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Dallas Cowboys Football Club, Ltd. Business Information, Profile, and History

One Cowboys Parkway
Irving, Texas 75063
U.S.A.

History of Dallas Cowboys Football Club, Ltd.

The Dallas Cowboys Football Club, Ltd. is the most profitable professional sports operation in the United States. Since entering the National Football League (NFL) as an expansion team in 1960, the franchise has appeared in more Super Bowls than any other team and is one of only two teams to have won five of them. Under the direction of owner Jerral (Jerry) W. Jones, the Cowboys have excelled off the field as well. Jones has run the team as a business, boosting revenue and profits through marketing deals, as well as the sales of stadium suites and tickets. While Jones's individualistic and sometimes iconoclastic ways have led him into disputes with the NFL's power structure, they have benefitted himself and his team handsomely.

Early Years: 1960-70

The Dallas Cowboys Football Club entered the NFL as an expansion team in 1960. The driving force behind the team was its first owner, Clint Murchison, Jr., who paid $600,000 for the franchise. Even before he was awarded the team, Murchison had settled on his coaching staff, hiring Tex Schramm, then a public relations employee with the Los Angeles Rams, to serve as the Cowboys' general manager, and tapping then-New York Giants defensive coordinator Tom Landry as head coach. Schramm and Landry would lead the team for the next 29 years.

The Cowboys' first years were difficult. With no permanent stadium or training facility, the young team finished the 1960 season winless. Although Dallas recorded its first victory in the 1961, it would not boast a winning season until 1966.

Despite its early on-field struggles, the team gained a great deal of exposure and a loyal fan base. With his marketing savvy, Schramm recognized the importance of image to the Cowboys' long term success--both on and off the field. When Dallas negotiated the terms of its entrance into the NFL, Schramm had lobbied hard for the Cowboys to be included in the league's eastern division, home to the New York Giants, who played in the single largest television market in the country. As a result, Cowboys games reached millions of television viewers. Schramm made sure the team capitalized on the opportunity. 'We captured people's imagination because we had good looking uniforms ... [and] a modest head coach that people respected.... We were just the underdog people would be attracted to,' Schramm told the Dallas Morning News in 1999.

The Cowboys also benefitted from league-wide changes that began the same year Dallas joined the NFL. At the time, the NFL was under pressure from the American Football League (AFL), a rival association of teams founded in 1960. (In fact, the AFL created the Dallas Texans in 1960, which competed directly against the Cowboys, though in 1963, the Texans moved to Kansas City, becoming the Chiefs).

Pete Rozelle, who had been named NFL commissioner in 1960, strove to rally the league against this upstart. By the early 1960s, the NFL had begun to lose some of its luster due to a growing competitive imbalance among its franchises. This situation arose largely because of the fragmented television coverage arrangements the NFL's individual teams had made. Until this point, each team had been free to negotiate its own broadcast deals and to keep whatever revenues were generated (with the exception of the NFL championship game, the rights fees for which were shared equally). As more popular teams in larger markets commanded better deals, they received more money, which they used to sign better players. Rozelle was able to convince the owners of the danger posed by this situation; if two or three teams gained total hegemony, fan interest (and therefore the league as a whole) would falter. National television contracts were soon negotiated, the proceeds of which were split evenly among all teams. In a similar vein, Rozelle launched NFL Properties in 1963 to promote the league as a whole. Under this arrangement, royalties from the sale of the merchandise of each NFL team were pooled, with all teams sharing equally in the profits. It was, according to the Orange Country Register, 'at that point that the league really took off.'

In 1966, Schramm joined with Lamar Hunt, the owner of the Chiefs, to negotiate a merger between the NFL and the AFL. The union was consummated in 1967, with the two league's 24 teams converging under the NFL's umbrella. All teams now shared a common draft, all national television resources, and a championship game known as the Super Bowl.

While the NFL adjusted to these changes, the Cowboys began steadily to improve their record on the field. In 1966, Dallas won its first Eastern Conference title, though it lost the NFL Championship Game later that year to the Green Bay Packers. In 1967, the Cowboys again traveled to Green Bay, this time for the NFC title. (The winner would then play the AFC champion in the first Super Bowl.) Although Dallas again lost, the game raised the team's profile further. Played in temperatures well below freezing, the game (known afterwards as the 'Ice Bowl') was closely contested and became a symbol of pro football's gritty image. Dallas at last captured the NFC crown in 1970, though it lost to Baltimore in the Super Bowl.

America's Team: 1970-80

In an effort to boost the Cowboys' ticket sales (one revenue source teams were allowed to keep for themselves), Murchison oversaw the construction of a new stadium, which was completed in 1971. Located in Irving, Texas, a suburb of Dallas, Texas Stadium could hold over 58,000 fans. Even more noteworthy was Murchison's prescience in building 180 luxury suites in the stadium. Unlike standard seats, luxury suites offered spacious and comfortable accommodations with excellent views of the field. Air-conditioned and glassed-in, the suites provided a more upscale environment from which to watch the game. The suites carried a hefty price tag, though, and were marketed to profitable corporations as an ideal spot to entertain clients or colleagues. The revenue generated by the sale of these suites helped not only the team's bottom line, but also positioned it to attract a bevy of talented athletes who would lead the team on a glorious run through the 1970s.

In 1971, the Cowboys beat the Miami Dolphins 24-3 to claim their first Super Bowl title. After achieving its tenth consecutive winning season in 1975, Dallas again reached the Super Bowl, losing that game to the Pittsburgh Steelers. However, Dallas rebounded in 1977 to claim its second Super Bowl, downing the Denver Broncos 27-10. The Cowboys returned to the Super Bowl again in 1978, and were edged out once again by the Steelers in what is largely regarded as one of the more exciting title games in NFL history.

The Cowboys success during this period earned it legions of supporters nationwide. The Ice Bowl had given the team an image as a scrappy underdog, and its 1970s roster of charismatic stars--including quarterback Roger Staubach, wide receiver Drew Pearson, and running back Tony Dorsett--captured the hearts and minds of fans around the country. A highlight film produced by the league in 1976 referred to the Cowboys as 'America's Team.' The moniker both fit and stuck.

Tough Times: 1980-89

While President Reagan declared that 1980 marked a new morning in America, 'America's Team' found the dawning decade to be a bleak one after the brilliance of the 1970s. Staubach retired in March 1980, and while the Cowboys would return to the NFC championship game in 1980, 1981, and 1982, they were unable to make it back to the Super Bowl. In 1984, Murchison sold the team for $60 million to an 11-member limited partnership headed by Dallas entrepreneur H.R. 'Bum' Bright. Bright instituted few personnel changes; both Landry and Schramm remained in their positions. However, the Cowboys' decline accelerated as the team missed the playoffs entirely for the first time in a decade. In 1985, the team moved its headquarters and training facility to the newly-constructed Cowboys Center in Valley Ranch, but its on-field performance continued to flag. In 1986, the Cowboys had their first losing season in 20 years, and things turned ugly. Both Schramm and Bright publicly sniped at Landry, who had by then become a Dallas institution. In 1988, the team recorded an embarrassing record of three wins and 13 losses. The team's profits spiraled downward with its record. Between 1983 and 1987, attendance at Texas Stadium fell 24 percent. To compound the problem, television revenues had decreased in the wake of declining ratings caused by fan disgruntlement with the labor disputes that plagued the league throughout the 1980s.

Rebuilding: 1989-91

Despite these downturns, Arkansas oilman Jerry Jones bought the Cowboys and Texas Stadium in 1989 for $140 million, the most ever paid for an NFL franchise. Observers were amazed at the price. Their shock only grew when Jones implemented sweeping changes at the organization. Jones confidently pledged that the Cowboys would win the Super Bowl within five years and immediately set out to rebuild the team. In an act which brought him death threats, Jones fired Landry and replaced him with University of Miami coach Jimmy Johnson. Schramm resigned soon after, and Jones named himself general manager.

Jones was determined to return the Cowboys to profitability. To do so, he cut expenses--laying off two-thirds of administrative personnel--and simultaneously strove to boost revenues. His first priority was to reverse the exodus of fans from Texas Stadium. After lowering regular ticket prices, Jones aggressively marketed vacant luxury suites. By the end of 1989, he had filled 27 of them, raising a total of $27 million. Jones used this money to attract excellent players, knowing that fans--and thus ticket sales--would return to watch a winning team. In 1989, he paid a record $10.4 million to secure the services of rookie quarterback Troy Aikman and, in 1990, drafted running back Emmitt Smith who--along with Aikman and wide receiver Michael Irvin--would form the heart of the Cowboys' successful teams of the 1990s.

A New Dynasty: 1991-95

Jones was universally despised during his first season as owner. To make matters worse, the Cowboys finished the 1989 season with a pitiful record of 1-15. The community 'judged this man to be a fast-talking, hot-dogging, publicity-hounding Arkansas hillbilly with more dollars than sense,' observed the Houston Chronicle. Nevertheless, the Cowboys broke even in 1989 with revenues of $32 million. Good news in the accounting department was soon followed by good news on the field, as the Cowboys returned to the playoffs in 1991, posting the team's best record since 1983. In 1992, Jones made good on his promise, as the Cowboys won their third Super Bowl. Moreover, the next year, the Cowboys again claimed the Super Bowl title. By then, Jones had nearly tripled the value of the franchise. With its net income in 1993 estimated to be $10.7 million, the Cowboys were ranked among the top five profit-producers of all U.S. sport franchises. As agent Lee Steinberg explained to U.S. News & World Report: 'from the beginning, [Jones] has seen that everything--from his players to his stadium--has value beyond just that of a football team. Everything is part of a business that cross-fertilizes other ventures in that business.'

Jones's financial success continued in the mid-1990s. By the close of the 1994 season, he had increased the number of occupied luxury stadium suites from 100 to 300 and was planning to build more. Because NFL franchises could keep local television contracts, Jones renegotiated these deals, boosting them from $2.8 million to $6.2 million in 1994. Even more impressive was Jones's savvy in bringing in local advertising revenues. By aggressively selling stadium billboards and local corporate sponsorships, the Cowboys raised advertising sales from $400,000 to $8.5 million in 1994. In the process, Jones forged an impressive profit-making cycle. The team's success generated revenue, which paid for talented players, who won more games, which improved the team's reputation, which generated more revenue. Financial World named the Cowboys the most valuable franchise in sports in 1994 and 1995.

Despite the Cowboys' success on the field, Jones replaced Johnson as head coach with Barry Switzer in 1994. The move was not entirely shocking, as both Jones and Johnson were exceptionally strong willed and had clashed repeatedly. Even with the coaching change, the Cowboys returned to the Super Bowl--and won--in 1995.

Jones continued to seek new ways to convert the team's on-field success into profit. He began to lobby the NFL to end the practice of pooling merchandise sales, since in 1994 and 1995, nearly one-third of all NFL paraphernalia purchased in the United States bore the Cowboy's logo. However, the league refused. In response, Jones forged independent marketing alliances with sponsors in 1995. Nike Inc., PepsiCo, and American Express all made special agreements with the Cowboys that excluded the rest of the NFL. (In fact, the NFL as a whole had sponsorship relationships with Reebok and Coca-Cola, which directly competed against Dallas' individual sponsors. Moreover, the revenues derived from the NFL's corporate sponsors were equally divided among all the teams, including the Cowboys.) Because Dallas's deals were struck formally between Texas Stadium and its various sponsors, the Cowboys were not technically breaking the NFL's resource-pooling policies. Nevertheless, the NFL was deeply threatened by Jones's actions. 'The whole system is based on revenue sharing and access to players,' league commissioner Paul Tagliabue told USA Today. In September 1995, the NFL filed a $300 million lawsuit against Jones; he responded with a countersuit for $750 million. In 1996, both parties agreed to drop their suits.

The Late 1990s

Despite its high profile status and considerable earnings--Financial World estimated that in 1998 the team netted $41.3 million on revenues of $413 million--the team did not return to the Super Bowl after 1995. In part this was due to the aging of Dallas's core players. It was also a result of changes in the league's collective bargaining agreement that made it easier for teams to sign free-agents away from their competitors. While the Cowboys invested heavily in their marquee athletes, the league's salary cap prevented them from locking up many of the key players who had quietly but crucially contributed to the team's success. In 1998, Jones fired Switzer and installed Chan Gailey as head coach. However, this change failed to right the listing ship, and Gailey was released after a disappointing 1999 campaign. Dave Campo was then chosen to lead the team into the new century.

Even with its on-field woes, though, Jones had placed the franchise in an enviable financial position. As one of the first owners to view the operation of an NFL team as a true business, he established a course that appears likely to alter the face of the league for years to come.

Principal Competitors: Washington Football Inc.; Tennessee Titans L.L.P.; Chicago Bears Football Club Inc.; Arizona Cardinals; New York Giants; Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Related information about Dallas Cowboys

American football team, founded in 1960 and self-described as ‘America's team’ following its success in the Super Bowl in the 1970s (1972, 1978) and 1990s (1993–4, 1996). Its record of five Super Bowl wins is a record shared with the San Francisco 49ers. The Cowboys have also been National Football Championship Eastern division champions 14 times and NFC champions 8 times.

The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas, Texas metropolitan area, and currently play their home games in the suburb of Irving (the team is scheduled to move to a new stadium in nearby Arlington in 2009). They are currently members of the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference (NFC) in the National Football League (NFL). The team is sometimes referred to colloquially as America's Team due to its having a large fan base that lives outside its immediate local area (the term itself is derived from the title of the team's 1979 NFL Films highlight film). According to Forbes Magazine, the Cowboys are one of the most valuable sports teams in North America, with an estimated value of approximately $1.1 billion.

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), the most appearances in the NFC Championship Game (14), 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). They are also tied with the San Francisco 49ers and the Pittsburgh Steelers for having the most Super Bowl wins (5).

Most of the team's success occurred during a 30-year period from 1966 to 1996 when they qualified for the playoffs 24 times (80%), played in 14 NFC Championship Games (over half of all of the conference title games played) and took the field for 8 Super Bowls (over one quarter of all of the Super Bowl games held).

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.citation needed 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 team was first known as the Dallas Steers, then the Dallas Rangers before settling on the nickname the Cowboys for the 1960 season.
The new Dallas owners, Murchison and Wynne, immediately hired Tex Schramm to be the general manager and Tom Landry to be the head coach. 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. Quarterback Don Meredith and running back Don Perkins joined the team and by 1966, the Cowboys had their first winning season (10-3-1; (The Cowboys would later match and extend that record, raising the bar to an NFL record 9 straight playoff appearances in 1983.) By the mid-60s, the Cowboys had become a powerful force in the NFL, sending eight players to the Pro Bowl including Cowboy legends: Bob Hayes, 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. The Cowboys competed for the affections of the people of Dallas with Lamar Hunt's Dallas Texans of the AFL. Although the Dallas Texans (in the AFL) had a far better record than the NFL's Dallas Cowboys, in 1963 the popularity of the Cowboys drove the Texans out of Dallas to Kansas City where they became the Kansas City Chiefs. Texas Stadium in Irving, a Dallas County suburb, would be completed for the 1971 season.

Dallas' first appearance in the postseason was the 1966 NFL Championship Game after they won the Eastern Conference with a 10-3-1 regular season record, but they were defeated by the Green Bay Packers, 34-27. The game, which happened on December 31, 1967 at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, turned out to be the coldest NFL game in history (about -13° F with a -40° wind chill). The Cowboys lost 21-17 on a one-yard quarterback sneak by Packers quarterback Bart Starr. Meredith and Perkins retired in 1969 and many new players were joining the organization, like Cliff Harris, Lee Roy Jordan, and Dan Reeves, plus Pro Football Hall of Famers Rayfield Wright, Mike Ditka, Herb Adderly 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 with five seconds remaining in the contest.

The Cowboys moved from the Cotton Bowl to Texas Stadium in week six of the 1971 season, but Dallas stumbled out of the gate by going 4-3 in the first half of the season, including losses to the mediocre New Orleans Saints and Chicago Bears. The Cowboys won their last seven regular season games before dispatching of the Minnesota Vikings and San Francisco 49ers in the playoffs to return to the Super Bowl. In Super Bowl VI, behind an MVP performance from Staubach and 252 yards rushing, the Cowboys crushed the upstart Miami Dolphins, 24-3, to finally shake the moniker of "Next Year's Champions". However, the Cowboys drafted well following the season, adding new legends like future Hall of Famer 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.

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 1980s 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. 1988: 3-13), Bright sold the Cowboys to Jerry Jones 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 UCLA quarterback Troy Aikman (yet another future Hall of Fame inductee) and traded away veteran running back Herschel Walker to the Minnesota Vikings for five veteran players and eight draft choices.

1990s

In 1990, the Cowboys drafted running back Emmitt Smith out of the University of Florida with the 17th overall pick in the first round, and the trifecta of quarterback Aikman, running back Smith, and wide receiver Michael Irvin was now set. 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 with a 13-3 record (second best in the league) and finally avenged their 1981 NFC Championship Game loss to San Francisco by defeating the 49ers in the conference title game, 30-20, in a muddy Candlestick Park. The Cowboys went on to crush the Buffalo Bills in Super Bowl XXVII, 52-17, forcing a Super Bowl record 9 turnovers. The following season, the Cowboys finished with 12-4, again defeating the 49ers in the NFC Championship, only this time at Texas Stadium, and again defeating the Buffalo Bills in Super Bowl XXVIII, 30-13. The Cowboys sent an NFL record 11 players to the Pro Bowl: Aikman, Smith, Irvin, Thomas Everett, Daryl Johnston, Russell Maryland, Nate Newton, Ken Norton Jr, Jay Novacek, Mark Stepnoski and Erik Williams.

However, Johnson and owner 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 won their fourth straight Division Championship (17th total) and advanced to their 8th NFC Championship title by defeating the Green Bay Packers at Texas Stadium, 38-27. The Cowboys eventually defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers, 27-17 at Sun Devil Stadium, in Super Bowl XXX, getting revenge against the Steelers for the two four-point losses in Super Bowl X and Super Bowl XIII.

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 brand-new 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. Injuries and persistent penalty problems hobbled the Cowboys, but a preseason quarterback controversy also caused trouble when starting quarterback Quincy Carter was suddenly terminated for alleged drug use in favor of 40-year-old veteran Vinny Testaverde, brought to the Cowboys from the New York Jets by his former coach, Parcells, in the off-season. The Cowboys started strong, with victories over 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 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 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. Jerry Jones also added a number of savvy veteran players, acquiring nose tackle Jason Ferguson and cornerback Anthony Henry via free agency. 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.

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.

On a November 24 1994 Thanksgiving day game against the Green Bay Packers, Dallas unveiled a white alternate jersey entitled the "Double-Star". It featured a giant Cowboy star on each shoulder, representing their back-to-back championships in Super Bowls XXVII and XXVIII during the previous two seasons. The Double-Star jerseys were later worn during the December 4 game against the Philadelphia Eagles, the December 19 Monday Night Football game against the New Orleans Saints, the December 24 contest versus the New York Giants, and throughout the 1994 season playoffs. The navy Double-Star jerseys were not seen again until 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 uniforms 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 19 Monday night game against Washington as well as another Thanksgiving game against Denver.

The Cowboys were the first NFL team to primarily wear their white jerseys at home, as every other team wore their colored jerseys at home. sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=lukas/051219 Since then, two other NFL teams, the Dolphins and the Redskins, have adopted the practice of wearing their white jerseys at home.

Throughout the years, the Cowboys' blue jerseys have been popularly viewed to be "jinxed" because they often seem to lose when they wear them.(cn) Most of the time, Dallas will wear their blue jerseys when they visit Miami, Washington, or one of the handful of teams, such as the Houston Texans, Carolina Panthers, or the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, that traditionally wear their white jerseys at home during the first half of the season due to the hot climates in their respective cities. But on some occasions, opposing teams will purposely wear their white jerseys at home to try and jinx the Cowboys.

The Cowboys have lost the following playoff games when wearing their dark jerseys:

Super Bowl V against the Baltimore Colts
The 1980 NFC Championship Game versus the Philadelphia Eagles
The 1982 NFC Championship Game against Washington
A 1996 Divisional playoff game versus the Carolina Panthers
A 2003 Wild Card playoff game against Carolina

Season-by-season records

|-
|1960 || Lost NFL Championship Game (Packers)
|-
|1967 || Won Divisional Playoffs (Browns)
Lost NFL Championship Game (Packers)
|-
|1968 || Lost Divisional Playoffs (Browns)
|-
|1969 || Lost Divisional Playoffs (Browns)
|-
|1970 || Won Divisional Playoffs (Lions)
Won Conference Championship (49ers)
Lost Super Bowl V (B. Won Divisional Playoffs (Vikings)
Won Conference Championship (49ers)
Won Super Bowl VI (Dolphins)
|-
|1972 || Won Divisional Playoffs (49ers)
Lost Conference Championship (Redskins)
|-
|1973 || Won Divisional Playoffs (L.A. Rams)
Lost Conference Championship (Vikings)
|-
|1974 || Won Divisional Playoffs (Vikings)
Won Conference Championship (L.A. Rams)
Lost Super Bowl X (Steelers)
|-
|1976 || Lost Divisional Playoffs (L.A. Won Divisional Playoffs (Bears)
Won Divisional Playoffs (Vikings)
Won Super Bowl XII (Broncos)
|-
|1978 || Won Divisional Playoffs (Falcons)
Won Conference Championship (L.A. Rams)
Lost Super Bowl XIII (Steelers)
|-
|1979 || Lost Divisional Playoffs (L.A. Won Wild Card Playoffs (L.A. Rams)
Won Divisional Playoffs (Falcons)
Lost Conference Championship (Eagles)
|-
|1981 || Won Divisional Playoffs (Buccaneers)
Lost Conference Championship (49ers)
|-
|1982 || Won First Round (Buccaneers)
Won Second Round (Packers)
Lost Conference Championship (Redskins)
|-
|1983 || Lost Wild Card Playoffs (L.A. Lost Divisional Playoffs (L.A. Won Wild Card Playoffs (Bears)
Lost Divisional Playoffs (Lions)
|-
|1992 || Won Divisional Playoffs (Eagles)
Won Conference Championship (49ers)
Won Super Bowl XXVII (Bills)
|-
|1993 || Won Divisional Playoffs (Packers)
Won Conference Championship (49ers)
Won Super Bowl XXVIII (Bills)
|-
|1994 || Won Divisional Playoffs (Packers)
Lost Conference Championship (49ers)
|-
|1995 || Won Divisional Playoffs (Eagles)
Won Conference Championship (Packers)
Won Super Bowl XXX (Steelers)
|-
|1996 || Won Wild Card Playoffs (Vikings)
Lost Divisional Playoffs (Panthers)
|-
|1997 || Lost Wild Card Playoffs (Cardinals)
|-
|1999 || Lost Wild Card Playoffs (Vikings)
|-
|2000 || Lost Wild Card Playoffs (Panthers)
|-
|2004 || On the Pro Football Hall of Fame's 1970s all-decade team (selected by the same group as the one charged with picking the inductees), there are six Dallas Cowboys (Drew Pearson, Rayfield Wright, Roger Staubach, Harvey Martin, Bob Lilly, and Cliff Harris) and eight Pittsburgh Steelers (Lynn Swann, Mike Webster, Terry Bradshaw, Franco Harris, LC Greenwood, Mean Joe Greene, Jack Ham and Jack Lambert)*. The top five teams (the Chicago Bears, Green Bay Packers, New York Giants, Pittsburgh Steelers and Washington Redskins, respectively) were all founded in 1933 or before. He is not included in the nine for the Cowboys, nor is Mike Ditka, who played for 8 years with the Bears and Eagles before ending his career with a four-year stint with the Cowboys.

Super Bowl MVPs

Although the Cowboys are tied with the 49ers and Steelers for the most Super Bowl victories with 5, Dallas actually holds the record for the most Super Bowl MVPs with 7:

Linebacker Chuck Howley - Super Bowl V

Howley was named the MVP for Super Bowl V despite the Cowboys' loss to the Baltimore Colts. In recording two interceptions and a fumble recovery during the game, Howley was the first defensive player to win the honor.
Quarterback Roger Staubach - Super Bowl VI

Staubach became the fifth quarterback overall to be awarded the MVP trophy after Dallas' win over the Miami Dolphins. He completed 12 out of 19 passes for 119 yards, threw 2 touchdown passes, and rushed 5 times for 18 yards.
(Tie) Defensive tackle Randy White and defensive end Harvey Martin - Super Bowl XII

Super Bowl XII marked the first time that two players won MVP honors.
Quarterback Troy Aikman - Super Bowl XXVII

Aikman became the second Cowboys quarterback to earn the MVP honor as he led the Cowboys to victory against the Buffalo Bills. He completed 22 of 30 passes for 273 yards and 4 touchdowns, while also rushing for 28 yards.
Running back Emmitt Smith - Super Bowl XXVIII

Smith's 30 carries for 132 yards, 4 receptions for 26 yards, and two touchdowns led Dallas to a victory over the Buffalo Bills. lead the league in rushing), the NFL Most Valuable Player Award, and Super Bowl MVP all in one season.
Cornerback Larry Brown - Super Bowl XXX

Brown became the first cornerback to be named Super Bowl MVP, recording two interceptions for a total of 77 return yards in . The Cowboys sealed the victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers by converting both of Brown's interceptions into touchdowns.

Retired numbers/"Ring of Honor"

Unlike many NFL teams, the Cowboys do not retire jersey numbers of past standouts as a matter of policy. The first inductee was Bob Lilly in 1975 and by 2005, the hallowed ring contained 17 names, all former Dallas players except for one head coach and one general manager/president.

However, some numbers of retired players, such as Roger Staubach, #12, are unofficially kept "active" to prevent them from being worn by current or future players. Troy Aikman, #8, and Emmitt Smith, #22, are other examples of this unofficial "rule."

The most recent inductees were: Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith and Michael Irvin, known as "The Triplets". The Cowboys waited until Smith had retired as a player before inducting Aikman and Irvin, so all three could be inducted together, which occurred during half time at a Monday Night Football home game against the arch-rival Washington Redskins on September 19, 2005.

Although the team doesn't officially retire jersey numbers, in the 2005 season, the numbers of "Ring of Honor" inductees Aikman (8), Staubach (12), Meredith (17), Hayes and Smith (22), Perkins and Harris (43) and Lilly (74) were not being worn by any Cowboys player. (Since some coached other NFL teams, their overall record may differ.)

1960-1988	Tom Landry	(270-178-6) Ranked 3rd All-Time (5 Super Bowl appearances, 2 victories) 20 Straight winning seasons.
1989-1993	Jimmy Johnson	(51-37) (2 Super Bowl appearances, 2 victories)
1994-1997	Barry Switzer	(45-26) (1 Super Bowl appearance, 1 victory)
1998-1999	Chan Gailey	(18-14)
2000-2002	Dave Campo	(15-33)
2003-Present	Bill Parcells	(25-23)

Current Staff

General Manager - Jerry Jones
Head Coach - Bill Parcells
Offensive Coordinator - Todd Haley & Tony Sparano
Defensive Coordinator - Mike Zimmer
Special Teams Coach - Bruce DeHaven
Quarterbacks Coach - Chris Palmer
Running Backs Coach - Anthony Lynn
Wide Receivers Coach - Todd Haley
Tight Ends Coach - Freddie Kitchens
Offensive Line Coach - Tony Sparano
Defensive Line Coach - Kacy Rodgers
Linebackers Coach - Paul Pasqualoni
Defensive Backs Coach - Todd Bowles
Strength and Conditioning - Joe Juraszek

Broadcasters

The Cowboys franchise has a rich history of producing well-known sportscasters over the years: the most famous of which is Verne Lundquist, who served as voice of the Cowboys from 1972 until 1984. Bill Mercer and Frank Glieber also were Cowboys announcers from the early days of the organization until Lundquist's arrival as a color analyst. Verne's new analyst, Brad Sham, joined him in 1977, became the new play-by-play announcer in 1984 and has been with the Cowboys ever since, except for a three-year hiatus between 1995 and 1998 (when Dave Garrett was the play-by-play announcer). Charlie Waters is the color analyst, and Kristi Scales is the sideline reporter.

The Cowboys Radio Network for many years was on KRLD, 103.5 KVIL and then on 98.7 KLUV-FM. It was confirmed that Brad Sham and Kristi Scales were to return, however Babe Laufenberg was not retained, On May 4, 2006, The Cowboys announced former safety Charlie Waters would be taking over the color commentary duties.www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/sports/football/14498224.htm Waters previously worked with Sham in 1979 when he missed much of the season due to an injury, including the famous Redskins-Cowboys game in which the Cowboys rallied from a 34-21 deficit to win the game in the final five minutes of the contest with two unanswered touchdowns.

Additionally, several former players and coaches for the Dallas Cowboys picked up the broadcast microphone:

Don Meredith - became a color commentator for ABC's Monday Night Football beginning in 1970. For years, he was paired alongside Frank Gifford and Howard Cosell.
Drew Pearson - has worked exclusively as a sportscaster for such networks as CBS and HBO since his retirement in 1983. He currently hosts the KLUV Dallas Cowboys post-game show.
Daryl Johnston - aka "Moose" is a color commentator for the NFL on Fox telecasts, teaming with Dick Stockton and Tony Siragusa on the sidelines.
Troy Aikman - joined Fox's NFC telecasts as a color commentator for the 2001 season. A year later, he was named to the network's lead announcing crew, teaming with Joe Buck and Cris Collinsworth. Aikman received an Emmy Award nomination for his television work in 2004, and worked Fox's broadcast of Super Bowl XXXIX in January of 2005. Sanders frequently made guest appearances on ESPN, especially on the ESPN Radio Dallas affiliate, and briefly hosted a show called The New American Sportsman. He has returned the broadcasting working as an analyst for the NFL Network on Gameday.
Butch Davis - after a stint as head coach of the Cleveland Browns, the former Defensive Coordinator and coach of the Dallas Cowboys Defensive Line is seen on NFL Playbook, an NFL Network program.
Darren Woodson - worked as a color analyst for two NFL Europe games in the summer of 2004, before signing on as an occasional studio analyst with ESPN.

Notable moments

The following is a selected list of memorable Cowboys games

January 17, 1971, Super Bowl V vs. Baltimore Colts

Linebacker Chuck Howley is named Super Bowl MVP, despite the Cowboys losing to the Colts 16-13.

December 28, 1975, at Minnesota Vikings, NFC Divisional Playoff Game

The term Hail Mary pass first came to national awareness with this game. With 24 seconds left in the game, Cowboys quarterback Roger Staubach, nicknamed "Captain Comeback", threw a desperate 50-yard winning touchdown pass to Drew Pearson to defeat the Vikings, 17-14. Though Staubach didn't coin the term "Hail Mary pass", he is credited with making the expression popular.

January 3, 1983, at Minnesota Vikings

Cowboys running back Tony Dorsett sets an NFL record for the longest run from scrimmage with a 99-yard touchdown. Buffalo Bills, Super Bowl XXVII

With the Cowboys holding an insurmountable 52-17 lead late in the fourth quarter, Dallas defensive lineman Leon Lett picked up a Bills fumble and appeared to be headed for a 64-yard touchdown. Had Lett scored, the Cowboys would have broken the record for most points scored in a Super Bowl (the San Francisco 49ers hold that record with 55 points in Super Bowl XXIV).

November 25, 1993, vs. Miami Dolphins

On the day of the annual Thanksgiving Classic (the Detroit Lions also play every Thanksgiving), the city of Dallas would be hit with the 4th coldest weather in the town's history, causing the city $50 million worth of damage and two deaths in Dallas County.www.wfaa.com/wildweather/chat2.html

Dallas County was ill-prepared for the sudden freeze, and Texas Stadium even more so. www.dallascowboys.com/stadium_info.cfm Before the game, a mini-bulldozer had to scrape ice off the frozen AstroTurf.

After a 77-yard touchdown run, Miami running back Keith Byars flopped down in the end zone and celebrated by making snow angels. The press dubbed it as the Statue of Liberty play.

With the score 14-13 with 15 seconds left in the game, Dolphins kicker Pete Stoyanovich attempted a 41-yard game winning field goal.

January 2, 1994, at New York Giants

In the final game of the regular season, running back Emmitt Smith rushed for 168 yards, including 41 of them in the game-winning overtime drive, despite suffering a severely 2nd degree separated shoulder in the first half of the game. After the 16-13 Cowboys victory, former Hall of Fame coach and sports broadcaster John Madden would visit Smith in the Cowboys' locker room – the only time Madden ever visited a player as a commentator.

November 18, 1996, vs. Green Bay Packers

Kicker Chris Boniol scores seven field goals, tying the NFL record for most field goals in a single game. Seven years later on September 15, 2003, Dallas kicker Billy Cundiff would tie that record against the Giants. The two kickers they tied were Jim Bakken (St. Louis Cardinals vs. Pittsburgh Steelers, September 24, 1967) and Rich Karlis (Minnesota Vikings vs. Los Angeles Rams, November 5, 1989). www.profootballhof.com/history/decades/2000s/cundiff.jsp

September 24, 2000, vs. San Francisco 49ers

Best known as the "Star Incident", 49ers wide receiver Terrell Owens celebrated his two touchdowns against the Cowboys by running to the center of Texas Stadium. The first TD by holding his hands out to the heavens and the second by slamming the ball into the Cowboys star logo just before www.texnews.com/1998/2000/cowboys/insult0925.html Dallas safety George Teague caught up with Owens and blasted him off of the star, leading to his ejection from the game. youtube.com/watch?v=XbcSl36CITg&search=george%20teague The Cowboys won, 27-21.

September 19, 2005, vs. Washington Redskins

Three former Cowboys were picked to be placed in the Ring of Honor in 2005 - running back Emmitt Smith (1990-2002), wide receiver Michael Irvin (1988-1999), and quarterback Troy Aikman (1989-2000). "When you look at what each of these men did for those teams that became the best in the NFL," said Jones, "and how they complimented each other, it's fitting that Michael Irvin, Troy Aikman, and Emmitt Smith are going in the Ring of Honor together".

Irvin, Smith and Aikman were honored during halftime, where the Cowboys enjoyed a comfortable lead over the Redskins in the 2005 season opener. But on a fourth-and-15 drive from the Dallas 39, quarterback Mark Brunell would throw to Santana Moss, who ran in for a touchdown. Dallas got the ball back, but couldn't penetrate Washington's defense.

Until that game, Washington hadn't won in Texas Stadium since 1995 and lost 14 of the last 15 meetups with Dallas; In what was called "Washington's most one-sided victory in the 45-year history of the rivalry", the Redskins defeated the Cowboys, 35-7.

Chronology

Key Dates:
1960: Clint Murchison, Jr., and Bedford Wynne are awarded Dallas Cowboys expansion franchise and hire Tom Landry as head coach.
1971: Texas Stadium opens; Cowboys win first Super Bowl.
1977: Team captures second Super Bowl win.
1984: H.R. 'Bum' Bright purchases Cowboys from Murchison.
1989: Jerry Jones acquires Cowboys and selects Jimmy Johnson as new head coach.
1992: Cowboys win third Super Bowl title.
1993: Dallas captures second straight Super Bowl victory, fourth overall.
1994: Barry Switzer is named head coach.
1995: Cowboys win fifth Super Bowl.
1998: Chan Gailey replaces Switzer as Cowboys' head coach.
2000: Jones fires Gailey, and hires Dave Campo as head coach.

Additional topics

Company HistorySports Organizations & Sports Teams

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