he has vowed to become a better leader. Todd Archer’s story noted:

Romo acknowledges he gets “philosophical,” about things because it “might ease the pain of the moment,” and that’s what he said he did in Philadelphia.

“I might have tried to find a silver lining to talk myself into feeling OK,” Romo said. “But I’m still not OK with it.”

Romo is feeling the heat and experiencing the turmoil that every Dallas quarterback has felt. Criticism of Romo sounds very much like the criticism heard by Don Meredith, whom Landry struggled to develop into a winning quarterback. In the great book Landry’s Boys, Peter Golenbock noted that Landry spent years “preaching seriousness and commitment to his quarterback, and in return he was treated to country-western songs in the huddle and raucous behavior that seemed to him to belie a lack of maturity.”

Romo has been criticized for his high-profile relationships, and new allegations suggest that he has not prepared as he should. In his day, Meredith was simply a happy-go-lucky guy would sing country-western songs in the huddle. In 1965, Meredith injured his shoulder in training camp when he slipped and fell on a wet floor during a water gun fight. Meredith completed less than half of his passes that season, and though he went 7-4 as a starter, the team finished with a disappointing 7-7 record overall.

Like Romo, Meredith lost more big games than he won. Meredith won only one playoff game in Dallas, but that win over Cleveland in 1967 has been almost completely overshadowed by the loss in the Ice Bowl a week later. In Meredith’s final official game (not counting the Runner Up Bowl), he was benched in the second half in a playoff loss at Cleveland. The pressure from fans and media alike led to an early retirement at the age of 31.

Romo now has three big, potentially career-defining, losses on his resume, including playoff losses in 2006 and 2007 and season finale at Philadelphia in 2008. It does not help him that winning is what defined Roger Staubach’s legacy in Dallas, much as it defined Aikman’s. Losing quarterbacks in Dallas end up in a different class. And whereas Meredith was later forgiven of his failures, the others have not.

Craig Morton was the first of these other quarterbacks. Morton replaced Meredith as a full-time starter in 1969 and led Dallas to an impressive 11-2-1 record. However, Landry called Morton’s toughness into question because the quarterback failed to heal from a shoulder injury quickly enough to start the season. Moreover, the Cowboys further solidified their place as Next Year’s Champions when Morton’s Cowboys fell to Cleveland in the 1969 playoffs.

Morton was, of course, the first Dallas quarterback to lead the team to a Super Bowl, but it was hardly the quarterback play that got the Cowboys there. In two playoff wins, Morton went a combined 11 of 40 for 139 yards with one touchdown and one interception. He was no better in Super Bowl V, when he managed only 127 yards passing and threw two crucial interceptions that helped Baltimore win the game.

Morton’s last playoff start was in 1972 against the San Francisco 49ers. Dallas won the game, but only because Staubach came off the bench to pull out the win in miraculous fashion. Morton left Dallas two years later and is hardly remembered at all by many Dallas fans; a number of those who do remember him are more likely to associate him with Denver than with Dallas.

More fans have a better memory of Danny White, and a number of people have compared Romo with White due to their failures. White spent four seasons as a backup (along with handling punting duties) before he stepped into the starter’s role in 1980. White had several great wins, including the famous 1980 divisional playoff game against Atlanta, but he fought an uphill battle from the moment he took over as starter. His first flaw was that he wasn’t Roger Staubach, and to many fans, he proved he wasn’t Roger Staubach when he lost three consecutive NFC Championship Games. White retired with a career record of 62-30 as a starter– a 67.4% winning percentage– but he is remembered by many as a loser because of those key playoff losses.

That’s what a Dallas quarterback can expect. And that’s why Tony Romo should not be surprised by the heat he’s receiving now, and until he wins– right or wrong–it will only get worse.

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New Series: 50 Seasons in 50 Weeks

The National Football League was created in 1920 as the American Professional Football Conference. The actual birth of the NFL was August 20, 1920, when owners voted in Canton, Ohio to approve the formation of the new league. Using this date, this would mean that the league turned 50 years old in 1970, 75 years old in 1995, and so forth.

Instead of using those dates, however, the league has had a somewhat odd tradition of celebrating anniversaries by the number of seasons, not by the dates. Thus, the league celebrated its 50th season in 1969 and its 75th season in 1994.


The Dallas Cowboys were officially “born” on January 28, 1960, when NFL owners at a meeting in Miami approved a new franchise in Dallas and awarded the franchise to Clint Murchison, Jr. Consistent with the NFL’s anniversary celebrations, the Cowboys have celebrated their 25th and 40th seasons in 1984 and 1999, respectively, even though the Cowboys turned 25 years old in 1985 and 40 years old in 2000. As noted in an earlier post, the Cowboys will celebrate their 50th season in 2009.


Last off-season, this blog featured a series on the greatest players organized by their jersey numbers, which provided a context to summarize every player in team history up to that point. Beginning one week from today (on January 28, the 49th anniversary of the team’s formation), this blog will begin to feature a long series entitled 50 Seasons in 50 Weeks. A few ideas for blog entries include the following:

If there are any other ideas, please leave a comment. The final week of the series will begin on Wednesday, January 13, 2010, with that week’s focus on the 2009 Cowboys. Hopefully, we will have more optimism about the Cowboys then than we do now.

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Classic Articles Paint a Picture of Don Meredith

Sports Illustrated writer Tex Maule once described Dallas quarterback Don Meredith as “a young man whose insouciance has sometimes been mistaken for carelessness.” Meredith’s apparent lack of care or concern (insouciance) was indeed something that was misinterpreted. However, the Dallas press and many of the Cowboys’ fans were unforgiving of his mistakes. Gary Cartright famously introduced a story in 1965 by noting:

Outlined against a grey November sky, the Four Horsemen rode again Sunday.

You know them: Pestilence, death, famine and Meredith.

Meredith led the young Cowboys from an talentless expansion team to one of the league’s best teams, but the team’s failures in the 1966 and 1967 NFL championship games, along with a 1968 playoff loss to the Cleveland Browns, led to Meredith’s early retirement at the age of 31.

A bit of trivia: when SI announced Meredith’s retirement in 1969, the story mentioned that Meredith had already chosen a new career path. It wasn’t as a sports broadcaster.

RETIRED: DON MEREDITH, 31, quarterback of the Dallas Cowboys since the team’s inception in 1960, to become a stockbroker. Meredith twice led the Cowboys to the Eastern Conference championship, only to be defeated by Green Bay in spectacularly close NFL title games. Meredith said he had become “halfhearted” about football. “It’s like playing a round of golf and not taking all your clubs,” he said. “I don’t want to play with half a bag.”

The stockbroker career did not last long, as ABC hired Meredith in 1970 to become part of the first team on Monday Night Football. Meredith’s debut on September 21, 1970 was met with a lukewarm reception, though SI’s Frank Deford saw potential in Dandy Don:

The employment of ex-athletes as color commentators is a vote for incompetence that we have long tolerated. It is the product of a mentality that would hire a patient to advise at his next operation. But Meredith—as ABC well recognizes—is a potential exception. He is smooth and clever in the TV genre (”Anyway, I can beat you here,” he told Bart Starr once after they appeared together on the Johnny Carson show). In his rookie game, however, Meredith was tight. Cosell, trying nobly to help the new fellow along, unfortunately kept referring to him as “Dandy Don,” which conjured up an image of a round-faced ventriloquist’s dummy. There was also a general effort, which Meredith encouraged, to make him over into some sort of Joe Garagiola with shoulder pads. Meredith was too good an athlete to be thus cast, and may end up as too good an announcer as well.

During his first three years on MNF, Meredith earned widespread accolades, including an Emmy award. By 1973, he was looking to expand his opportunities. The first issue of Texas Monthly featured a cover story on Meredith. The article entitled “Tuning In Dandy Don,” published in February 1973, noted:

Don Meredith wants to pursue an acting career. But, again, he is wary. “I’ve been interested in acting for a long time,” he explains, “but I went into the stock brokerage business after I got out of pro football. I really didn’t like it at all. I was trying to wear another hat and—well, it was bad. After a year I knew that this was something I didn’t want to do anymore, so I decided to pursue something that I liked. I made a choice to be an actor, and I signed with Dick Clayton, a very fine motion picture agent whom I met through Burt Reynolds. But the tough thing about my getting into acting is that they still want me to do football coaches and football players, ex-football players. Those roles just don’t interest me at all. Occasionally, there’ll be a Western or a war movie—but still I’d just be an ex-football player.”

Meredith appeared in a number of television roles during the 1970s. He left ABC in 1974 and joined NBC, serving as a color analyst for Super Bowl IX. He returned to MNF in 1977 and remained through the 1984 season. His final broadcast was Super Bowl XIX.

From that point, Meredith did what few celebrities can: he left the public eye almost altogether. In 1996, New York Times reporter Richard Sandomir caught up with Meredith when the former quarterback was signing autographs at Kmart in New York in 1996. According to the article, “Dandy” Don was then long gone.

That was Don Meredith in the boyswear department of Kmart on lower Broadway yesterday morning, surrounded by tykes’ Knick and Ranger jackets, wasn’t it?

And didn’t he materialize again hours later at the Kmart in Penn Plaza? ”Dandy Don” of ”Monday Night Football” at Kmart? Without a clothing line to market or an autobiography to sell?

Indeed, Meredith dutifully sat behind a table, signing photos, cards, books, helmets, mini-helmets, newspapers and magazine covers — for nothing — because he was asked to by Floyd Hall, Kmart’s cheerful chairman.

SI caught up with Meredith in 2000 in another rare interview.

. . . Meredith is stunned to learn that he’s considered a recluse. After agreeing to host a rare visitor (who had to negotiate with him via fax)—he thinks he’s done one other interview in the last nine years—Meredith makes clear that what others consider seclusion he understands to be a regular life. No, he hasn’t welcomed a lot of media to his little compound in Santa Fe, but what of it? “A recluse?” he says. “I don’t understand that. I don’t feel reclusive. I actually feel kinda normal.”

Cowboys’ fans almost always rank Meredith among the greatest Cowboys, and any disappointment with the team’s performance in the 1960s has long since vanished. He did not attend the ceremony after the final game at Texas Stadium, one of the few surviving members of the Ring of Honor who did not show up. But that is precisely what has become the norm for Meredith, for he doesn’t need the applause.

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