Dallas Cowboys Timeline

by Paul Heckmann, Executive Director. Memories Incorporated

Credit given to:

Dallas Morning News, DallasCowboys.com, Pro Football Reference, Texas State Historical Society, ESPN, Wiki,

a innumerable number of Cowboy fan sites, Dallas Public Library, and several hardcore Cowboy fans.

This is a ‘living document’ and will be updated as new information is proven and added

1959

• Clint Murchison signs Don Meredith to a 5 year personal service contract with his marine company Tecon to lock him up for the proposed Dallas Steers franchise. In November 1959, they also signed Don Perkins to a personal-services contract for a $1,500 bonus and a $10,000 salary
• The Steers name was changed to the Dallas Rangers after a short time.
• Murchison doesn’t have the votes against the powerful Redskins franchise that have the South locked up.
  

  The original Cowboy brain trust. Coach Landry, owner Bedford Wynne, GM Tex Schramm and owner Clint Murchison

• Clint and Bedford Wynne find out “Hail to the Redskins” is not owned by Washington, and in a nutshell purchase it and trades it to the Skins for their vote.
• The founding investors were Clint Murchison, Jr. (45%), John D. Murchison (45%), Toddie Lee and Bedford Wynne (Director and Secretary) (5%) and William R. Hawn (5%).
• Clint Murchison Jr. becomes the new team’s majority owner. His first order of business was to hire Tex Schramm as General Manager and Gil Brandt as Player Personnel Director
• December 22, 1959 Clint Murchison hires Tom Landry as Head Coach

1960

• January 28, 1960. Dallas Rangers awarded NFL Franchise for the astronomical sum of $600,000
  • March 13 1960. Dallas Rangers expansion draft (regular draft was in November) Each of the 12 NFL teams had to submit a list of 9 players. Dallas could only choose 3 of the 9 players. They chose:
    – Baltimore Colts: RB L.G. Dupre, P/WR Dave Sherer, DE Ray Krouse
    – Chicago Bears: DT Don Healy, RB Jack Johnson, RB Pete Johnson
    – Cleveland Browns: WR Frank Clarke, RB Leroy Bolden, RB Ed Modzelewski
    – Detroit Lions: WR Jim Doran, C Charlie Ane, LB Gene Cronin
    – Green Bay Packers: RB Don McIlenny, DE Nate Borden, S Bill Butler
    – Los Angeles Rams: CB Tom Franckhauser, T Bob Fry, G Duane Putnam
    – New York Giants: QB Don Heinrich, G Buzz Guy, G Al Barry
    – Philadelphia Eagles: TE Dick Bielski, T Jerry DeLucca, LB Bill Striegel
    – Pittsburgh Steelers: WR Ray Mathews, DT/T Ray Fisher, RB Bobby Luna
    – San Francisco 49ers: LB Jerry Tubbs, WR Fred Dugan, DE John Gonzaga
    – St Louis Cardinals: DT Ed Husmann, LB Jack Patera, T Bobby Cross
    – Washington Redskins: LB Tom Braatz, C Joe Nicely, RB Doyle Nix
    – At this time the NFL also assigned the rights to 1960 NFL draft picks Don Meredith (who had been drafted by the Chicago Bears) and Don Perkins (drafted by the Baltimore Colts) to the Cowboys for a couple of future draft picks. Dallas had to give their third-round and ninth-round choices in the 1962 NFL draft to the Bears and Colts respectively.
• March 19, 1960 – Rangers officially changed their name to the Cowboys. They had planned on using Dallas Rangers, but the baseball team in the area decided not to disband and since they wanted a clear and separate identity.
  

  The Cowboys first headquarters on 4425 Central Expressway left to right, GM Tex Schramm, owners Bedford Wynne and Clint Murchison and Head Coach Tom Landry,

• After not being able to participate in the 1960 NFL draft during their inaugural year of existence, the Dallas Cowboys traded their first round (who became future 4x Pro Bowler Norm Snead) and sixth round (#72-Joe Krakoski) draft choices in the 1961 NFL Draft to the Washington Redskins in exchange for Eddie LeBaron, convincing him to come out of retirement to become the franchise’s first starting quarterback. He started 10 of 12 games in 1960, with rookie Don Meredith and Don Heinrich starting the other two. He also scored the Cowboys’ first-ever touchdown in their first exhibition game against the San Francisco 49ers, on August 6 in Seattle. He set a record for the shortest touchdown pass in league history, with his throw to receiver Dick Bielski from the 2-inch line against the Redskins on October 9, 1960.

“When I took the job in 1960, I wasn’t worried in the least, mainly because I didn’t plan to stay in football. I had earned a business degree at Texas and had just added a degree in industrial engineering at Houston. I felt it was just a matter of time before I found a good job.”

—Tom Landry, Sporting News, 8/15/81

April 1960: Cowboys set up headquarters at 4425 N. Central Expressway on the second floor from the first-floor tenant Dallas Automobile Club. The Cowboys’ box office is on the first floorst season-ticket prices were $27.60 for six games.

Second-floor workers consisted of general manager Tex Schramm, Brandt, coach Tom Landry, three assistant coaches, a public relations director, a couple of secretaries and a receptionist.

July 9, 1960: Rookie training camp in Oregon starts

Cowboys held the first part of regular training camp at Pacific University in Forest Grove, Ore. The second half of camp was at St. John’s Military Academy in Delafield, Wisconsin, a site handpicked by Milwaukee native Brandt which turned into a disaster as it hadn’t been updated in decades and the rooms were built for youngsters, not very large men

1960-62 seasons: Cowboys primarily practice at Burnett Field, home of minor league baseball’s Dallas-Fort Worth Rangers; The offense met in the first-base clubhouse, the defense in the third-base clubhouse. The training room consisted of a couple of tables and ice tubs crammed into the stadium’s women’s restroom.

Some practices are held at DISD-owned Cobb Stadium when Burnett floods, which technically makes it the Cowboys second practice field

1960 Season. Ticket sales are slow. “The league has come a long, long way from the days when we used to pay players $5,000 a year and didn’t pay till Tuesday to make sure the checks cleared.” Gil Brandt

Sept 10 1960. Cowboys play first game in their history at Cotton Bowl.

Tom Franckhauser becomes the first Cowboy to ever touch the ball, taking the opening kickoff, which he also did in their preseason.

1960-1971: Cowboys use Cotton Bowl for NFL games

Cowboys end 1960 with no wins and a single tie, 0-11-1

1961

• Training camp moved to St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota
• Cowboys add a box office at 1509 Elm Street, tickets can also be purchased at Reynolds-Penland and Jas. K. Wilson stores.

Year	Rnd	Player	Pick	Pos	College/Univ
1961	1	Bob Lilly HOF	13	DT	TCU
1961	2	E.J. Holub	16	LB	Texas Tech
1961	3	Stew Barber	30	T	Penn St.
1961	4	Sonny Davis	44	LB	Baylor
1961	7	Art Gilmore	86	B	Oregon St.
1961	8	Don Talbert	100	T	Texas
1961	9	Glynn Gregory	114	E	SMU
1961	11	Norris Stevenson	142	B	Missouri
1961	12	Lowndes Shingler	156	QB	Clemson
1961	13	Don Goodman	170	B	Florida
1961	14	Billy Shaw HOF	184	G	Georgia Tech
1961	15	Julius Varnado	198	T	San Francisco St.
1961	16	Jerry Steffen	212	B	Colorado
1961	17	Everett Cloud	226	B	Maryland
1961	18	Randy Williams	240	B	Indiana
1961	19	Lynn Hoyem	254	G	Long Beach St.
1961	20	Jerry Morgan	268	B	Iowa St.

1962

• Cowboys owner Clint Murchison Jr. buys property at Yale Boulevard and North Central Expressway from underneath the AFL’s Dallas Texans which included a practice field and field house.
• The Texans are forced to move to a new field a few blocks away for the 1962 season while the Cowboys move to their 3rd practice field. Today this would be directly below where Murchison built the Cowboys Towers at 6116 N Central, approximately where the former Magnolia Hotel and current Beeman Hotel sits at 6070 N Central and 6060 N Central are today.
• Training camp moved to Northern Michigan University in Marquette, Michigan
• Cowboys are approached by a faction of IBM that wants to get into the NFL accounting areas via their computer systems. Instead Schramm flips it on them and asks them to see what they can do about developing a scouting system. A young Salam Qureishi joins forces with Gil Brandt to create pro sports first version of ‘Moneyball’.  They didnt call them ‘analytics’ back then, instead the used the moniker, ‘predictables’

Year	Rnd	Player	Pick	Pos	College/Univ
1962	2	Sonny Gibbs	18	QB	TCU
1962	3	Bobby Plummer	39	T	TCU
1962	6	Donnie Davis	74	WR	Southern
1962	6	George Andrie	82	DE	Marquette
1962	8	Ken Tureaud	102	B	Michigan
1962	10	John Longmeyer	130	G	Southern Illinois
1962	11	Larry Hudas	144	E	Michigan St.
1962	13	Bob Moses	172	E	Texas
1962	14	Harold Hays	186	LB	Southern Miss
1962	15	Guy Reese	200	DT	SMU
1962	16	Bob Johnston	214	T	Rice
1962	17	Ray Jacobs	228	DT	Howard Payne
1962	18	Dave Cloutier	242	DB	Maine
1962	19	Paul Holmes	256	T	Georgia
1962	20	Amos Bullocks	270	HB	Southern Illinois

1963

• 1963-1989: Training camp moved to California Lutheran in Oxnard

Year	Rnd	Player	Pick	Pos	College/Univ
1963	1	Lee Roy Jordan	6	LB	Alabama
1963	3	Jim Price	34	LB	Auburn
1963	4	Whaley Hall	48	T	Mississippi
1963	7	Marv Clothier	90	G	Kansas
1963	10	Rod Scheyer	132	T	Washington
1963	11	Ray Schoenke	146	G	SMU
1963	12	Bill Perkins	160	HB	Iowa
1963	13	Paul Wicker	174	T	Fresno St.
1963	14	Lou Cioci	188	LB	Boston Col.
1963	15	Jerry Overton	202	DB	Utah
1963	16	Dennis Golden	216	T	Holy Cross
1963	17	Ernie Parks	230	G	McMurry
1963	18	Bill Frank	244	T	Colorado
1963	19	Jim Stiger	258	HB	Washington
1963	20	Tommy Lucas	272	E	Texas

1964

• February 5, 1964: Clint Murchison signs Tom Landry to the longest contract in sports history, a 10 year agreement.
  

  Coaching staff 1964

• June 22, 1964: Cowboys move to their second, albeit temporary headquarters, 5738 N. Central Expressway (between Mockingbird and Yale, approximately where Mockingbird Station is now), with plans to move again in 1966 to a nearby office tower being constructed by Murchison. The temporary office is about 3 blocks south of the practice field.

Year	Rnd	Player	Pick	Pos	College/Univ
1964	1	Scott Appleton	4	DT	Texas
1964	2	Mel Renfro HOF	17	DB	Oregon
1964	4	Perry Lee Dunn	45	RB	Mississippi
1964	6	Billy Lothridge	73	DB	Georgia Tech
1964	6	Jim Curry	82	E	Cincinnati
1964	6	Jim Evans	83	WR	Texas-El Paso
1964	7	Bob Hayes HOF	88	SE	Florida A&M
1964	8	Al Geverink	101	HB	UCLA
1964	9	Jake Kupp	116	G	Washington
1964	10	Roger Staubach HOF	129	QB	Navy
1964	11	Bob Crenshaw	144	G	Baylor
1964	12	Johnny Norman	157	E
1964	13	Jerry Rhome	172	QB	Tulsa
1964	14	Jim Worden	185	LB	Wittenberg
1964	15	Bill Van Burkleo	200	B	Tulsa
1964	16	Paul Cercel	213	C	Pittsburgh
1964	17	Bud Abell	228	LB	Missouri
1964	18	Theophile Viltz	241	DB	USC
1964	19	H.D. Murphy	256	B	Oregon
1964	20	John Hughes	269	LB	SMU

1965

Year	Rnd	Player	Pick	Pos	College/Univ
1965	1	Craig Morton	5	QB	California
1965	2	Malcolm Walker	19	C	Rice
1965	4	Jimmy Sidle	47	RB	Auburn
1965	4	Bob Svihus	53	T	USC
1965	5	Roger Pettee	61	LB	Florida
1965	6	Sonny Utz	75	FB	Virginia Tech
1965	7	Brig Owens	89	DB	Cincinnati
1965	8	Russell Wayt	103	LB	Rice
1965	9	Jim Zanios	117	FB	Texas Tech
1965	10	Gaylon McCollough	131	C	Alabama
1965	11	Jethro Pugh	145	DT	Elizabeth City St.
1965	12	Ernie Kellermann	159	DB	Miami (OH)
1965	13	Jack Schraub	173	E	California
1965	14	Garry Porterfield	187	DE	Tulsa
1965	15	Gene Foster	201	RB	Arizona St.
1965	16	Doug McDougal	215	E	Oregon St.
1965	17	Mitch Johnson	229	T	UCLA
1965	18	Marty Amsler	243	DE	Evansville
1965	19	Marv Rettenmund	257	HB	Ball St.
1965	20	Don Barlow	271	T	Kansas St.

1966

• Lamar Hunt had moved the Dallas Texans to Kansas City in 1963 as the NFL was simply too strong, the current owners were too wealthy. And then the Giants approached Bills kicker Pete Gogolak and they signed him and all hell broke loose. The AFL started to fight back, signing current NFL players like Roman Gabriel to futures contracts. The bidding wars were causing contracts to run too high. Secret meetings authorized by Pete Rozelle were held between old friends, Lamar Hunt and Tex Schramm. On June 8 1966, the AFL-NFL merger was announced. Common schedules came into play in 1970 
• Cowboys began an NFL-record streak of 20 consecutive winning seasons. That streak included 18 years in the playoffs, 13 divisional championships, five trips to the Super Bowl and victories in Super Bowls VI and XII.
• Cowboys won Division title but lost in the NFL championship to Green Bay
• Dec. 19, 1966: Thirteen days before hosting the Packers in the NFL Championship Game, Cowboys move into their third headquarters in the new offices at 6116 N. Central Expressway, taking over the 11th floor of a 15-story, $7 million Expressway Tower built primarily for Murchison’s marine construction company, Tecon. The office overlooks the team’s practice field.

Year	Rnd	Player	Pick	Pos	College/Univ
1966	1	John Niland	5	G	Iowa
1966	2	Willie Townes	22	DE	Tulsa
1966	5	Walt Garrison	79	RB	Oklahoma St.
1966	6	Bob Dunlevy	86	E	West Virginia
1966	7	Arthur Robinson	100	E	Florida A&M
1966	8	Don Kunit	116	HB	Penn St.
1966	9	Darrell Elam	130	E	West Virginia Tech
1966	10	Mason Mitchell	146	HB	Washington
1966	11	Austin Denney	160	TE	Tennessee
1966	12	Les Shy	173	RB	Long Beach St.
1966	12	Craig Baynham	176	HB	Georgia Tech
1966	13	Ron Lamb	190	RB	South Carolina
1966	14	Lewis Turner	206	HB	Norfolk St.
1966	15	Mark Gartung	220	T	Oregon St.
1966	16	Tom Piggee	236	HB	San Francisco St.
1966	17	George Allen	250	T	West Texas A&M
1966	18	Steve Orr	266	T	Washington
1966	19	Byron Johnson	280	T	Central Washington
1966	20	Lou Hudson	296	FL	Minnesota

1967

• June 1967: Cowboys lease 3.5 acres near Forest Lane and Abrams Road and begin construction of a training facility and practice fields, which they move to in October and this becomes their fourth practice facility
• Cowboys won Division title but lost in the NFL championship to Green Bay
• George Allen was coaching the Los Angeles Rams in 1967 when the first Allen-Dallas dustup occurred. Cowboy exec Tex Schramm said a suspicious vehicle had been parked near the team’s practice field. Alert and inquisitive, he alleged a license plate check traced the car rental to Johnny Sanders, head scout of the Rams.

Year	Rnd	Player	Pick	Pos	College/Univ
1967	3	Phil Clark	76	DB	Northwestern
1967	4	Curtis Marker	103	G	Northern Michigan
1967	6	Sims Stokes	157	WR	Northern Arizona
1967	7	Rayfield Wright HOF	182	T	Fort Valley St.
1967	8	Steve Laub	208	QB	Illinois Wesleyan
1967	9	Byron Morgan	234	DB	Findlay
1967	10	Eugene Bowen	260	HB	Tennessee St.
1967	11	Pat Riley	285	FL	Kentucky
1967	12	Harold Deters	312	K	North Carolina St.
1967	13	Al Kerkian	338	DE	Akron
1967	14	Tommy Boyd	364	G	Tarleton St.
1967	15	Leavie Davis	390	DB	Edward Waters
1967	16	Paul Brothers	416	QB	Oregon St.
1967	17	George Adams	442	LB	Morehead St.

1968

Year	Rnd	Player	Pick	Pos	College/Univ
1968	1	Dennis Homan	20	WR	Alabama
1968	2	Dave McDaniels	45	WR	Miss. Valley St.
1968	3	Ed Harmon	71	LB	Louisville
1968	4	John Douglas	97	LB	Missouri
1968	5	Blaine Nye	130	G	Stanford
1968	6	D.D. Lewis	159	LB	Mississippi St.
1968	7	Bob Taucher	185	T	Nebraska
1968	8	Frank Brown	211	DT	Albany St.
1968	9	Ken Kmiec	241	DB	Illinois
1968	10	Ben Olison	266	FL	Kansas
1968	11	Ron Shotts	292	RB	Oklahoma
1968	12	Wilson Whitty	321	LB	Boston Univ.
1968	13	Carter Lord	347	FL	Harvard
1968	14	Ron Williams	373	DB	West Virginia
1968	15	Tony Lunceford	402	K	Auburn
1968	16	Larry Cole	428	DE	Hawaii
1968	17	George Nordgren	454	RB	Houston

1969

• Cowboys win the Capital Division. They lose to the Cleveland Browns in the Eastern Championship 38-14

You want to know about ‘luck of the draw’? As the AFL-NFL merger approached in 1969-70 The AFC teams quickly decided on a divisional alignment but the NFC had a lot of infighting. They had gone to 4 team divisions in 1967 but nobody wanted to be in the same divisions as the Cowboys or Vikings. Everyone wanted the Saints as they were the worst team in football The final five proposals were as follows: PLAN 1: East: NYG, PHI, WAS, ATL, MIN; Central: CHI, GB, DET, NO; West: LA, SF, DAL, STL. PLAN 2: East: NYG, PHI, WAS, MIN; Central: ATL, DAL, NO, STL; West: LA, SF, CHI, GB, DET. PLAN 3: East: NYG, PHI, WAS, DAL, STL: Central: CHI, GB, DET, MIN; West: LA, SF, ATL, NO. PLAN 4: East: NYG, PHI, WAS, STL, MIN; Central: CHI, GB, DET, ATL; West: LA, SF, DAL, NO. PLAN 5: East: NYG, PHI, WAS, DET, MIN; Central: CHI, GB, DAL, STL; West: LA, SF, ATL, NO. These five combinations were written up on slips of paper, sealed into envelopes and put into a fish bowl (other sources say a flower vase), and the official NFC alignment ‘Plan 3’ was pulled out by Rozelle’s secretary, Thelma Elkjer.

Year	Rnd	Player	Pick	Pos	College/Univ
1969	1	Calvin Hill	24	RB	Yale
1969	2	Richmond Flowers	49	DB	Tennessee
1969	3	Thomas Stincic	68	LB	Michigan
1969	3	Halvor Hagen	74	G	Weber St.
1969	5	Chuck Kyle	125	LB	Purdue
1969	6	Rick Shaw	152	FL	Arizona St.
1969	7	Larry Bales	180	FL	Emory & Henry
1969	8	Elmer Benhardt	205	LB	Missouri
1969	9	Claxton Welch	230	RB	Oregon
1969	10	Stuart Gottlieb	258	T	Weber St.
1969	11	Sweeny Williams	283	DE	Prairie View
1969	12	Bob Belden	308	QB	Notre Dame
1969	13	Rene Matison	336	FL	New Mexico
1969	14	Gerald Lutri	361	T	Northern Michigan
1969	15	Bill Justus	386	DB	Tennessee
1969	16	Floyd Kerr	414	DB	Colorado St.
1969	17	Bill Bailey	439	DT	Lewis & Clark

1970

Year	Rnd	Player	Pick	Pos	College/Univ
1970	1	Duane Thomas	23	RB	West Texas A&M
1970	2	Bob Asher	27	T	Vanderbilt
1970	2	Margene Adkins	49	WR	Henderson JC
1970	3	Charlie Waters	66	DB	Clemson
1970	3	Steve Kiner	73	LB	Tennessee
1970	3	Denton Fox	75	DB	Texas Tech
1970	4	John Fitzgerald	101	C	Boston Col.
1970	6	Pat Toomay	153	DE	Vanderbilt
1970	7	Don Abbey	179	LB	Penn St.
1970	8	Jerry Dossey	205	G	Arkansas
1970	9	Zenon Andrusyshyn	231	P	UCLA
1970	10	Pete Athas	257	DB	Tennessee
1970	11	Ivan Southerland	283	T	Clemson
1970	12	Joe Williams	309	RB	Wyoming
1970	13	Mark Washington	335	DB	Morgan St.
1970	14	Julian Martin	361	WR	North Carolina Central
1970	15	Ken DeLong	387	TE	Tennessee
1970	16	Seabern Hill	411	DB	Arizona St.
1970	17	Glenn Patterson	438	C	Nebraska

1971

• January 17, 1971 – Cowboys go to Superbowl, losing to Baltimore on a last second TB in Superbowl V.
• October 24, 1971: the Dallas Cowboys played the very first game ever in the brand-new Texas Stadium, against the newly-christened New England Patriots (the former Boston Patriots.) Despite best intentions, Texas Stadium wasn’t ready for football just yet at the beginning of the 1971 season, so the Cowboys stayed put at the Cotton Bowl for a few more weeks…but the facility was in good enough shape to host a 10-day Billy Graham Crusade in mid-September. By the way, the Super Bowl-bound Cowboys whipped the Pats 44-21. (Courtesy Mike Shannon)

Year	Rnd	Player	Pick	Pos	College/Univ
1971	1	Tody Smith	25	DE	USC
1971	2	Ike Thomas	51	DB	Bishop
1971	3	Sam Scarber	69	RB	New Mexico
1971	3	Bill Gregory	77	DE	Wisconsin
1971	4	Joe Carter	80	TE	Grambling St.
1971	4	Adam Mitchell	103	T	Mississippi
1971	5	Ron Kadziel	129	LB	Stanford
1971	6	Steve Maier	155	WR	Northern Arizona
1971	7	Bill Griffin	181	T	Catawba
1971	8	Ron Jessie	206	WR	Kansas
1971	9	Honor Jackson	233	DB	Pacific
1971	10	Rodney Wallace	259	T	New Mexico
1971	11	Ernest Bonwell	285	DT	Lane
1971	12	Steve Goepel	311	QB	Colgate
1971	13	James Ford	337	RB	Texas Southern
1971	14	Tyrone Covey	363	DB	Utah St.
1971	15	Bob Young	389	TE	Delaware
1971	16	John Brennan	415	T	Boston Col.
1971	17	John Bomer	440	C	Memphis

1972

• January 16 1972 Cowboys win their first Superbowl 24-3 over the Miami Dolphins in Superbowl VI
  

  Landry finally sheds the ‘bridesmaid’ title. Bullet Bob Hayes, Big Cat Rayfield Wright raise Landry on their shoulders

Year	Rnd	Player	Pick	Pos	College/Univ
1972	1	Bill Thomas	26	RB	Boston Col.
1972	2	Robert Newhouse	35	RB	Houston
1972	2	John Babinecz	39	LB	Villanova
1972	2	Charlie McKee	52	WR	Arizona
1972	3	Mike Keller	64	LB	Michigan
1972	3	Marv Bateman	78	P	Utah
1972	4	Tim Kearney	83	LB	Northern Michigan
1972	4	Robert West	90	WR	San Diego St.
1972	4	Charlie Zapiec	93	LB	Penn St.
1972	6	Charles Bolden	156	DB	Iowa
1972	8	Ralph Coleman	208	LB	North Carolina A&T
1972	9	Roy Bell	234	RB	Oklahoma
1972	10	Richard Amman	260	DE	Florida St.
1972	11	Lonnie Leonard	286	DE	North Carolina A&T
1972	12	Jimmy Harris	312	WR	Ohio St.
1972	13	Jean Fugett	338	TE	Amherst
1972	14	Alan Thompson	363	RB	Wisconsin
1972	15	Carlos Alvarez	390	WR	Florida
1972	16	Gordon Longmire	416	QB	Utah
1972	17	Alfonso Cain	442	DT	Bethune-Cookman

1973

• Redskins spies are noticed by hotel employees at the hotel overlooking the Cowboy Forest lane practice field. 
• In our interview with Charlie Waters, he told me that the Cowboys moved their practice during Redskin week to the Cotton Bowl making it the fifth practice facility. 

Year	Rnd	Player	Pick	Pos	College/Univ
1973	1	Billy Joe DuPree	20	TE	Michigan St.
1973	2	Golden Richards	46	WR	BYU
1973	3	Harvey Martin	53	DE	Texas A&M-Commerce
1973	4	Drane Scrievener	98	DB	Tulsa
1973	5	Bruce Walton	126	T	UCLA
1973	6	Bob Leyen	151	G	Yale
1973	7	Rodrigo Barnes	176	LB	Rice
1973	8	Dan Werner	204	QB	Michigan St.
1973	9	Mike White	229	DB	Minnesota
1973	10	Carl Johnson	254	LB	Tennessee
1973	11	Gerald Caswell	282	G	Colorado St.
1973	12	Jim Arneson	307	G	Arizona
1973	13	John Smith	332	WR	UCLA
1973	14	Bob Thornton	360	G	North Carolina
1973	15	Walt Baisy	385	LB	Grambling St.
1973	16	John Conley	410	TE	Hawaii
1973	17	Les Strayhorn	438	RB	East Carolina

1974

Year	Rnd	Player	Pick	Pos	College/Univ
1974	1	Too Tall Jones	1	DE	Tennessee St.
1974	1	Charley Young	22	RB	North Carolina St.
1974	3	Danny White	53	QB	Arizona St.
1974	3	Cal Peterson	72	LB	UCLA
1974	4	Ken Hutcherson	97	LB	West Alabama
1974	4	Andy Andrade	101	RB	Northern Michigan
1974	5	John Kelsey	126	T	Missouri
1974	6	Jimmy Bright	151	DB	UCLA
1974	7	Raymond Nester	176	LB	Michigan St.
1974	8	Mike Holt	205	DB	Michigan St.
1974	9	Bill Dulin	230	T	Johnson C. Smith
1974	10	Dennis Morgan	255	RB	West. Illinois
1974	11	Harvey McGee	280	WR	Southern Miss
1974	12	Keith Bobo	309	QB	SMU
1974	13	Fred Lima	334	K	Colorado
1974	14	Doug Richards	359	DB	BYU
1974	15	Bruce Craft	384	T	Geneva
1974	16	Gene Killian	413	G	Tennessee
1974	17	Lawrie Skolrood	438	T	North Dakota

1975

Year	Rnd	Player	Pick	Pos	College/Univ
1975	1	Randy White HOF	2	DT	Maryland
1975	1	Thomas Henderson	18	LB	Langston
1975	2	Burton Lawless	44	G	Florida
1975	3	Bob Breunig	70	LB	Arizona St.
1975	4	Pat Donovan	90	T	Stanford
1975	4	Randy Hughes	96	DB	Oklahoma
1975	5	Kyle Davis	113	C	Oklahoma
1975	6	Rolly Woolsey	148	DB	Boise St.
1975	7	Mike Hegman	173	LB	Tennessee St.
1975	8	Mitch Hoopes	200	P	Arizona
1975	9	Ed Jones	226	DB	Rutgers
1975	10	Dennis Booker	252	RB	Millersville
1975	11	Greg Krpalek	278	C	Oregon St.
1975	12	Chuck Bland	304	DB	Cincinnati
1975	13	Herbert Scott	330	G	Virginia Union
1975	14	Scott Laidlaw	356	RB	Stanford
1975	15	Willie Hamilton	382	RB	Arizona
1975	16	Pete Clark	407	TE	Colorado St.
1975	17	Jim Testerman	434	TE	Dayton

1976

• January 18 1976 In Superbowl X Cowboys lose to Steelers 21-17 on one of the worst no-calls in Superbowl history

Year	Rnd	Player	Pick	Pos	College/Univ
1976	1	Aaron Kyle	27	DB	Wyoming
1976	2	Jim Jensen	40	RB	Iowa
1976	2	Jim Eidson	55	G	Mississippi St.
1976	3	Duke Fergerson	73	WR	San Diego St.
1976	3	John Smith	75	RB	Boise St.
1976	3	Butch Johnson	87	WR	California-Riverside
1976	4	Tom Rafferty	119	C	Penn St.
1976	5	Wally Pesuit	151	G	Kentucky
1976	6	Greg McGuire	181	T	Indiana
1976	7	Greg Schaum	186	DE	Michigan St.
1976	7	Dave Williams	208	RB	Colorado
1976	8	Henry Laws	236	DB	South Carolina
1976	9	Beasley Reece	264	DB	North Texas
1976	10	Leroy Cook	290	DE	Alabama
1976	11	Cornelius Greene	317	QB	Ohio St.
1976	12	Charles McShane	346	LB	California Lutheran
1976	13	Mark Driscoll	374	QB	Colorado St.
1976	14	Larry Mushinskie	402	TE	Nebraska
1976	15	Dale Curry	430	LB	UCLA
1976	16	Rick Costanzo	458	T	Nebraska
1976	17	Stan Woodfill	486	K	Oregon

1977

• Forrest Gregg, Guard/Tackle becomes the first Dallas Cowboy in the NFL Hall of Fame

Year	Rnd	Player	Pick	Pos	College/Univ
1977	1	Tony Dorsett HOF	2	RB	Pittsburgh
1977	2	Glenn Carano	54	QB	UNLV
1977	3	Tony Hill	62	WR	Stanford
1977	3	Val Belcher	81	G	Houston
1977	4	Guy Brown	108	LB	Houston
1977	5	Andy Frederick	137	T	New Mexico
1977	6	Jim Cooper	164	T	Temple
1977	7	Dave Stalls	191	DE	Northern Colorado
1977	8	Al Cleveland	208	DE	Pacific
1977	8	Fred Williams	221	RB	Arizona St.
1977	9	Mark Cantrell	248	C	North Carolina
1977	10	Steve DeBerg	275	QB	San Jose St.
1977	11	Don Wardlow	305	TE	Washington
1977	12	Greg Peters	332	G	California

1978

• 

  Thomas Henderson destroys Denver QB in Super Bowl. This is shortly before the new NFL rules which said you were not allowed to touch QBs

  January 15 1978. Dallas destroy the Broncos 27-10 in Superbowl XII
• Lance Alworth, Flanker, NFL Hall of Fame Class of 1978

Year	Rnd	Player	Pick	Pos	College/Univ
1978	1	Larry Bethea	28	DT	Michigan St.
1978	2	Todd Christensen	56	TE	BYU
1978	3	Dave Hudgens	84	DT	Oklahoma
1978	4	Alois Blackwell	110	RB	Houston
1978	5	Rich Rosen	138	G	Syracuse
1978	6	Harold Randolph	166	LB	East Carolina
1978	7	Tom Randall	194	G	Iowa St.
1978	8	Homer Butler	222	WR	UCLA
1978	9	Russ Williams	250	DB	Tennessee
1978	10	Barry Tomasetti	278	G	Iowa
1978	11	Dennis Thurman	306	DB	USC
1978	12	Lee Washburn	334	G	Montana St.

1979

• January 21 1979 Stealers beat the Cowboys 35-31 in Superbowl XIII

Year	Rnd	Player	Pick	Pos	College/Univ
1979	1	Robert Shaw	27	C	Tennessee
1979	2	Aaron Mitchell	55	DB	UNLV
1979	3	Doug Cosbie	76	TE	Santa Clara
1979	4	Ralph DeLoach	109	DE	California
1979	5	Bob Hukill	121	G	North Carolina
1979	5	Curtis Anderson	128	DE	Central State (OH)
1979	5	Ron Springs	136	RB	Ohio St.
1979	6	Tim Lavender	155	DB	USC
1979	6	Mike Salzano	160	G	North Carolina
1979	6	Chris DeFrance	164	WR	Arizona St.
1979	7	Greg Fitzpatrick	191	LB	Youngstown St.
1979	8	Bruce Thornton	219	DE	Illinois
1979	9	Garry Cobb	247	LB	USC
1979	10	Mike Calhoun	274	DT	Notre Dame
1979	12	Quentin Lowry	329	LB	Youngstown St.

1980 

• Bob Lilly, ‘Mr Cowboy’, the huge DT goes into the NFL Hall of Fame
• Herb Adderley, CB goes into the NFL Hall of Fame

Year	Rnd	Player	Pick	Pos	College/Univ
1980	3	Bill Roe	78	LB	Colorado
1980	3	James Jones	80	RB	Mississippi St.
1980	4	Kurt Petersen	105	G	Missouri
1980	5	Gary Hogeboom	133	QB	Central Michigan
1980	6	Timmy Newsome	162	RB	Winston-Salem St.
1980	7	Lester Brown	189	RB	Clemson
1980	8	Larry Savage	216	LB	Michigan St.
1980	9	Jackie Flowers	246	WR	Florida St.
1980	10	Matthew Teague	273	DE	Prairie View
1980	11	Gary Padjen	300	LB	Arizona St.
1980	12	Norm Wells	330	DT	Northwestern

1981

Year	Rnd	Player	Pick	Pos	College/Univ
1981	1	Howard Richards	26	G	Missouri
1981	2	Doug Donley	53	WR	Ohio St.
1981	3	Glen Titensor	81	G	BYU
1981	4	Scott Pelluer	91	LB	Washington St.
1981	4	Derrie Nelson	108	LB	Nebraska
1981	5	Danny Spradlin	137	LB	Tennessee
1981	6	Vince Skillings	163	DB	Ohio St.
1981	7	Ron Fellows	173	DB	Missouri
1981	7	Ken Miller	191	DB	East. Michigan
1981	8	Paul Piurowski	218	LB	Florida St.
1981	9	Mike Wilson	246	WR	Washington St.
1981	10	Pat Graham	273	DT	California
1981	11	Tim Morrison	302	G	Georgia
1981	12	Nate Lundy	329	WR	Indiana

1982

• The drafting of Rod Hill in Round One starts a string of bad draft, with a few exceptions that continue until Jerry Jones purchases the team.
• The 1982 NFL strike, which lasted for three months and eight weeks, forced the 1982 season to be shortened to 9 games per team
• Dallas goes 6-3 and ends the season just missing the Super Bowl.
• Dallas wins first round over Bucs, round two over Packs and loses NFC championship to Redskins who beat the Dolphins in the Superbowl

Year	Rnd	Player	Pick	Pos	College/Univ
1982	1	Rod Hill	25	DB	Kentucky St.
1982	2	Jeff Rohrer	53	LB	Yale
1982	3	Jim Eliopulos	81	LB	Wyoming
1982	4	Brian Carpenter	101	DB	Michigan
1982	4	Monty Hunter	109	DB	Salem
1982	5	Phil Pozderac	137	T	Notre Dame
1982	6	Ken Hammond	143	G	Vanderbilt
1982	6	Charles Daum	165	DT	Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo
1982	7	Bill Purifoy	193	DE	Tulsa
1982	8	George Peoples	216	RB	Auburn
1982	8	Dwight Sullivan	221	RB	North Carolina St.
1982	9	Joe Gary	249	DT	UCLA
1982	10	Todd Eckerson	277	T	North Carolina St.
1982	11	George Thompson	295	WR	Albany St.
1982	11	Mike Whiting	304	RB	Florida St.
1982	12	Rich Burtness	332	G	Montana

1983

• November 29, 1983: Cowboys break ground on a 30-acre office and training facility in Valley Ranch.

Year	Rnd	Player	Pick	Pos	College/Univ
1983	1	Jim Jeffcoat	23	DE	Arizona St.
1983	2	Mike Walter	50	LB	Oregon
1983	3	Bryan Caldwell	77	DE	Arizona St.
1983	4	Chris Faulkner	108	TE	Florida
1983	5	Chuck McSwain	135	RB	Clemson
1983	6	Reggie Collier	162	QB	Southern Miss
1983	7	Chris Schultz	189	T	Arizona
1983	8	Lawrence Ricks	220	RB	Michigan
1983	9	Al Gross	246	DB	Arizona
1983	10	Eric Moran	273	T	Washington
1983	11	Dan Taylor	300	T	Idaho St.
1983	12	Lorenzo Bouier	331	RB	Maine

1984

• Bum Bright purchases the Cowboys for $84 million

Year	Rnd	Player	Pick	Pos	College/Univ
1984	1	Billy Cannon	25	LB	Texas A&M
1984	2	Victor Scott	40	DB	Colorado
1984	3	Fred Cornwell	81	TE	USC
1984	4	Steve DeOssie	110	LB	Boston Col.
1984	5	Steve Pelluer	113	QB	Washington
1984	5	Norm Granger	137	RB	Iowa
1984	6	Eugene Lockhart	152	LB	Houston
1984	6	Joe Levelis	166	G	Iowa
1984	7	Ed Martin	193	LB	Indiana St.
1984	8	Mike Revell	222	RB	Bethune-Cookman
1984	9	John Hunt	232	T	Florida
1984	9	Neil Maune	249	G	Notre Dame
1984	10	Brian Salonen	278	LB	Montana
1984	11	Dowe Aughtman	304	DT	Auburn
1984	12	Carl Lewis	334	WR	Houston

1985

• 

  Captain America in his second job, moonlighting as a waiter

  August 27, 1985: Players and coaches move to the new Valley Ranch facility.
• Front office personnel move in several weeks later, marking the first time since 1967 that the team’s practice facility and office complex are in the same area.
• Valley Ranch becomes the sixth Cowboy practice facility.
• Roger Staubach inducted into NFL Hall of Fame at QB

Year	Rnd	Player	Pick	Pos	College/Univ
1985	1	Kevin Brooks	17	DT	Michigan
1985	2	Jesse Penn	44	LB	Virginia Tech
1985	3	Crawford Ker	76	G	Florida
1985	4	Robert Lavette	103	RB	Georgia Tech
1985	5	Herschel Walker	114	RB	Georgia
1985	5	Matt Darwin	119	C	Texas A&M
1985	6	Kurt Ploeger	144	DE	Gustavus Adolphus
1985	6	Matt Moran	157	G	Stanford
1985	7	Karl Powe	178	WR	Alabama St.
1985	7	Jim Herrmann	184	DE	BYU
1985	8	Leon Gonzalez	216	WR	Bethune-Cookman
1985	9	Scott Strasburger	243	LB	Nebraska
1985	10	Joe Jones	270	TE	Virginia Tech
1985	11	Neal Dellocono	297	LB	UCLA
1985	12	Karl Jordan	324	LB	Vanderbilt

1986

• In a Brad Sham book ‘Stadium Stories’ Tex Schramm says that in the Spring of 1986 Bum Bright, Tex Schramm and Landry agree that Landry will retire at the end of the season. According to Tex, the NFL has moved past him and he will not adapt. Paul Hackett is brought in from San Francisco to take over for Landry and revive the stagnating offense
• Landry refuses to let Hackett run the offense and blends the West Coast offense with his old one
• He does not retire at the end of the year as he agreed to.

Year	Rnd	Player	Pick	Pos	College/Univ
1986	1	Mike Sherrard	18	WR	UCLA
1986	2	Darryl Clack	33	RB	Arizona St.
1986	3	Mark Walen	74	DT	UCLA
1986	4	Max Zendejas	100	K	Arizona
1986	6	Thornton Chandler	140	TE	Alabama
1986	6	Stan Gelbaugh	150	QB	Maryland
1986	6	Lloyd Yancey	158	G	Temple
1986	7	Johnny Holloway	185	DB	Kansas
1986	8	Topper Clemons	212	RB	Wake Forest
1986	9	John Ionata	242	G	Florida St.
1986	10	Bryan Chester	269	G	Texas
1986	11	Garth Jax	296	LB	Florida St.
1986	12	Chris Duliban	307	LB	Texas
1986	12	Tony Flack	322	DB	Georgia

1987

• Brad Sham “Landry then decides, without telling anyone, he is not going to quit.”  Either 1987 or 1988 in the Spring, Landry had a press conference.  Schramm had Marty Schottenheimer in town, looking at houses.  He thought he was going to hire Marty Schottenheimer to replace Tom Landry, who was going to retire.  Landry comes and has a press conference, and that’s when Schramm finds out that Landry is not quitting.
• Tex will still not fire him as Gil, Tex and Tom were hired together and would leave together.
• This is the strike year. Replacements go 2-1. Regulars go 5-7.

Year	Rnd	Player	Pick	Pos	College/Univ
1987	1	Danny Noonan	12	DT	Nebraska
1987	2	Ron Francis	39	DB	Baylor
1987	3	Jeff Zimmerman	68	G	Florida
1987	4	Kelvin Martin	95	WR	Boston Col.
1987	5	Everett Gay	124	WR	Texas
1987	6	Joe Onosai	151	G	Hawaii
1987	7	Kevin Sweeney	180	QB	Fresno St.
1987	8	Kevin Gogan	206	G	Washington
1987	9	Alvin Blount	235	RB	Maryland
1987	10	Dale Jones	262	LB	Tennessee
1987	11	Jeff Ward	291	K	Texas
1987	12	Scott Armstrong	318	LB	Florida

1988

• Possibly Landry’s worst year. He can no longer relate to the players, the NFL has long since figured out the Flex defense and his GM and Owner have expected him to retire for the past two years. They go 3-13
• Mike Ditka goes into NFL Hall of Fame at TE

Year	Rnd	Player	Pick	Pos	College/Univ
1988	1	Michael Irvin HOF	11	WR	Miami (FL)
1988	2	Ken Norton Jr.	41	LB	UCLA
1988	3	Mark Hutson	67	G	Oklahoma
1988	4	Dave Widell	94	C	Boston Col.
1988	6	Scott Secules	151	QB	Virginia
1988	7	Owen Hooven	178	T	Oregon St.
1988	8	Mark Higgs	205	RB	Kentucky
1988	9	Brian Bedford	232	WR	California
1988	10	Billy Owens	263	DB	Pittsburgh
1988	11	Chad Hennings	290	DT	Air Force
1988	12	Ben Hummel	317	LB	UCLA

1989

• Feb 25, 1989 – Bum Bright sells the team. He has had several offers, however he wasn’t going to sell to anyone that was going to keep Landry. Landry must be fired for the deal to be done. But does not take the highest one, instead he goes with the charismatic Jerry Jones for $170 million.
• “Our agreement on the purchase of the Dallas Cowboys was finalized with a few notes on a napkin and a handshake,” Jones said in a statement. “With Bum, his word meant everything. LA Times
• Jones is the the majority partner, with five minority owners, including Ed Smith of Houston, who had 27 percent under Bright’s ownership. The other minority owners include Charles Wily, Sam Wily and Evan Wily, who are affiliated with U.S. Cafes, owners of the Bonanza Steakhouse chain, and Russell Glass.
• Brad Sham; “So, Bum Bright says to Jerry Jones, ‘I’ll fire him for you.’  And Jerry says ‘No, no, I’m going to fly down and tell him face to face.’  Well, people don’t want to hear that, because that doesn’t make Jerry a villain.”
• Announcement of the sale, rumored since Thursday, came at a news conference 8:22 p.m. Saturday at Valley Ranch. The news conference was scheduled to begin at 7 p.m., but was delayed because Jones and club president Tex Schramm flew in Jones’ private jet to Austin to inform Landry personally that he was being replaced as Cowboys coach. Schramm’s voice broke and tears welled in his eyes as he talked of the visit with Landry. “It was a very difficult meeting, difficult and sad,” said Schramm, who will retain his role with the Cowboys.  “It’s tough when you break a relationship that you have had for 29 years. But I am glad the ownership problem has been cleared up. It’s good for the ballclub,” Schramm said. (The Oklahoman)
• Bright says later that his biggest regret during his Cowboy tenure was not firing Landry himself.
• Jones offers Landry a position with the Cowboys that Tom declines.
• Jones hires Jimmy Johnson, his Arkansas teammate as Head Coach. He will serve from 1989-1993. He supervises the 1989 Draft

Year	Rnd	Player	Pick	Pos	College/Univ
1989	1	Troy Aikman HOF	1	QB	UCLA
1989	2	Steve Wisniewski	29	G	Penn St.
1989	2	Daryl Johnston	39	RB	Syracuse
1989	3	Mark Stepnoski	57	C	Pittsburgh
1989	3	Rhondy Weston	68	DE	Florida
1989	4	Tony Tolbert	85	DE	Texas-El Paso
1989	5	Keith Jennings	113	TE	Clemson
1989	5	Willis Crockett	119	LB	Georgia Tech
1989	5	Jeff Roth	125	DT	Florida
1989	7	Kevin Peterson	168	LB	Northwestern
1989	8	Charvez Foger	196	RB	Nevada
1989	9	Tim Jackson	224	DB	Nebraska
1989	10	Rod Carter	252	LB	Miami (FL)
1989	11	Randy Shannon	280	LB	Miami (FL)
1989	12	Scott Ankrom	308	WR	TCU

• October 12, 1989, a trade occurs centered on sending running back Herschel Walker from the Dallas Cowboys to the Minnesota Vikings. Including Walker and a transaction involving the San Diego Chargers, the trade eventually involved 18 players and draft picks. This gave Dallas the ammunition to win the three Super Bowls of the 1990s

“There is no right way to fire Tom Landry.  Yet it was what everybody wanted done, and what everybody agreed had to happen. They just wanted him to step away gracefully, but he didn’t want to.”
“The great irony to me is that is what he did with his players.  He intentionally did not have close personal relationships with most of his players while he was playing because he knew there would be a day when he would have to cut them. And all of his players, 85-90%, didn’t like him when they played for him. But they looked back after they played for him, and said “Wow.”   He cared about them deeply, but felt, this is the way I have to run this business.  Then it happened to him, and he didn’t like it.” Brad Sham courtesy Peter King podcast.

1990

• 1990-97: Training camp St. Edwards University in Austin
• Tom Landry becomes the first Cowboy coach in the NFL Hall of Fame

Year	Rnd	Player	Pick	Pos	College/Univ
1990	1	Emmitt Smith HOF	17	RB	Florida
1990	2	Alexander Wright	26	WR	Auburn
1990	3	Jimmie Jones	64	DT	Miami (FL)
1990	5	Stan Smagala	123	DB	Notre Dame
1990	9	Kenneth Gant	221	DB	Albany State (GA)
1990	11	Dave Harper	277	LB	Humboldt St.

1991

• Texas E. Schramm becomes the first Cowboy GM in the NFL Hall of Fame

Year	Rnd	Player	Pick	Pos	College/Univ
1991	1	Russell Maryland	1	DT	Miami (FL)
1991	1	Alvin Harper	12	WR	Tennessee
1991	1	Kelvin Pritchett	20	DT	Mississippi
1991	2	Dixon Edwards	37	LB	Michigan St.
1991	3	Godfrey Myles	62	LB	Florida
1991	3	James Richards	64	G	California
1991	3	Erik Williams	70	T	Central State (OH)
1991	4	Curvin Richards	97	RB	Pittsburgh
1991	4	Bill Musgrave	106	QB	Oregon
1991	4	Tony Hill	108	DE	Tenn-Chattanooga
1991	4	Kevin Harris	110	DE	Texas Southern
1991	5	Darrick Brownlow	132	LB	Illinois
1991	6	Mike Sullivan	153	G	Miami (FL)
1991	7	Leon Lett	173	DT	Emporia St.
1991	9	Damon Mays	235	WR	Missouri
1991	10	Sean Love	264	G	Penn St.
1991	11	Tony Boles	291	RB	Michigan
1991	12	Larry Brown	320	DB	TCU

1992

Year	Rnd	Player	Pick	Pos	College/Univ
1992	1	Kevin Smith	17	DB	Texas A&M
1992	1	Robert Jones	24	LB	East Carolina
1992	2	Jimmy Smith	36	WR	Jackson St.
1992	2	Darren Woodson	37	DB	Arizona St.
1992	3	Clayton Holmes	58	DB	Carson-Newman
1992	3	James Brown	82	T	Virginia St.
1992	4	Tom Myslinski	109	G	Tennessee
1992	5	Greg Briggs	120	DB	Texas Southern
1992	5	Rod Milstead	121	G	Delaware St.
1992	6	Fallon Wacasey	149	TE	Tulsa
1992	9	Nate Kirtman	248	DB	Pomona
1992	9	Chris Hall	250	DB	East Carolina
1992	10	John Terry	275	G	Livingstone
1992	11	Tim Daniel	302	WR	Florida A&M
1992	12	Don Harris	317	DB	Texas Tech

1993

• January 31 1993 Dallas destroys Buffalo in XXVII 52-17

Year	Rnd	Player	Pick	Pos	College/Univ
1993	2	Kevin Williams	46	WR	Miami (FL)
1993	2	Darrin Smith	54	LB	Miami (FL)
1993	3	Mike Middleton	84	DB	Indiana
1993	4	Derrick Lassic	94	RB	Alabama
1993	4	Ron Stone	96	G	Boston Col.
1993	6	Barry Minter	168	LB	Tulsa
1993	7	Brock Marion	196	DB	Nevada
1993	8	Dave Thomas	203	DB	Tennessee
1993	8	Reggie Givens	213	LB	Penn St.

1994

• 1994: Cowboys owner Jerry Jones plans to expand the 65,000-seat Texas Stadium by 40,000 seats, add retractable roof panels and install a climate-control system to make the stadium a year-round venue for sporting events, including the Super Bowl, concerts, and conventions.
• January 30 1994 Dallas replays 1993 and take out Buffalo 30-13 in Superbowl XXVIII
• Tony Dorsett, Cowboy RB goes into the NFL Hall of Fame
• Randy ‘The Manster’ White goes into the NFL Hall of Fame
• Jackie Smith goes in NFL Hall of Fame. Only with Dallas one year but famous for dropping the tying TD pass in Super Bowl XIII against the Steelers.
• March 29, 1994 – a day that will live in Cowboy infamy. At a hotel bar in Orlando, Jerry Jones tells reporters Rick Gosselin and Ed Werder, “There are 500 coaches who could have won the Super Bowl with our team.”
• A week later Jerry and Jimmy part ways. Barry Switzer is hired as head coach

Year	Rnd	Player	Pick	Pos	College/Univ
1994	1	Shante Carver	23	DE	Arizona St.
1994	2	Larry Allen HOF	46	G	Sonoma St.
1994	3	George Hegamin	102	T	North Carolina St.
1994	4	Willie Jackson	109	WR	Florida
1994	4	DeWayne Dotson	131	LB	Mississippi
1994	6	Darren Studstill	191	DB	West Virginia
1994	7	Toddrick McIntosh	216	DE	Florida St.

1995

Year	Rnd	Player	Pick	Pos	College/Univ
1995	2	Sherman Williams	46	RB	Alabama
1995	2	Kendell Watkins	59	TE	Mississippi St.
1995	2	Shane Hannah	63	G	Michigan St.
1995	3	Charlie Williams	92	DB	Bowling Green
1995	4	Eric Bjornson	110	TE	Washington
1995	4	Alundis Brice	129	DB	Mississippi
1995	4	Linc Harden	130	LB	Oklahoma St.
1995	5	Edward Hervey	166	WR	USC
1995	5	Dana Howard	168	LB	Illinois
1995	7	Oscar Sturgis	236	DE	North Carolina

1996

• January 28 1996 Dallas wins it’s 5th Superbowl over the Steelers, 27-17
• Me Renfro joins the Hall of Fame at as a Cowboy S and CB

Year	Rnd	Player	Pick	Pos	College/Univ
1996	2	Kavika Pittman	37	DE	McNeese St.
1996	2	Randall Godfrey	49	LB	Georgia
1996	3	Clay Shiver	67	C	Florida St.
1996	3	Stepfret Williams	94	WR	La-Monroe
1996	3	Mike Ulufale	95	DT	BYU
1996	5	Kenneth McDaniel	157	T	Norfolk St.
1996	5	Alan Campos	167	LB	Louisville
1996	6	Wendell Davis	207	DB	Oklahoma
1996	7	Ryan Wood	243	RB	Arizona St.

1997

• 1997–2000: The Cowboys hold preliminary talks with Arlington officials about building a stadium there. The team also publicly discusses a $260 million plan to upgrade Texas Stadium. In 2000, the Cowboys compile a list of potential stadium sites, which include Grapevine, Coppell, and Arlington. The team continues negotiating with Irving to renovate Texas Stadium.

Year	Rnd	Player	Pick	Pos	College/Univ
1997	1	David LaFleur	22	TE	LSU
1997	3	Dexter Coakley	65	LB	Appalachian St.
1997	3	Steve Scifres	83	G	Wyoming
1997	3	Kenny Wheaton	94	DB	Oregon
1997	4	Antonio Anderson	101	DT	Syracuse
1997	4	Macey Brooks	127	WR	James Madison
1997	4	Nicky Sualua	129	RB	Ohio St.
1997	6	Lee Vaughn	187	DB	Wyoming
1997	7	Omar Stoutmire	224	DB	Fresno St.

1998

• 1998-2001: Training camp moved to Midwestern State in Wichita Falls
• however in 2001, River Ridge Playing Field in Oxnard shared training camp
• Tommy McDonald, Cowboy WR joins the NFL Hall of Fame

Year	Rnd	Player	Pick	Pos	College/Univ
1998	1	Greg Ellis	8	DE	North Carolina
1998	2	Flozell Adams	38	T	Michigan St.
1998	4	Michael Myers	100	DT	Alabama
1998	5	Darren Hambrick	130	LB	South Carolina
1998	5	Oliver Ross	138	T	Iowa St.
1998	6	Izell Reese	188	DB	Ala-Birmingham
1998	7	Tarik Smith	223	RB	California
1998	7	Antonio Fleming	227	G	Georgia
1998	7	Rodrick Monroe	237	TE	Cincinnati

1999

Year	Rnd	Player	Pick	Pos	College/Univ
1999	1	Ebenezer Ekuban	20	DE	North Carolina
1999	2	Solomon Page	55	G	West Virginia
1999	3	Dat Nguyen	85	LB	Texas A&M
1999	4	Wane McGarity	118	WR	Texas
1999	4	Peppi Zellner	132	DE	Fort Valley St.
1999	6	MarTay Jenkins	193	WR	Nebraska-Omaha
1999	7	Mike Lucky	229	TE	Arizona
1999	7	Kelvin Garmon	243	G	Baylor

2000

Year	Rnd	Player	Pick	Pos	College/Univ
2000	2	Dwayne Goodrich	49	DB	Tennessee
2000	4	Kareem Larrimore	109	DB	West Texas A&M
2000	5	Michael Wiley	144	RB	Ohio St.
2000	6	Mario Edwards	180	DB	Florida St.
2000	7	Orantes Grant	219	LB	Georgia

2001

• 2001: Jones says Arlington is a leading contender for a $500 million stadium. The primary site considered is the 2,000 acres (810 ha) Lakes of Arlington tract on Farm Road 157. Other cities in the running include Grapevine and Grand Prairie. In October, Jones discusses the new stadium with the mayors of Arlington, Irving, Grapevine, and Dallas.

Year	Rnd	Player	Pick	Pos	College/Univ
2001	2	Quincy Carter	53	QB	Georgia
2001	2	Tony Dixon	56	DB	Alabama
2001	3	Willie Blade	93	DT	Mississippi St.
2001	4	Markus Steele	122	LB	USC
2001	5	Matt Lehr	137	C	Virginia Tech
2001	6	Daleroy Stewart	171	DT	Southern Miss
2001	7	Colston Weatherington	207	DE	Central Missouri St.
2001	7	John Nix	240	DT	Southern Miss
2001	7	Char-ron Dorsey	242	T	Florida St.

2002

• 2002-2003: Training camp at Alamodome in San Antonio

Year	Rnd	Player	Pick	Pos	College/Univ
2002	1	Roy Williams	8	DB	Oklahoma
2002	2	Andre Gurode	37	G	Colorado
2002	2	Antonio Bryant	63	WR	Pittsburgh
2002	3	Derek Ross	75	DB	Ohio St.
2002	4	Jamar Martin	129	FB	Ohio St.
2002	5	Pete Hunter	168	DB	Virginia Union
2002	6	Tyson Walter	179	C	Ohio St.
2002	6	DeVeren Johnson	208	WR	Sacred Heart
2002	6	Bob Slowikowski	211	TE	Virginia Tech

2003

• 2003: The Cowboys ask the Irving City Council to extend their lease at Texas Stadium, which expires at the end of the 2008 season, on a year-to-year basis. They narrow their search to sites in Las Colinas and Dallas, and state legislators file bills that would allow Dallas County to increase its hotel occupancy and car rental taxes to pay for a new stadium.

Year	Rnd	Player	Pick	Pos	College/Univ
2003	1	Terence Newman	5	DB	Kansas St.
2003	2	Al Johnson	38	C	Wisconsin
2003	3	Jason Witten	69	TE	Tennessee
2003	4	Bradie James	103	LB	LSU
2003	6	B.J. Tucker	178	DB	Wisconsin
2003	6	Zuriel Smith	186	WR	Hampton
2003	7	Justin Bates	219	G	Colorado

2004

• April 2004: Cowboys announce plans to build a $650 million stadium at Fair Park in Dallas. The deal requires $425 million in public financing from a 3% hotel-occupancy tax and a 6% car-rental tax.
• June 2004; American Airlines Center is a “major obstacle” to building a Dallas Cowboys stadium in Fair Park, Mayor Laura Miller and several City Council members said Wednesday. “We should not have structured the deal like we did,” the mayor said, explaining that a noncompete clause in the arena’s contract with the city is complicating negotiations with the Cowboys. “It’s a big problem. American Airlines Center keeps saying, ‘You can’t do this; you can’t do that.’ Our attorneys are going to continue to work on it.” The city’s 1998 contract with American Airlines Center says the city cannot participate in the building of a stadium that would seat between 5,000 and 50,000 people and therefore compete with the arena for concerts and family events.
• The deal falls apart in June when Dallas County commissioners say they cannot justify asking voters to approve the team’s request for $425 million in public funding.
• Dallas Mayor Laura Miller made a last ditch effort to keep the Cowboys in Dallas offering a hotel tax that matched the one the county turned down. Arlington offered to pay$325 mil for the stadium plus raise other funding and Dallas wouldn’t match. (Ms Miller said they simply didnt have the money) ( Texas Monthly, Feb 2006)
• In July, the Cowboys and Arlington announce they are negotiating to locate the stadium near Globe Life Park (then Ameriquest Field). In August, the Arlington City Council agrees unanimously to put before voters a tax increase that would fund the city’s $325 million portion of the project. Voters approve the tax increase on November 2.
• 2004-2006: Training camp at River Ridge in Oxnard, CA

Year	Rnd	Player	Pick	Pos	College/Univ
2004	2	Julius Jones	43	RB	Notre Dame
2004	2	Jacob Rogers	52	T	USC
2004	3	Stephen Peterman	83	G	LSU
2004	4	Bruce Thornton	121	DB	Georgia
2004	5	Sean Ryan	144	TE	Boston Col.
2004	7	Nate Jones	205	DB	Rutgers
2004	7	Patrick Crayton	216	WR	NW Oklahoma St.
2004	7	Jacques Reeves	223	DB	Purdue

2005

• 2005: Arlington and the Cowboys choose the site south of Randol Mill Road and east of Collins Street for the new stadium. The city begins notifying residents and property owners of its plans to acquire their property. The Cowboys hire the HKS architectural firm to design the stadium. Early blueprints show 414 luxury suites and a two-panel retractable roof. The city completes its sale of $297.9 million in bonds to pay for its portion of the construction. Demolition of houses begins November 1.

Year	Rnd	Player	Pick	Pos	College/Univ
2005	1	DeMarcus Ware	11	LB	Troy
2005	1	Marcus Spears	20	DE	LSU
2005	2	Kevin Burnett	42	LB	Tennessee
2005	4	Marion Barber III	109	RB	Minnesota
2005	4	Chris Canty	132	DE	Virginia
2005	6	Justin Beriault	208	DB	Ball St.
2005	6	Rob Petitti	209	T	Pittsburgh
2005	7	Jay Ratliff	224	DE	Auburn

2006

• January 2006: The Cowboys hired Oklahoma-based Manhattan Construction as the general contractor for the stadium and the city completes its land purchases, although it still faces a number of lawsuits over land acquisition. Later that month, Tarrant County work crews begin demolition of more than 150 Arlington residences and small business structures to make room for the stadium.
• March 2006: Alliance announced between Manhattan Construction and two general contractors, Rayco Construction of Grand Prairie and 3i Construction of Dallas, to manage the stadium’s construction.
• April 2006: Excavation begins by Mario Sinacola and Sons Excavating. By August, they had moved over 1.4 million cubic yards of earth, shaping a 13-to-14-acre (5.3 to 5.7 ha) stadium bowl an average of 54 feet (16 m) deep.
• October 2006: The grass amphitheater on Randol Mill Road is leveled to make way for the extension of Baird Farm Road.
• December 2006: The stadium’s structure begins to go up and on December 12, Jerry Jones unveils the in-depth plans and designs of the stadium to the public.
• Troy Aikman goes into NFL Hall of Fame as a Cowboy QB
• ‘Big Cat’ Rayfield Wright, Cowboy OT goes into NFL Hall of Fame

Year	Rnd	Player	Pick	Pos	College/Univ
2006	1	Bobby Carpenter	18	LB	Ohio St.
2006	2	Anthony Fasano	53	TE	Notre Dame
2006	3	Jason Hatcher	92	DE	Grambling St.
2006	4	Skyler Green	125	WR	LSU
2006	5	Pat Watkins	138	DB	Florida St.
2006	6	Montavious Stanley	182	DT	Louisville
2006	7	Pat McQuistan	211	T	Weber St.
2006	7	E.J. Whitley	224	C	Texas Tech

2007

• January 2007: A construction worker is injured in a 20 ft fall.
• June 2008: Jones commissions the world’s largest 1080 HDTV, to hang above field. An electrician is electrocuted while working on the stadium. Two days before, three people were injured while assembling a crane.
• Training camp at Alamodome
• WR Micheal Irvin goes into NFL Hall of Fame

Year	Rnd	Player	Pick	Pos	College/Univ
2007	1	Anthony Spencer	26	DE	Purdue
2007	3	James Marten	67	T	Boston Col.
2007	4	Isaiah Stanback	103	QB	Washington
2007	4	Doug Free	122	T	Northern Illinois
2007	6	Nick Folk	178	K	Arizona
2007	6	Deon Anderson	195	FB	Connecticut
2007	7	Courtney Brown	212	DB	Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo
2007	7	Alan Ball	237	DB	Illinois

2008

• 2008 and 2010 Training camp at River Ridge in Oxnard

Year	Rnd	Player	Pick	Pos	College/Univ
2008	1	Felix Jones	22	RB	Arkansas
2008	1	Mike Jenkins	25	DB	South Florida
2008	2	Martellus Bennett	61	TE	Texas A&M
2008	4	Tashard Choice	122	RB	Georgia Tech
2008	5	Orlando Scandrick	143	DB	Boise St.
2008	6	Erik Walden	167	DE	Middle Tenn. St.

2009

• 2009: The stadium is scheduled for ‘substantial completion’ in June. The artificial-turf field was brought into the stadium in July. The Cowboys played their first pre-season home game on August 21 and their first regular-season home game on Sunday, September 20.
• May 2, 2009 Rich Behm is paralyzed and 11 others hurt when straightline winds take out a tent at Valley Ranch.
• May 13, 2009: Jerry Jones announced the official name of the new venue as Cowboys Stadium.
• 2009 and 2011: Training camp at Alamodome in San Antonio
• September 20, 2009: The Cowboys played their first NFL regular season game in the new stadium, . The Cowboys lose to the Giants 33–31 on a last second field goal by Lawrence Tynes. It was televised on NBC. This game attracted a record-breaking crowd of 105,121.
• ‘Bullet’ Bob Hayes finally goes into the NFL Hall of Fame

Year	Rnd	Player	Pick	Pos	College/Univ
2009	3	Jason Williams	69	LB	West. Illinois
2009	3	Robert Brewster	75	T	Ball St.
2009	4	Stephen McGee	101	QB	Texas A&M
2009	4	Victor Butler	110	LB	Oregon St.
2009	4	Brandon Williams	120	DE	Texas Tech
2009	5	DeAngelo Smith	143	DB	Cincinnati
2009	5	Michael Hamlin	166	DB	Clemson
2009	5	David Buehler	172	K	USC
2009	6	Stephen Hodge	197	DB	TCU
2009	6	John Phillips	208	TE	Virginia
2009	7	Mike Mickens	227	DB	Cincinnati
2009	7	Manuel Johnson	229	WR	Oklahoma

2010

• Emmitt Smith, NFL all time rushing leader is a first ballot NFL Hall of Famer

Year	Rnd	Player	Pick	Pos	College/Univ
2010	1	Dez Bryant	24	WR	Oklahoma St.
2010	2	Sean Lee	55	LB	Penn St.
2010	4	Akwasi Owusu-Ansah	126	DB	Indiana (PA)
2010	6	Sam Young	179	T	Notre Dame
2010	6	Jamar Wall	196	DB	Texas Tech
2010	7	Sean Lissemore	234	DT	William & Mary

2011

• February 6, 2011: The 2010 NFL Season Super Bowl was hosted at the Cowboys Stadium, which saw the Green Bay Packers defeat the Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl XLV. It was in the middle of a sudden snow and ice storm where several guests were struck by ice sliding off the roof. The City of Arlington had no capabilities for ice of this magnitude.
• Deion ‘Primetime’ Sanders goes into NFL Hall of Fame

Year	Rnd	Player	Pick	Pos	College/Univ
2011	1	Tyron Smith	9	T	USC
2011	2	Bruce Carter	40	LB	North Carolina
2011	3	DeMarco Murray	71	RB	Oklahoma
2011	4	David Arkin	110	G	Missouri State
2011	5	Josh Thomas	143	DB	Buffalo
2011	6	Dwayne Harris	176	WR	East Carolina
2011	7	Shaun Chapas	220	RB	Georgia
2011	7	Bill Nagy	252	G	Wisconsin

2012

Year	Rnd	Player	Pick	Pos	College/Univ
2012	1	Morris Claiborne	6	DB	LSU
2012	3	Tyrone Crawford	81	DE	Boise St.
2012	4	Kyle Wilber	113	LB	Wake Forest
2012	4	Matt Johnson	135	DB	East. Washington
2012	5	Danny Coale	152	WR	Virginia Tech
2012	6	James Hanna	186	TE	Oklahoma
2012	7	Caleb McSurdy	222	LB	Montana

2013

• July 25, 2013: Jerry Jones announced that the official name of the venue was changed to AT&T Stadium as part of a naming rights deal.
• Larry Allen, OT and OG for us goes into NFL Hall of Fame
• Bill Parcells, Cowboys Head Coach goes into NFL Hall of Fame
• The Star project was announced in 2013 as a partnership between the City of Frisco and the Dallas Cowboys as part of the “$5 Billion Mile” in Frisco Station, Texas. The Ford Center is part of a 91-acre development called The Star that includes the Dallas Cowboys’ team headquarters and training facility which moved from Valley Ranch, Texas, a 300-room Omni Hotel, the Dallas Cowboys Ring of Honor Walk, and retail and restaurant space. The Ford Center at The Star aside from the main stadium features practice fields and a sports training complex called the “Baylor Scott & White Sports Therapy & Research center for sports medicine”
• The Star becomes the 7th and current practice facility for the Dallas Cowboys.

Year	Rnd	Player	Pick	Pos	College/Univ
2013	1	Travis Frederick	31	C	Wisconsin
2013	2	Gavin Escobar	47	TE	San Diego St.
2013	3	Terrance Williams	74	WR	Baylor
2013	3	J.J. Wilcox	80	DB	Georgia Southern
2013	4	B.W. Webb	114	DB	William & Mary
2013	5	Joseph Randle	151	RB	Oklahoma St.
2013	6	DeVonte Holloman	185	LB	South Carolina

2014

Year	Rnd	Player	Pick	Pos	College/Univ
2014	1	Zack Martin	16	G	Notre Dame
2014	2	DeMarcus Lawrence	34	DE	Boise St.
2014	4	Anthony Hitchens	119	LB	Iowa
2014	5	Devin Street	146	WR	Pittsburgh
2014	7	Ben Gardner	231	DE	Stanford
2014	7	Will Smith	238	LB	Texas Tech
2014	7	Ahmad Dixon	248	DB	Baylor
2014	7	Ken Bishop	251	DT	Northern Illinois
2014	7	Terrance Mitchell	254	DB	Oregon

2015

• Charles Haley, DE and LB goes into NFL Hall of Fame

Year	Rnd	Player	Pick	Pos	College/Univ
2015	1	Byron Jones	27	CB	Connecticut
2015	2	Randy Gregory	60	OLB	Nebraska
2015	3	Chaz Green	91	T	Florida
2015	4	Damien Wilson	127	ILB	Minnesota
2015	5	Ryan Russell	163	DE	Purdue
2015	7	Mark Nzeocha	236	OLB	Wyoming
2015	7	Laurence Gibson	243	T	Virginia Tech
2015	7	Geoff Swaim	246	TE	Texas

2016

Year	Rnd	Player	Pick	Pos	College/Univ
2016	1	Ezekiel Elliott	4	RB	Ohio St.
2016	2	Jaylon Smith	34	OLB	Notre Dame
2016	3	Maliek Collins	67	DT	Nebraska
2016	4	Charles Tapper	101	DE	Oklahoma
2016	4	Dak Prescott	135	QB	Mississippi St.
2016	6	Anthony Brown	189	CB	Purdue
2016	6	Kavon Frazier	212	S	Central Michigan
2016	6	Darius Jackson	216	RB	East. Michigan
2016	6	Rico Gathers	217	TE	Baylor

2017

• Jerry Jones goes into NFL Hall of Fame as an owner

Year	Rnd	Player	Pick	Pos	College/Univ
2017	1	Taco Charlton	28	DE	Michigan
2017	2	Chidobe Awuzie	60	CB	Colorado
2017	3	Jourdan Lewis	92	CB	Michigan
2017	4	Ryan Switzer	133	WR	North Carolina
2017	6	Xavier Woods	191	S	Louisiana Tech
2017	6	Marquez White	216	CB	Florida St.
2017	7	Joey Ivie	228	DT	Florida
2017	7	Noah Brown	239	WR	Ohio St.
2017	7	Jordan Carrell	246	DT	Colorado

2018

• WR Terrell Owens goes into NFL Hall of Fame

Year	Rnd	Player	Pick	Pos	College/Univ
2018	1	Leighton Vander Esch	19	OLB	Boise St.
2018	2	Connor Williams	50	T	Texas
2018	3	Michael Gallup	81	WR	Colorado St.
2018	4	Dorance Armstrong Jr.	116	DE	Kansas
2018	4	Dalton Schultz	137	TE	Stanford
2018	5	Mike White	171	QB	Western Kentucky
2018	6	Chris Covington	193	LB	Indiana
2018	6	Cedrick Wilson	208	WR	Boise St.
2018	7	Bo Scarbrough	236	RB	Alabama

2019

• Gil Brandt becomes the first Director of Player Personnel in the NFL Hall of Fame

Year	Rnd	Player	Pick	Pos	College/Univ
2019	2	Trysten Hill	58	DT	Central Florida
2019	3	Connor McGovern	90	G	Penn St.
2019	4	Tony Pollard	128	RB	Memphis
2019	5	Michael Jackson	158	CB	Miami (FL)
2019	5	Joe Jackson	165	DE	Miami (FL)
2019	6	Donovan Wilson	213	S	Texas A&M
2019	7	Mike Weber	218	RB	Ohio St.
2019	7	Jalen Jelks	241	DE	Oregon

2020

Year	Rnd	Player	Pick	Pos	College/Univ
2020	1	CeeDee Lamb	17	WR	Oklahoma
2020	2	Trevon Diggs	51	CB	Alabama
2020	3	Neville Gallimore	82	DT	Oklahoma
2020	4	Reggie Robinson II	123	CB	Tulsa
2020	4	Tyler Biadasz	146	C	Wisconsin
2020	5	Bradlee Anae	179	DE	Utah
2020	7	Ben DiNucci	231	QB	James Madison

If you haven’t read our interview with Cowboy All Pro LB Thomas ‘Hollywood’ Henderson, go to https://memoriesofdallas.org/thomashenderson/

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Dallas Cowboys Timeline

by Paul Heckmann, Executive Director. Memories Incorporated

Credit given to:

Dallas Morning News, DallasCowboys.com, Pro Football Reference, Texas State Historical Society, ESPN, Wiki,

a innumerable number of Cowboy fan sites, Dallas Public Library, and several hardcore Cowboy fans.

This is a ‘living document’ and will be updated as new information is proven and added

1959

• Clint Murchison signs Don Meredith to a 5 year personal service contract with his marine company Tecon to lock him up for the proposed Dallas Steers franchise. In November 1959, they also signed Don Perkins to a personal-services contract for a $1,500 bonus and a $10,000 salary
• The Steers name was changed to the Dallas Rangers after a short time.
• Murchison doesn’t have the votes against the powerful Redskins franchise that have the South locked up.
  

  The original Cowboy brain trust. Coach Landry, owner Bedford Wynne, GM Tex Schramm and owner Clint Murchison

• Clint and Bedford Wynne find out “Hail to the Redskins” is not owned by Washington, and in a nutshell purchase it and trades it to the Skins for their vote.
• The founding investors were Clint Murchison, Jr. (45%), John D. Murchison (45%), Toddie Lee and Bedford Wynne (Director and Secretary) (5%) and William R. Hawn (5%).
• Clint Murchison Jr. becomes the new team’s majority owner. His first order of business was to hire Tex Schramm as General Manager and Gil Brandt as Player Personnel Director
• December 22, 1959 Clint Murchison hires Tom Landry as Head Coach

1960

• January 28, 1960. Dallas Rangers awarded NFL Franchise for the astronomical sum of $600,000
  • March 13 1960. Dallas Rangers expansion draft (regular draft was in November) Each of the 12 NFL teams had to submit a list of 9 players. Dallas could only choose 3 of the 9 players. They chose:
    – Baltimore Colts: RB L.G. Dupre, P/WR Dave Sherer, DE Ray Krouse
    – Chicago Bears: DT Don Healy, RB Jack Johnson, RB Pete Johnson
    – Cleveland Browns: WR Frank Clarke, RB Leroy Bolden, RB Ed Modzelewski
    – Detroit Lions: WR Jim Doran, C Charlie Ane, LB Gene Cronin
    – Green Bay Packers: RB Don McIlenny, DE Nate Borden, S Bill Butler
    – Los Angeles Rams: CB Tom Franckhauser, T Bob Fry, G Duane Putnam
    – New York Giants: QB Don Heinrich, G Buzz Guy, G Al Barry
    – Philadelphia Eagles: TE Dick Bielski, T Jerry DeLucca, LB Bill Striegel
    – Pittsburgh Steelers: WR Ray Mathews, DT/T Ray Fisher, RB Bobby Luna
    – San Francisco 49ers: LB Jerry Tubbs, WR Fred Dugan, DE John Gonzaga
    – St Louis Cardinals: DT Ed Husmann, LB Jack Patera, T Bobby Cross
    – Washington Redskins: LB Tom Braatz, C Joe Nicely, RB Doyle Nix
    – At this time the NFL also assigned the rights to 1960 NFL draft picks Don Meredith (who had been drafted by the Chicago Bears) and Don Perkins (drafted by the Baltimore Colts) to the Cowboys for a couple of future draft picks. Dallas had to give their third-round and ninth-round choices in the 1962 NFL draft to the Bears and Colts respectively.
• March 19, 1960 – Rangers officially changed their name to the Cowboys. They had planned on using Dallas Rangers, but the baseball team in the area decided not to disband and since they wanted a clear and separate identity.
  

  The Cowboys first headquarters on 4425 Central Expressway left to right, GM Tex Schramm, owners Bedford Wynne and Clint Murchison and Head Coach Tom Landry,

• After not being able to participate in the 1960 NFL draft during their inaugural year of existence, the Dallas Cowboys traded their first round (who became future 4x Pro Bowler Norm Snead) and sixth round (#72-Joe Krakoski) draft choices in the 1961 NFL Draft to the Washington Redskins in exchange for Eddie LeBaron, convincing him to come out of retirement to become the franchise’s first starting quarterback. He started 10 of 12 games in 1960, with rookie Don Meredith and Don Heinrich starting the other two. He also scored the Cowboys’ first-ever touchdown in their first exhibition game against the San Francisco 49ers, on August 6 in Seattle. He set a record for the shortest touchdown pass in league history, with his throw to receiver Dick Bielski from the 2-inch line against the Redskins on October 9, 1960.

“When I took the job in 1960, I wasn’t worried in the least, mainly because I didn’t plan to stay in football. I had earned a business degree at Texas and had just added a degree in industrial engineering at Houston. I felt it was just a matter of time before I found a good job.”

—Tom Landry, Sporting News, 8/15/81

April 1960: Cowboys set up headquarters at 4425 N. Central Expressway on the second floor from the first-floor tenant Dallas Automobile Club. The Cowboys’ box office is on the first floorst season-ticket prices were $27.60 for six games.

Second-floor workers consisted of general manager Tex Schramm, Brandt, coach Tom Landry, three assistant coaches, a public relations director, a couple of secretaries and a receptionist.

July 9, 1960: Rookie training camp in Oregon starts

Cowboys held the first part of regular training camp at Pacific University in Forest Grove, Ore. The second half of camp was at St. John’s Military Academy in Delafield, Wisconsin, a site handpicked by Milwaukee native Brandt which turned into a disaster as it hadn’t been updated in decades and the rooms were built for youngsters, not very large men

1960-62 seasons: Cowboys primarily practice at Burnett Field, home of minor league baseball’s Dallas-Fort Worth Rangers; The offense met in the first-base clubhouse, the defense in the third-base clubhouse. The training room consisted of a couple of tables and ice tubs crammed into the stadium’s women’s restroom.

Some practices are held at DISD-owned Cobb Stadium when Burnett floods, which technically makes it the Cowboys second practice field

1960 Season. Ticket sales are slow. “The league has come a long, long way from the days when we used to pay players $5,000 a year and didn’t pay till Tuesday to make sure the checks cleared.” Gil Brandt

Sept 10 1960. Cowboys play first game in their history at Cotton Bowl.

Tom Franckhauser becomes the first Cowboy to ever touch the ball, taking the opening kickoff, which he also did in their preseason.

1960-1971: Cowboys use Cotton Bowl for NFL games

Cowboys end 1960 with no wins and a single tie, 0-11-1

1961

• Training camp moved to St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota
• Cowboys add a box office at 1509 Elm Street, tickets can also be purchased at Reynolds-Penland and Jas. K. Wilson stores.

Year	Rnd	Player	Pick	Pos	College/Univ
1961	1	Bob Lilly HOF	13	DT	TCU
1961	2	E.J. Holub	16	LB	Texas Tech
1961	3	Stew Barber	30	T	Penn St.
1961	4	Sonny Davis	44	LB	Baylor
1961	7	Art Gilmore	86	B	Oregon St.
1961	8	Don Talbert	100	T	Texas
1961	9	Glynn Gregory	114	E	SMU
1961	11	Norris Stevenson	142	B	Missouri
1961	12	Lowndes Shingler	156	QB	Clemson
1961	13	Don Goodman	170	B	Florida
1961	14	Billy Shaw HOF	184	G	Georgia Tech
1961	15	Julius Varnado	198	T	San Francisco St.
1961	16	Jerry Steffen	212	B	Colorado
1961	17	Everett Cloud	226	B	Maryland
1961	18	Randy Williams	240	B	Indiana
1961	19	Lynn Hoyem	254	G	Long Beach St.
1961	20	Jerry Morgan	268	B	Iowa St.

1962

• Cowboys owner Clint Murchison Jr. buys property at Yale Boulevard and North Central Expressway from underneath the AFL’s Dallas Texans which included a practice field and field house.
• The Texans are forced to move to a new field a few blocks away for the 1962 season while the Cowboys move to their 3rd practice field. Today this would be directly below where Murchison built the Cowboys Towers at 6116 N Central, approximately where the former Magnolia Hotel and current Beeman Hotel sits at 6070 N Central and 6060 N Central are today.
• Training camp moved to Northern Michigan University in Marquette, Michigan
• Cowboys are approached by a faction of IBM that wants to get into the NFL accounting areas via their computer systems. Instead Schramm flips it on them and asks them to see what they can do about developing a scouting system. A young Salam Qureishi joins forces with Gil Brandt to create pro sports first version of ‘Moneyball’.  They didnt call them ‘analytics’ back then, instead the used the moniker, ‘predictables’

Year	Rnd	Player	Pick	Pos	College/Univ
1962	2	Sonny Gibbs	18	QB	TCU
1962	3	Bobby Plummer	39	T	TCU
1962	6	Donnie Davis	74	WR	Southern
1962	6	George Andrie	82	DE	Marquette
1962	8	Ken Tureaud	102	B	Michigan
1962	10	John Longmeyer	130	G	Southern Illinois
1962	11	Larry Hudas	144	E	Michigan St.
1962	13	Bob Moses	172	E	Texas
1962	14	Harold Hays	186	LB	Southern Miss
1962	15	Guy Reese	200	DT	SMU
1962	16	Bob Johnston	214	T	Rice
1962	17	Ray Jacobs	228	DT	Howard Payne
1962	18	Dave Cloutier	242	DB	Maine
1962	19	Paul Holmes	256	T	Georgia
1962	20	Amos Bullocks	270	HB	Southern Illinois

1963

• 1963-1989: Training camp moved to California Lutheran in Oxnard

Year	Rnd	Player	Pick	Pos	College/Univ
1963	1	Lee Roy Jordan	6	LB	Alabama
1963	3	Jim Price	34	LB	Auburn
1963	4	Whaley Hall	48	T	Mississippi
1963	7	Marv Clothier	90	G	Kansas
1963	10	Rod Scheyer	132	T	Washington
1963	11	Ray Schoenke	146	G	SMU
1963	12	Bill Perkins	160	HB	Iowa
1963	13	Paul Wicker	174	T	Fresno St.
1963	14	Lou Cioci	188	LB	Boston Col.
1963	15	Jerry Overton	202	DB	Utah
1963	16	Dennis Golden	216	T	Holy Cross
1963	17	Ernie Parks	230	G	McMurry
1963	18	Bill Frank	244	T	Colorado
1963	19	Jim Stiger	258	HB	Washington
1963	20	Tommy Lucas	272	E	Texas

1964

• February 5, 1964: Clint Murchison signs Tom Landry to the longest contract in sports history, a 10 year agreement.
  

  Coaching staff 1964

• June 22, 1964: Cowboys move to their second, albeit temporary headquarters, 5738 N. Central Expressway (between Mockingbird and Yale, approximately where Mockingbird Station is now), with plans to move again in 1966 to a nearby office tower being constructed by Murchison. The temporary office is about 3 blocks south of the practice field.

Year	Rnd	Player	Pick	Pos	College/Univ
1964	1	Scott Appleton	4	DT	Texas
1964	2	Mel Renfro HOF	17	DB	Oregon
1964	4	Perry Lee Dunn	45	RB	Mississippi
1964	6	Billy Lothridge	73	DB	Georgia Tech
1964	6	Jim Curry	82	E	Cincinnati
1964	6	Jim Evans	83	WR	Texas-El Paso
1964	7	Bob Hayes HOF	88	SE	Florida A&M
1964	8	Al Geverink	101	HB	UCLA
1964	9	Jake Kupp	116	G	Washington
1964	10	Roger Staubach HOF	129	QB	Navy
1964	11	Bob Crenshaw	144	G	Baylor
1964	12	Johnny Norman	157	E
1964	13	Jerry Rhome	172	QB	Tulsa
1964	14	Jim Worden	185	LB	Wittenberg
1964	15	Bill Van Burkleo	200	B	Tulsa
1964	16	Paul Cercel	213	C	Pittsburgh
1964	17	Bud Abell	228	LB	Missouri
1964	18	Theophile Viltz	241	DB	USC
1964	19	H.D. Murphy	256	B	Oregon
1964	20	John Hughes	269	LB	SMU

1965

Year	Rnd	Player	Pick	Pos	College/Univ
1965	1	Craig Morton	5	QB	California
1965	2	Malcolm Walker	19	C	Rice
1965	4	Jimmy Sidle	47	RB	Auburn
1965	4	Bob Svihus	53	T	USC
1965	5	Roger Pettee	61	LB	Florida
1965	6	Sonny Utz	75	FB	Virginia Tech
1965	7	Brig Owens	89	DB	Cincinnati
1965	8	Russell Wayt	103	LB	Rice
1965	9	Jim Zanios	117	FB	Texas Tech
1965	10	Gaylon McCollough	131	C	Alabama
1965	11	Jethro Pugh	145	DT	Elizabeth City St.
1965	12	Ernie Kellermann	159	DB	Miami (OH)
1965	13	Jack Schraub	173	E	California
1965	14	Garry Porterfield	187	DE	Tulsa
1965	15	Gene Foster	201	RB	Arizona St.
1965	16	Doug McDougal	215	E	Oregon St.
1965	17	Mitch Johnson	229	T	UCLA
1965	18	Marty Amsler	243	DE	Evansville
1965	19	Marv Rettenmund	257	HB	Ball St.
1965	20	Don Barlow	271	T	Kansas St.

1966

• Lamar Hunt had moved the Dallas Texans to Kansas City in 1963 as the NFL was simply too strong, the current owners were too wealthy. And then the Giants approached Bills kicker Pete Gogolak and they signed him and all hell broke loose. The AFL started to fight back, signing current NFL players like Roman Gabriel to futures contracts. The bidding wars were causing contracts to run too high. Secret meetings authorized by Pete Rozelle were held between old friends, Lamar Hunt and Tex Schramm. On June 8 1966, the AFL-NFL merger was announced. Common schedules came into play in 1970 
• Cowboys began an NFL-record streak of 20 consecutive winning seasons. That streak included 18 years in the playoffs, 13 divisional championships, five trips to the Super Bowl and victories in Super Bowls VI and XII.
• Cowboys won Division title but lost in the NFL championship to Green Bay
• Dec. 19, 1966: Thirteen days before hosting the Packers in the NFL Championship Game, Cowboys move into their third headquarters in the new offices at 6116 N. Central Expressway, taking over the 11th floor of a 15-story, $7 million Expressway Tower built primarily for Murchison’s marine construction company, Tecon. The office overlooks the team’s practice field.

Year	Rnd	Player	Pick	Pos	College/Univ
1966	1	John Niland	5	G	Iowa
1966	2	Willie Townes	22	DE	Tulsa
1966	5	Walt Garrison	79	RB	Oklahoma St.
1966	6	Bob Dunlevy	86	E	West Virginia
1966	7	Arthur Robinson	100	E	Florida A&M
1966	8	Don Kunit	116	HB	Penn St.
1966	9	Darrell Elam	130	E	West Virginia Tech
1966	10	Mason Mitchell	146	HB	Washington
1966	11	Austin Denney	160	TE	Tennessee
1966	12	Les Shy	173	RB	Long Beach St.
1966	12	Craig Baynham	176	HB	Georgia Tech
1966	13	Ron Lamb	190	RB	South Carolina
1966	14	Lewis Turner	206	HB	Norfolk St.
1966	15	Mark Gartung	220	T	Oregon St.
1966	16	Tom Piggee	236	HB	San Francisco St.
1966	17	George Allen	250	T	West Texas A&M
1966	18	Steve Orr	266	T	Washington
1966	19	Byron Johnson	280	T	Central Washington
1966	20	Lou Hudson	296	FL	Minnesota

1967

• June 1967: Cowboys lease 3.5 acres near Forest Lane and Abrams Road and begin construction of a training facility and practice fields, which they move to in October and this becomes their fourth practice facility
• Cowboys won Division title but lost in the NFL championship to Green Bay
• George Allen was coaching the Los Angeles Rams in 1967 when the first Allen-Dallas dustup occurred. Cowboy exec Tex Schramm said a suspicious vehicle had been parked near the team’s practice field. Alert and inquisitive, he alleged a license plate check traced the car rental to Johnny Sanders, head scout of the Rams.

Year	Rnd	Player	Pick	Pos	College/Univ
1967	3	Phil Clark	76	DB	Northwestern
1967	4	Curtis Marker	103	G	Northern Michigan
1967	6	Sims Stokes	157	WR	Northern Arizona
1967	7	Rayfield Wright HOF	182	T	Fort Valley St.
1967	8	Steve Laub	208	QB	Illinois Wesleyan
1967	9	Byron Morgan	234	DB	Findlay
1967	10	Eugene Bowen	260	HB	Tennessee St.
1967	11	Pat Riley	285	FL	Kentucky
1967	12	Harold Deters	312	K	North Carolina St.
1967	13	Al Kerkian	338	DE	Akron
1967	14	Tommy Boyd	364	G	Tarleton St.
1967	15	Leavie Davis	390	DB	Edward Waters
1967	16	Paul Brothers	416	QB	Oregon St.
1967	17	George Adams	442	LB	Morehead St.

1968

Year	Rnd	Player	Pick	Pos	College/Univ
1968	1	Dennis Homan	20	WR	Alabama
1968	2	Dave McDaniels	45	WR	Miss. Valley St.
1968	3	Ed Harmon	71	LB	Louisville
1968	4	John Douglas	97	LB	Missouri
1968	5	Blaine Nye	130	G	Stanford
1968	6	D.D. Lewis	159	LB	Mississippi St.
1968	7	Bob Taucher	185	T	Nebraska
1968	8	Frank Brown	211	DT	Albany St.
1968	9	Ken Kmiec	241	DB	Illinois
1968	10	Ben Olison	266	FL	Kansas
1968	11	Ron Shotts	292	RB	Oklahoma
1968	12	Wilson Whitty	321	LB	Boston Univ.
1968	13	Carter Lord	347	FL	Harvard
1968	14	Ron Williams	373	DB	West Virginia
1968	15	Tony Lunceford	402	K	Auburn
1968	16	Larry Cole	428	DE	Hawaii
1968	17	George Nordgren	454	RB	Houston

1969

• Cowboys win the Capital Division. They lose to the Cleveland Browns in the Eastern Championship 38-14

You want to know about ‘luck of the draw’? As the AFL-NFL merger approached in 1969-70 The AFC teams quickly decided on a divisional alignment but the NFC had a lot of infighting. They had gone to 4 team divisions in 1967 but nobody wanted to be in the same divisions as the Cowboys or Vikings. Everyone wanted the Saints as they were the worst team in football The final five proposals were as follows: PLAN 1: East: NYG, PHI, WAS, ATL, MIN; Central: CHI, GB, DET, NO; West: LA, SF, DAL, STL. PLAN 2: East: NYG, PHI, WAS, MIN; Central: ATL, DAL, NO, STL; West: LA, SF, CHI, GB, DET. PLAN 3: East: NYG, PHI, WAS, DAL, STL: Central: CHI, GB, DET, MIN; West: LA, SF, ATL, NO. PLAN 4: East: NYG, PHI, WAS, STL, MIN; Central: CHI, GB, DET, ATL; West: LA, SF, DAL, NO. PLAN 5: East: NYG, PHI, WAS, DET, MIN; Central: CHI, GB, DAL, STL; West: LA, SF, ATL, NO. These five combinations were written up on slips of paper, sealed into envelopes and put into a fish bowl (other sources say a flower vase), and the official NFC alignment ‘Plan 3’ was pulled out by Rozelle’s secretary, Thelma Elkjer.

Year	Rnd	Player	Pick	Pos	College/Univ
1969	1	Calvin Hill	24	RB	Yale
1969	2	Richmond Flowers	49	DB	Tennessee
1969	3	Thomas Stincic	68	LB	Michigan
1969	3	Halvor Hagen	74	G	Weber St.
1969	5	Chuck Kyle	125	LB	Purdue
1969	6	Rick Shaw	152	FL	Arizona St.
1969	7	Larry Bales	180	FL	Emory & Henry
1969	8	Elmer Benhardt	205	LB	Missouri
1969	9	Claxton Welch	230	RB	Oregon
1969	10	Stuart Gottlieb	258	T	Weber St.
1969	11	Sweeny Williams	283	DE	Prairie View
1969	12	Bob Belden	308	QB	Notre Dame
1969	13	Rene Matison	336	FL	New Mexico
1969	14	Gerald Lutri	361	T	Northern Michigan
1969	15	Bill Justus	386	DB	Tennessee
1969	16	Floyd Kerr	414	DB	Colorado St.
1969	17	Bill Bailey	439	DT	Lewis & Clark

1970

Year	Rnd	Player	Pick	Pos	College/Univ
1970	1	Duane Thomas	23	RB	West Texas A&M
1970	2	Bob Asher	27	T	Vanderbilt
1970	2	Margene Adkins	49	WR	Henderson JC
1970	3	Charlie Waters	66	DB	Clemson
1970	3	Steve Kiner	73	LB	Tennessee
1970	3	Denton Fox	75	DB	Texas Tech
1970	4	John Fitzgerald	101	C	Boston Col.
1970	6	Pat Toomay	153	DE	Vanderbilt
1970	7	Don Abbey	179	LB	Penn St.
1970	8	Jerry Dossey	205	G	Arkansas
1970	9	Zenon Andrusyshyn	231	P	UCLA
1970	10	Pete Athas	257	DB	Tennessee
1970	11	Ivan Southerland	283	T	Clemson
1970	12	Joe Williams	309	RB	Wyoming
1970	13	Mark Washington	335	DB	Morgan St.
1970	14	Julian Martin	361	WR	North Carolina Central
1970	15	Ken DeLong	387	TE	Tennessee
1970	16	Seabern Hill	411	DB	Arizona St.
1970	17	Glenn Patterson	438	C	Nebraska

1971

• January 17, 1971 – Cowboys go to Superbowl, losing to Baltimore on a last second TB in Superbowl V.
• October 24, 1971: After playing their first two home games in 1971 at the Cotton Bowl, the Cowboys opened Texas Stadium in Irving

Year	Rnd	Player	Pick	Pos	College/Univ
1971	1	Tody Smith	25	DE	USC
1971	2	Ike Thomas	51	DB	Bishop
1971	3	Sam Scarber	69	RB	New Mexico
1971	3	Bill Gregory	77	DE	Wisconsin
1971	4	Joe Carter	80	TE	Grambling St.
1971	4	Adam Mitchell	103	T	Mississippi
1971	5	Ron Kadziel	129	LB	Stanford
1971	6	Steve Maier	155	WR	Northern Arizona
1971	7	Bill Griffin	181	T	Catawba
1971	8	Ron Jessie	206	WR	Kansas
1971	9	Honor Jackson	233	DB	Pacific
1971	10	Rodney Wallace	259	T	New Mexico
1971	11	Ernest Bonwell	285	DT	Lane
1971	12	Steve Goepel	311	QB	Colgate
1971	13	James Ford	337	RB	Texas Southern
1971	14	Tyrone Covey	363	DB	Utah St.
1971	15	Bob Young	389	TE	Delaware
1971	16	John Brennan	415	T	Boston Col.
1971	17	John Bomer	440	C	Memphis

1972

• January 16 1972 Cowboys win their first Superbowl 24-3 over the Miami Dolphins in Superbowl VI
  

  Landry finally sheds the ‘bridesmaid’ title. Bullet Bob Hayes, Big Cat Rayfield Wright raise Landry on their shoulders

Year	Rnd	Player	Pick	Pos	College/Univ
1972	1	Bill Thomas	26	RB	Boston Col.
1972	2	Robert Newhouse	35	RB	Houston
1972	2	John Babinecz	39	LB	Villanova
1972	2	Charlie McKee	52	WR	Arizona
1972	3	Mike Keller	64	LB	Michigan
1972	3	Marv Bateman	78	P	Utah
1972	4	Tim Kearney	83	LB	Northern Michigan
1972	4	Robert West	90	WR	San Diego St.
1972	4	Charlie Zapiec	93	LB	Penn St.
1972	6	Charles Bolden	156	DB	Iowa
1972	8	Ralph Coleman	208	LB	North Carolina A&T
1972	9	Roy Bell	234	RB	Oklahoma
1972	10	Richard Amman	260	DE	Florida St.
1972	11	Lonnie Leonard	286	DE	North Carolina A&T
1972	12	Jimmy Harris	312	WR	Ohio St.
1972	13	Jean Fugett	338	TE	Amherst
1972	14	Alan Thompson	363	RB	Wisconsin
1972	15	Carlos Alvarez	390	WR	Florida
1972	16	Gordon Longmire	416	QB	Utah
1972	17	Alfonso Cain	442	DT	Bethune-Cookman

1973

• Redskins spies are noticed by hotel employees at the hotel overlooking the Cowboy Forest lane practice field. 
• In our interview with Charlie Waters, he told me that the Cowboys moved their practice during Redskin week to the Cotton Bowl making it the fifth practice facility. 

Year	Rnd	Player	Pick	Pos	College/Univ
1973	1	Billy Joe DuPree	20	TE	Michigan St.
1973	2	Golden Richards	46	WR	BYU
1973	3	Harvey Martin	53	DE	Texas A&M-Commerce
1973	4	Drane Scrievener	98	DB	Tulsa
1973	5	Bruce Walton	126	T	UCLA
1973	6	Bob Leyen	151	G	Yale
1973	7	Rodrigo Barnes	176	LB	Rice
1973	8	Dan Werner	204	QB	Michigan St.
1973	9	Mike White	229	DB	Minnesota
1973	10	Carl Johnson	254	LB	Tennessee
1973	11	Gerald Caswell	282	G	Colorado St.
1973	12	Jim Arneson	307	G	Arizona
1973	13	John Smith	332	WR	UCLA
1973	14	Bob Thornton	360	G	North Carolina
1973	15	Walt Baisy	385	LB	Grambling St.
1973	16	John Conley	410	TE	Hawaii
1973	17	Les Strayhorn	438	RB	East Carolina

1974

Year	Rnd	Player	Pick	Pos	College/Univ
1974	1	Too Tall Jones	1	DE	Tennessee St.
1974	1	Charley Young	22	RB	North Carolina St.
1974	3	Danny White	53	QB	Arizona St.
1974	3	Cal Peterson	72	LB	UCLA
1974	4	Ken Hutcherson	97	LB	West Alabama
1974	4	Andy Andrade	101	RB	Northern Michigan
1974	5	John Kelsey	126	T	Missouri
1974	6	Jimmy Bright	151	DB	UCLA
1974	7	Raymond Nester	176	LB	Michigan St.
1974	8	Mike Holt	205	DB	Michigan St.
1974	9	Bill Dulin	230	T	Johnson C. Smith
1974	10	Dennis Morgan	255	RB	West. Illinois
1974	11	Harvey McGee	280	WR	Southern Miss
1974	12	Keith Bobo	309	QB	SMU
1974	13	Fred Lima	334	K	Colorado
1974	14	Doug Richards	359	DB	BYU
1974	15	Bruce Craft	384	T	Geneva
1974	16	Gene Killian	413	G	Tennessee
1974	17	Lawrie Skolrood	438	T	North Dakota

1975

Year	Rnd	Player	Pick	Pos	College/Univ
1975	1	Randy White HOF	2	DT	Maryland
1975	1	Thomas Henderson	18	LB	Langston
1975	2	Burton Lawless	44	G	Florida
1975	3	Bob Breunig	70	LB	Arizona St.
1975	4	Pat Donovan	90	T	Stanford
1975	4	Randy Hughes	96	DB	Oklahoma
1975	5	Kyle Davis	113	C	Oklahoma
1975	6	Rolly Woolsey	148	DB	Boise St.
1975	7	Mike Hegman	173	LB	Tennessee St.
1975	8	Mitch Hoopes	200	P	Arizona
1975	9	Ed Jones	226	DB	Rutgers
1975	10	Dennis Booker	252	RB	Millersville
1975	11	Greg Krpalek	278	C	Oregon St.
1975	12	Chuck Bland	304	DB	Cincinnati
1975	13	Herbert Scott	330	G	Virginia Union
1975	14	Scott Laidlaw	356	RB	Stanford
1975	15	Willie Hamilton	382	RB	Arizona
1975	16	Pete Clark	407	TE	Colorado St.
1975	17	Jim Testerman	434	TE	Dayton

1976

• January 18 1976 In Superbowl X Cowboys lose to Steelers 21-17 on one of the worst no-calls in Superbowl history

Year	Rnd	Player	Pick	Pos	College/Univ
1976	1	Aaron Kyle	27	DB	Wyoming
1976	2	Jim Jensen	40	RB	Iowa
1976	2	Jim Eidson	55	G	Mississippi St.
1976	3	Duke Fergerson	73	WR	San Diego St.
1976	3	John Smith	75	RB	Boise St.
1976	3	Butch Johnson	87	WR	California-Riverside
1976	4	Tom Rafferty	119	C	Penn St.
1976	5	Wally Pesuit	151	G	Kentucky
1976	6	Greg McGuire	181	T	Indiana
1976	7	Greg Schaum	186	DE	Michigan St.
1976	7	Dave Williams	208	RB	Colorado
1976	8	Henry Laws	236	DB	South Carolina
1976	9	Beasley Reece	264	DB	North Texas
1976	10	Leroy Cook	290	DE	Alabama
1976	11	Cornelius Greene	317	QB	Ohio St.
1976	12	Charles McShane	346	LB	California Lutheran
1976	13	Mark Driscoll	374	QB	Colorado St.
1976	14	Larry Mushinskie	402	TE	Nebraska
1976	15	Dale Curry	430	LB	UCLA
1976	16	Rick Costanzo	458	T	Nebraska
1976	17	Stan Woodfill	486	K	Oregon

1977

• Forrest Gregg, Guard/Tackle becomes the first Dallas Cowboy in the NFL Hall of Fame

Year	Rnd	Player	Pick	Pos	College/Univ
1977	1	Tony Dorsett HOF	2	RB	Pittsburgh
1977	2	Glenn Carano	54	QB	UNLV
1977	3	Tony Hill	62	WR	Stanford
1977	3	Val Belcher	81	G	Houston
1977	4	Guy Brown	108	LB	Houston
1977	5	Andy Frederick	137	T	New Mexico
1977	6	Jim Cooper	164	T	Temple
1977	7	Dave Stalls	191	DE	Northern Colorado
1977	8	Al Cleveland	208	DE	Pacific
1977	8	Fred Williams	221	RB	Arizona St.
1977	9	Mark Cantrell	248	C	North Carolina
1977	10	Steve DeBerg	275	QB	San Jose St.
1977	11	Don Wardlow	305	TE	Washington
1977	12	Greg Peters	332	G	California

1978

• 

  Thomas Henderson destroys Denver QB in Super Bowl. This is shortly before the new NFL rules which said you were not allowed to touch QBs

  January 15 1978. Dallas destroy the Broncos 27-10 in Superbowl XII
• Lance Alworth, Flanker, NFL Hall of Fame Class of 1978

Year	Rnd	Player	Pick	Pos	College/Univ
1978	1	Larry Bethea	28	DT	Michigan St.
1978	2	Todd Christensen	56	TE	BYU
1978	3	Dave Hudgens	84	DT	Oklahoma
1978	4	Alois Blackwell	110	RB	Houston
1978	5	Rich Rosen	138	G	Syracuse
1978	6	Harold Randolph	166	LB	East Carolina
1978	7	Tom Randall	194	G	Iowa St.
1978	8	Homer Butler	222	WR	UCLA
1978	9	Russ Williams	250	DB	Tennessee
1978	10	Barry Tomasetti	278	G	Iowa
1978	11	Dennis Thurman	306	DB	USC
1978	12	Lee Washburn	334	G	Montana St.

1979

• January 21 1979 Stealers beat the Cowboys 35-31 in Superbowl XIII

Year	Rnd	Player	Pick	Pos	College/Univ
1979	1	Robert Shaw	27	C	Tennessee
1979	2	Aaron Mitchell	55	DB	UNLV
1979	3	Doug Cosbie	76	TE	Santa Clara
1979	4	Ralph DeLoach	109	DE	California
1979	5	Bob Hukill	121	G	North Carolina
1979	5	Curtis Anderson	128	DE	Central State (OH)
1979	5	Ron Springs	136	RB	Ohio St.
1979	6	Tim Lavender	155	DB	USC
1979	6	Mike Salzano	160	G	North Carolina
1979	6	Chris DeFrance	164	WR	Arizona St.
1979	7	Greg Fitzpatrick	191	LB	Youngstown St.
1979	8	Bruce Thornton	219	DE	Illinois
1979	9	Garry Cobb	247	LB	USC
1979	10	Mike Calhoun	274	DT	Notre Dame
1979	12	Quentin Lowry	329	LB	Youngstown St.

1980 

• Bob Lilly, ‘Mr Cowboy’, the huge DT goes into the NFL Hall of Fame
• Herb Adderley, CB goes into the NFL Hall of Fame

Year	Rnd	Player	Pick	Pos	College/Univ
1980	3	Bill Roe	78	LB	Colorado
1980	3	James Jones	80	RB	Mississippi St.
1980	4	Kurt Petersen	105	G	Missouri
1980	5	Gary Hogeboom	133	QB	Central Michigan
1980	6	Timmy Newsome	162	RB	Winston-Salem St.
1980	7	Lester Brown	189	RB	Clemson
1980	8	Larry Savage	216	LB	Michigan St.
1980	9	Jackie Flowers	246	WR	Florida St.
1980	10	Matthew Teague	273	DE	Prairie View
1980	11	Gary Padjen	300	LB	Arizona St.
1980	12	Norm Wells	330	DT	Northwestern

1981

Year	Rnd	Player	Pick	Pos	College/Univ
1981	1	Howard Richards	26	G	Missouri
1981	2	Doug Donley	53	WR	Ohio St.
1981	3	Glen Titensor	81	G	BYU
1981	4	Scott Pelluer	91	LB	Washington St.
1981	4	Derrie Nelson	108	LB	Nebraska
1981	5	Danny Spradlin	137	LB	Tennessee
1981	6	Vince Skillings	163	DB	Ohio St.
1981	7	Ron Fellows	173	DB	Missouri
1981	7	Ken Miller	191	DB	East. Michigan
1981	8	Paul Piurowski	218	LB	Florida St.
1981	9	Mike Wilson	246	WR	Washington St.
1981	10	Pat Graham	273	DT	California
1981	11	Tim Morrison	302	G	Georgia
1981	12	Nate Lundy	329	WR	Indiana

1982

• The drafting of Rod Hill in Round One starts a string of bad draft, with a few exceptions that continue until Jerry Jones purchases the team.
• The 1982 NFL strike, which lasted for three months and eight weeks, forced the 1982 season to be shortened to 9 games per team
• Dallas goes 6-3 and ends the season just missing the Super Bowl.
• Dallas wins first round over Bucs, round two over Packs and loses NFC championship to Redskins who beat the Dolphins in the Superbowl

Year	Rnd	Player	Pick	Pos	College/Univ
1982	1	Rod Hill	25	DB	Kentucky St.
1982	2	Jeff Rohrer	53	LB	Yale
1982	3	Jim Eliopulos	81	LB	Wyoming
1982	4	Brian Carpenter	101	DB	Michigan
1982	4	Monty Hunter	109	DB	Salem
1982	5	Phil Pozderac	137	T	Notre Dame
1982	6	Ken Hammond	143	G	Vanderbilt
1982	6	Charles Daum	165	DT	Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo
1982	7	Bill Purifoy	193	DE	Tulsa
1982	8	George Peoples	216	RB	Auburn
1982	8	Dwight Sullivan	221	RB	North Carolina St.
1982	9	Joe Gary	249	DT	UCLA
1982	10	Todd Eckerson	277	T	North Carolina St.
1982	11	George Thompson	295	WR	Albany St.
1982	11	Mike Whiting	304	RB	Florida St.
1982	12	Rich Burtness	332	G	Montana

1983

• November 29, 1983: Cowboys break ground on a 30-acre office and training facility in Valley Ranch.

Year	Rnd	Player	Pick	Pos	College/Univ
1983	1	Jim Jeffcoat	23	DE	Arizona St.
1983	2	Mike Walter	50	LB	Oregon
1983	3	Bryan Caldwell	77	DE	Arizona St.
1983	4	Chris Faulkner	108	TE	Florida
1983	5	Chuck McSwain	135	RB	Clemson
1983	6	Reggie Collier	162	QB	Southern Miss
1983	7	Chris Schultz	189	T	Arizona
1983	8	Lawrence Ricks	220	RB	Michigan
1983	9	Al Gross	246	DB	Arizona
1983	10	Eric Moran	273	T	Washington
1983	11	Dan Taylor	300	T	Idaho St.
1983	12	Lorenzo Bouier	331	RB	Maine

1984

• Bum Bright purchases the Cowboys for $84 million

Year	Rnd	Player	Pick	Pos	College/Univ
1984	1	Billy Cannon	25	LB	Texas A&M
1984	2	Victor Scott	40	DB	Colorado
1984	3	Fred Cornwell	81	TE	USC
1984	4	Steve DeOssie	110	LB	Boston Col.
1984	5	Steve Pelluer	113	QB	Washington
1984	5	Norm Granger	137	RB	Iowa
1984	6	Eugene Lockhart	152	LB	Houston
1984	6	Joe Levelis	166	G	Iowa
1984	7	Ed Martin	193	LB	Indiana St.
1984	8	Mike Revell	222	RB	Bethune-Cookman
1984	9	John Hunt	232	T	Florida
1984	9	Neil Maune	249	G	Notre Dame
1984	10	Brian Salonen	278	LB	Montana
1984	11	Dowe Aughtman	304	DT	Auburn
1984	12	Carl Lewis	334	WR	Houston

1985

• 

  Captain America in his second job, moonlighting as a waiter

  August 27, 1985: Players and coaches move to the new Valley Ranch facility.
• Front office personnel move in several weeks later, marking the first time since 1967 that the team’s practice facility and office complex are in the same area.
• Valley Ranch becomes the sixth Cowboy practice facility.
• Roger Staubach inducted into NFL Hall of Fame at QB

Year	Rnd	Player	Pick	Pos	College/Univ
1985	1	Kevin Brooks	17	DT	Michigan
1985	2	Jesse Penn	44	LB	Virginia Tech
1985	3	Crawford Ker	76	G	Florida
1985	4	Robert Lavette	103	RB	Georgia Tech
1985	5	Herschel Walker	114	RB	Georgia
1985	5	Matt Darwin	119	C	Texas A&M
1985	6	Kurt Ploeger	144	DE	Gustavus Adolphus
1985	6	Matt Moran	157	G	Stanford
1985	7	Karl Powe	178	WR	Alabama St.
1985	7	Jim Herrmann	184	DE	BYU
1985	8	Leon Gonzalez	216	WR	Bethune-Cookman
1985	9	Scott Strasburger	243	LB	Nebraska
1985	10	Joe Jones	270	TE	Virginia Tech
1985	11	Neal Dellocono	297	LB	UCLA
1985	12	Karl Jordan	324	LB	Vanderbilt

1986

• In a Brad Sham book ‘Stadium Stories’ Tex Schramm says that in the Spring of 1986 Bum Bright, Tex Schramm and Landry agree that Landry will retire at the end of the season. According to Tex, the NFL has moved past him and he will not adapt. Paul Hackett is brought in from San Francisco to take over for Landry and revive the stagnating offense
• Landry refuses to let Hackett run the offense and blends the West Coast offense with his old one
• He does not retire at the end of the year as he agreed to.

Year	Rnd	Player	Pick	Pos	College/Univ
1986	1	Mike Sherrard	18	WR	UCLA
1986	2	Darryl Clack	33	RB	Arizona St.
1986	3	Mark Walen	74	DT	UCLA
1986	4	Max Zendejas	100	K	Arizona
1986	6	Thornton Chandler	140	TE	Alabama
1986	6	Stan Gelbaugh	150	QB	Maryland
1986	6	Lloyd Yancey	158	G	Temple
1986	7	Johnny Holloway	185	DB	Kansas
1986	8	Topper Clemons	212	RB	Wake Forest
1986	9	John Ionata	242	G	Florida St.
1986	10	Bryan Chester	269	G	Texas
1986	11	Garth Jax	296	LB	Florida St.
1986	12	Chris Duliban	307	LB	Texas
1986	12	Tony Flack	322	DB	Georgia

1987

• Brad Sham “Landry then decides, without telling anyone, he is not going to quit.”  Either 1987 or 1988 in the Spring, Landry had a press conference.  Schramm had Marty Schottenheimer in town, looking at houses.  He thought he was going to hire Marty Schottenheimer to replace Tom Landry, who was going to retire.  Landry comes and has a press conference, and that’s when Schramm finds out that Landry is not quitting.
• Tex will still not fire him as Gil, Tex and Tom were hired together and would leave together.
• This is the strike year. Replacements go 2-1. Regulars go 5-7.

Year	Rnd	Player	Pick	Pos	College/Univ
1987	1	Danny Noonan	12	DT	Nebraska
1987	2	Ron Francis	39	DB	Baylor
1987	3	Jeff Zimmerman	68	G	Florida
1987	4	Kelvin Martin	95	WR	Boston Col.
1987	5	Everett Gay	124	WR	Texas
1987	6	Joe Onosai	151	G	Hawaii
1987	7	Kevin Sweeney	180	QB	Fresno St.
1987	8	Kevin Gogan	206	G	Washington
1987	9	Alvin Blount	235	RB	Maryland
1987	10	Dale Jones	262	LB	Tennessee
1987	11	Jeff Ward	291	K	Texas
1987	12	Scott Armstrong	318	LB	Florida

1988

• Possibly Landry’s worst year. He can no longer relate to the players, the NFL has long since figured out the Flex defense and his GM and Owner have expected him to retire for the past two years. They go 3-13
• Mike Ditka goes into NFL Hall of Fame at TE

Year	Rnd	Player	Pick	Pos	College/Univ
1988	1	Michael Irvin HOF	11	WR	Miami (FL)
1988	2	Ken Norton Jr.	41	LB	UCLA
1988	3	Mark Hutson	67	G	Oklahoma
1988	4	Dave Widell	94	C	Boston Col.
1988	6	Scott Secules	151	QB	Virginia
1988	7	Owen Hooven	178	T	Oregon St.
1988	8	Mark Higgs	205	RB	Kentucky
1988	9	Brian Bedford	232	WR	California
1988	10	Billy Owens	263	DB	Pittsburgh
1988	11	Chad Hennings	290	DT	Air Force
1988	12	Ben Hummel	317	LB	UCLA

1989

• Feb 25, 1989 – Bum Bright sells the team. He has had several offers, however he wasn’t going to sell to anyone that was going to keep Landry. Landry must be fired for the deal to be done. But does not take the highest one, instead he goes with the charismatic Jerry Jones for $170 million.
• “Our agreement on the purchase of the Dallas Cowboys was finalized with a few notes on a napkin and a handshake,” Jones said in a statement. “With Bum, his word meant everything. LA Times
• Jones is the the majority partner, with five minority owners, including Ed Smith of Houston, who had 27 percent under Bright’s ownership. The other minority owners include Charles Wily, Sam Wily and Evan Wily, who are affiliated with U.S. Cafes, owners of the Bonanza Steakhouse chain, and Russell Glass.
• Brad Sham; “So, Bum Bright says to Jerry Jones, ‘I’ll fire him for you.’  And Jerry says ‘No, no, I’m going to fly down and tell him face to face.’  Well, people don’t want to hear that, because that doesn’t make Jerry a villain.”
• Announcement of the sale, rumored since Thursday, came at a news conference 8:22 p.m. Saturday at Valley Ranch. The news conference was scheduled to begin at 7 p.m., but was delayed because Jones and club president Tex Schramm flew in Jones’ private jet to Austin to inform Landry personally that he was being replaced as Cowboys coach. Schramm’s voice broke and tears welled in his eyes as he talked of the visit with Landry. “It was a very difficult meeting, difficult and sad,” said Schramm, who will retain his role with the Cowboys.  “It’s tough when you break a relationship that you have had for 29 years. But I am glad the ownership problem has been cleared up. It’s good for the ballclub,” Schramm said. (The Oklahoman)
• Bright says later that his biggest regret during his Cowboy tenure was not firing Landry himself.
• Jones offers Landry a position with the Cowboys that Tom declines.
• Jones hires Jimmy Johnson, his Arkansas teammate as Head Coach. He will serve from 1989-1993. He supervises the 1989 Draft

Year	Rnd	Player	Pick	Pos	College/Univ
1989	1	Troy Aikman HOF	1	QB	UCLA
1989	2	Steve Wisniewski	29	G	Penn St.
1989	2	Daryl Johnston	39	RB	Syracuse
1989	3	Mark Stepnoski	57	C	Pittsburgh
1989	3	Rhondy Weston	68	DE	Florida
1989	4	Tony Tolbert	85	DE	Texas-El Paso
1989	5	Keith Jennings	113	TE	Clemson
1989	5	Willis Crockett	119	LB	Georgia Tech
1989	5	Jeff Roth	125	DT	Florida
1989	7	Kevin Peterson	168	LB	Northwestern
1989	8	Charvez Foger	196	RB	Nevada
1989	9	Tim Jackson	224	DB	Nebraska
1989	10	Rod Carter	252	LB	Miami (FL)
1989	11	Randy Shannon	280	LB	Miami (FL)
1989	12	Scott Ankrom	308	WR	TCU

• October 12, 1989, a trade occurs centered on sending running back Herschel Walker from the Dallas Cowboys to the Minnesota Vikings. Including Walker and a transaction involving the San Diego Chargers, the trade eventually involved 18 players and draft picks. This gave Dallas the ammunition to win the three Super Bowls of the 1990s

“There is no right way to fire Tom Landry.  Yet it was what everybody wanted done, and what everybody agreed had to happen. They just wanted him to step away gracefully, but he didn’t want to.”
“The great irony to me is that is what he did with his players.  He intentionally did not have close personal relationships with most of his players while he was playing because he knew there would be a day when he would have to cut them. And all of his players, 85-90%, didn’t like him when they played for him. But they looked back after they played for him, and said “Wow.”   He cared about them deeply, but felt, this is the way I have to run this business.  Then it happened to him, and he didn’t like it.” Brad Sham courtesy Peter King podcast.

1990

• 1990-97: Training camp St. Edwards University in Austin
• Tom Landry becomes the first Cowboy coach in the NFL Hall of Fame

Year	Rnd	Player	Pick	Pos	College/Univ
1990	1	Emmitt Smith HOF	17	RB	Florida
1990	2	Alexander Wright	26	WR	Auburn
1990	3	Jimmie Jones	64	DT	Miami (FL)
1990	5	Stan Smagala	123	DB	Notre Dame
1990	9	Kenneth Gant	221	DB	Albany State (GA)
1990	11	Dave Harper	277	LB	Humboldt St.

1991

• Texas E. Schramm becomes the first Cowboy GM in the NFL Hall of Fame

Year	Rnd	Player	Pick	Pos	College/Univ
1991	1	Russell Maryland	1	DT	Miami (FL)
1991	1	Alvin Harper	12	WR	Tennessee
1991	1	Kelvin Pritchett	20	DT	Mississippi
1991	2	Dixon Edwards	37	LB	Michigan St.
1991	3	Godfrey Myles	62	LB	Florida
1991	3	James Richards	64	G	California
1991	3	Erik Williams	70	T	Central State (OH)
1991	4	Curvin Richards	97	RB	Pittsburgh
1991	4	Bill Musgrave	106	QB	Oregon
1991	4	Tony Hill	108	DE	Tenn-Chattanooga
1991	4	Kevin Harris	110	DE	Texas Southern
1991	5	Darrick Brownlow	132	LB	Illinois
1991	6	Mike Sullivan	153	G	Miami (FL)
1991	7	Leon Lett	173	DT	Emporia St.
1991	9	Damon Mays	235	WR	Missouri
1991	10	Sean Love	264	G	Penn St.
1991	11	Tony Boles	291	RB	Michigan
1991	12	Larry Brown	320	DB	TCU

1992

Year	Rnd	Player	Pick	Pos	College/Univ
1992	1	Kevin Smith	17	DB	Texas A&M
1992	1	Robert Jones	24	LB	East Carolina
1992	2	Jimmy Smith	36	WR	Jackson St.
1992	2	Darren Woodson	37	DB	Arizona St.
1992	3	Clayton Holmes	58	DB	Carson-Newman
1992	3	James Brown	82	T	Virginia St.
1992	4	Tom Myslinski	109	G	Tennessee
1992	5	Greg Briggs	120	DB	Texas Southern
1992	5	Rod Milstead	121	G	Delaware St.
1992	6	Fallon Wacasey	149	TE	Tulsa
1992	9	Nate Kirtman	248	DB	Pomona
1992	9	Chris Hall	250	DB	East Carolina
1992	10	John Terry	275	G	Livingstone
1992	11	Tim Daniel	302	WR	Florida A&M
1992	12	Don Harris	317	DB	Texas Tech

1993

• January 31 1993 Dallas destroys Buffalo in XXVII 52-17

Year	Rnd	Player	Pick	Pos	College/Univ
1993	2	Kevin Williams	46	WR	Miami (FL)
1993	2	Darrin Smith	54	LB	Miami (FL)
1993	3	Mike Middleton	84	DB	Indiana
1993	4	Derrick Lassic	94	RB	Alabama
1993	4	Ron Stone	96	G	Boston Col.
1993	6	Barry Minter	168	LB	Tulsa
1993	7	Brock Marion	196	DB	Nevada
1993	8	Dave Thomas	203	DB	Tennessee
1993	8	Reggie Givens	213	LB	Penn St.

1994

• 1994: Cowboys owner Jerry Jones plans to expand the 65,000-seat Texas Stadium by 40,000 seats, add retractable roof panels and install a climate-control system to make the stadium a year-round venue for sporting events, including the Super Bowl, concerts, and conventions.
• January 30 1994 Dallas replays 1993 and take out Buffalo 30-13 in Superbowl XXVIII
• Tony Dorsett, Cowboy RB goes into the NFL Hall of Fame
• Randy ‘The Manster’ White goes into the NFL Hall of Fame
• Jackie Smith goes in NFL Hall of Fame. Only with Dallas one year but famous for dropping the tying TD pass in Super Bowl XIII against the Steelers.
• March 29, 1994 – a day that will live in Cowboy infamy. At a hotel bar in Orlando, Jerry Jones tells reporters Rick Gosselin and Ed Werder, “There are 500 coaches who could have won the Super Bowl with our team.”
• A week later Jerry and Jimmy part ways. Barry Switzer is hired as head coach

Year	Rnd	Player	Pick	Pos	College/Univ
1994	1	Shante Carver	23	DE	Arizona St.
1994	2	Larry Allen HOF	46	G	Sonoma St.
1994	3	George Hegamin	102	T	North Carolina St.
1994	4	Willie Jackson	109	WR	Florida
1994	4	DeWayne Dotson	131	LB	Mississippi
1994	6	Darren Studstill	191	DB	West Virginia
1994	7	Toddrick McIntosh	216	DE	Florida St.

1995

Year	Rnd	Player	Pick	Pos	College/Univ
1995	2	Sherman Williams	46	RB	Alabama
1995	2	Kendell Watkins	59	TE	Mississippi St.
1995	2	Shane Hannah	63	G	Michigan St.
1995	3	Charlie Williams	92	DB	Bowling Green
1995	4	Eric Bjornson	110	TE	Washington
1995	4	Alundis Brice	129	DB	Mississippi
1995	4	Linc Harden	130	LB	Oklahoma St.
1995	5	Edward Hervey	166	WR	USC
1995	5	Dana Howard	168	LB	Illinois
1995	7	Oscar Sturgis	236	DE	North Carolina

1996

• January 28 1996 Dallas wins it’s 5th Superbowl over the Steelers, 27-17
• Me Renfro joins the Hall of Fame at as a Cowboy S and CB

Year	Rnd	Player	Pick	Pos	College/Univ
1996	2	Kavika Pittman	37	DE	McNeese St.
1996	2	Randall Godfrey	49	LB	Georgia
1996	3	Clay Shiver	67	C	Florida St.
1996	3	Stepfret Williams	94	WR	La-Monroe
1996	3	Mike Ulufale	95	DT	BYU
1996	5	Kenneth McDaniel	157	T	Norfolk St.
1996	5	Alan Campos	167	LB	Louisville
1996	6	Wendell Davis	207	DB	Oklahoma
1996	7	Ryan Wood	243	RB	Arizona St.

1997

• 1997–2000: The Cowboys hold preliminary talks with Arlington officials about building a stadium there. The team also publicly discusses a $260 million plan to upgrade Texas Stadium. In 2000, the Cowboys compile a list of potential stadium sites, which include Grapevine, Coppell, and Arlington. The team continues negotiating with Irving to renovate Texas Stadium.

Year	Rnd	Player	Pick	Pos	College/Univ
1997	1	David LaFleur	22	TE	LSU
1997	3	Dexter Coakley	65	LB	Appalachian St.
1997	3	Steve Scifres	83	G	Wyoming
1997	3	Kenny Wheaton	94	DB	Oregon
1997	4	Antonio Anderson	101	DT	Syracuse
1997	4	Macey Brooks	127	WR	James Madison
1997	4	Nicky Sualua	129	RB	Ohio St.
1997	6	Lee Vaughn	187	DB	Wyoming
1997	7	Omar Stoutmire	224	DB	Fresno St.

1998

• 1998-2001: Training camp moved to Midwestern State in Wichita Falls
• however in 2001, River Ridge Playing Field in Oxnard shared training camp
• Tommy McDonald, Cowboy WR joins the NFL Hall of Fame

Year	Rnd	Player	Pick	Pos	College/Univ
1998	1	Greg Ellis	8	DE	North Carolina
1998	2	Flozell Adams	38	T	Michigan St.
1998	4	Michael Myers	100	DT	Alabama
1998	5	Darren Hambrick	130	LB	South Carolina
1998	5	Oliver Ross	138	T	Iowa St.
1998	6	Izell Reese	188	DB	Ala-Birmingham
1998	7	Tarik Smith	223	RB	California
1998	7	Antonio Fleming	227	G	Georgia
1998	7	Rodrick Monroe	237	TE	Cincinnati

1999

Year	Rnd	Player	Pick	Pos	College/Univ
1999	1	Ebenezer Ekuban	20	DE	North Carolina
1999	2	Solomon Page	55	G	West Virginia
1999	3	Dat Nguyen	85	LB	Texas A&M
1999	4	Wane McGarity	118	WR	Texas
1999	4	Peppi Zellner	132	DE	Fort Valley St.
1999	6	MarTay Jenkins	193	WR	Nebraska-Omaha
1999	7	Mike Lucky	229	TE	Arizona
1999	7	Kelvin Garmon	243	G	Baylor

2000

Year	Rnd	Player	Pick	Pos	College/Univ
2000	2	Dwayne Goodrich	49	DB	Tennessee
2000	4	Kareem Larrimore	109	DB	West Texas A&M
2000	5	Michael Wiley	144	RB	Ohio St.
2000	6	Mario Edwards	180	DB	Florida St.
2000	7	Orantes Grant	219	LB	Georgia

2001

• 2001: Jones says Arlington is a leading contender for a $500 million stadium. The primary site considered is the 2,000 acres (810 ha) Lakes of Arlington tract on Farm Road 157. Other cities in the running include Grapevine and Grand Prairie. In October, Jones discusses the new stadium with the mayors of Arlington, Irving, Grapevine, and Dallas.

Year	Rnd	Player	Pick	Pos	College/Univ
2001	2	Quincy Carter	53	QB	Georgia
2001	2	Tony Dixon	56	DB	Alabama
2001	3	Willie Blade	93	DT	Mississippi St.
2001	4	Markus Steele	122	LB	USC
2001	5	Matt Lehr	137	C	Virginia Tech
2001	6	Daleroy Stewart	171	DT	Southern Miss
2001	7	Colston Weatherington	207	DE	Central Missouri St.
2001	7	John Nix	240	DT	Southern Miss
2001	7	Char-ron Dorsey	242	T	Florida St.

2002

• 2002-2003: Training camp at Alamodome in San Antonio

Year	Rnd	Player	Pick	Pos	College/Univ
2002	1	Roy Williams	8	DB	Oklahoma
2002	2	Andre Gurode	37	G	Colorado
2002	2	Antonio Bryant	63	WR	Pittsburgh
2002	3	Derek Ross	75	DB	Ohio St.
2002	4	Jamar Martin	129	FB	Ohio St.
2002	5	Pete Hunter	168	DB	Virginia Union
2002	6	Tyson Walter	179	C	Ohio St.
2002	6	DeVeren Johnson	208	WR	Sacred Heart
2002	6	Bob Slowikowski	211	TE	Virginia Tech

2003

• 2003: The Cowboys ask the Irving City Council to extend their lease at Texas Stadium, which expires at the end of the 2008 season, on a year-to-year basis. They narrow their search to sites in Las Colinas and Dallas, and state legislators file bills that would allow Dallas County to increase its hotel occupancy and car rental taxes to pay for a new stadium.

Year	Rnd	Player	Pick	Pos	College/Univ
2003	1	Terence Newman	5	DB	Kansas St.
2003	2	Al Johnson	38	C	Wisconsin
2003	3	Jason Witten	69	TE	Tennessee
2003	4	Bradie James	103	LB	LSU
2003	6	B.J. Tucker	178	DB	Wisconsin
2003	6	Zuriel Smith	186	WR	Hampton
2003	7	Justin Bates	219	G	Colorado

2004

• April 2004: Cowboys announce plans to build a $650 million stadium at Fair Park in Dallas. The deal requires $425 million in public financing from a 3% hotel-occupancy tax and a 6% car-rental tax.
• June 2004; American Airlines Center is a “major obstacle” to building a Dallas Cowboys stadium in Fair Park, Mayor Laura Miller and several City Council members said Wednesday. “We should not have structured the deal like we did,” the mayor said, explaining that a noncompete clause in the arena’s contract with the city is complicating negotiations with the Cowboys. “It’s a big problem. American Airlines Center keeps saying, ‘You can’t do this; you can’t do that.’ Our attorneys are going to continue to work on it.” The city’s 1998 contract with American Airlines Center says the city cannot participate in the building of a stadium that would seat between 5,000 and 50,000 people and therefore compete with the arena for concerts and family events.
• The deal falls apart in June when Dallas County commissioners say they cannot justify asking voters to approve the team’s request for $425 million in public funding.
• Dallas Mayor Laura Miller made a last ditch effort to keep the Cowboys in Dallas offering a hotel tax that matched the one the county turned down. Arlington offered to pay$325 mil for the stadium plus raise other funding and Dallas wouldn’t match. (Ms Miller said they simply didnt have the money) ( Texas Monthly, Feb 2006)
• In July, the Cowboys and Arlington announce they are negotiating to locate the stadium near Globe Life Park (then Ameriquest Field). In August, the Arlington City Council agrees unanimously to put before voters a tax increase that would fund the city’s $325 million portion of the project. Voters approve the tax increase on November 2.
• 2004-2006: Training camp at River Ridge in Oxnard, CA

Year	Rnd	Player	Pick	Pos	College/Univ
2004	2	Julius Jones	43	RB	Notre Dame
2004	2	Jacob Rogers	52	T	USC
2004	3	Stephen Peterman	83	G	LSU
2004	4	Bruce Thornton	121	DB	Georgia
2004	5	Sean Ryan	144	TE	Boston Col.
2004	7	Nate Jones	205	DB	Rutgers
2004	7	Patrick Crayton	216	WR	NW Oklahoma St.
2004	7	Jacques Reeves	223	DB	Purdue

2005

• 2005: Arlington and the Cowboys choose the site south of Randol Mill Road and east of Collins Street for the new stadium. The city begins notifying residents and property owners of its plans to acquire their property. The Cowboys hire the HKS architectural firm to design the stadium. Early blueprints show 414 luxury suites and a two-panel retractable roof. The city completes its sale of $297.9 million in bonds to pay for its portion of the construction. Demolition of houses begins November 1.

Year	Rnd	Player	Pick	Pos	College/Univ
2005	1	DeMarcus Ware	11	LB	Troy
2005	1	Marcus Spears	20	DE	LSU
2005	2	Kevin Burnett	42	LB	Tennessee
2005	4	Marion Barber III	109	RB	Minnesota
2005	4	Chris Canty	132	DE	Virginia
2005	6	Justin Beriault	208	DB	Ball St.
2005	6	Rob Petitti	209	T	Pittsburgh
2005	7	Jay Ratliff	224	DE	Auburn

2006

• January 2006: The Cowboys hired Oklahoma-based Manhattan Construction as the general contractor for the stadium and the city completes its land purchases, although it still faces a number of lawsuits over land acquisition. Later that month, Tarrant County work crews begin demolition of more than 150 Arlington residences and small business structures to make room for the stadium.
• March 2006: Alliance announced between Manhattan Construction and two general contractors, Rayco Construction of Grand Prairie and 3i Construction of Dallas, to manage the stadium’s construction.
• April 2006: Excavation begins by Mario Sinacola and Sons Excavating. By August, they had moved over 1.4 million cubic yards of earth, shaping a 13-to-14-acre (5.3 to 5.7 ha) stadium bowl an average of 54 feet (16 m) deep.
• October 2006: The grass amphitheater on Randol Mill Road is leveled to make way for the extension of Baird Farm Road.
• December 2006: The stadium’s structure begins to go up and on December 12, Jerry Jones unveils the in-depth plans and designs of the stadium to the public.
• Troy Aikman goes into NFL Hall of Fame as a Cowboy QB
• ‘Big Cat’ Rayfield Wright, Cowboy OT goes into NFL Hall of Fame

Year	Rnd	Player	Pick	Pos	College/Univ
2006	1	Bobby Carpenter	18	LB	Ohio St.
2006	2	Anthony Fasano	53	TE	Notre Dame
2006	3	Jason Hatcher	92	DE	Grambling St.
2006	4	Skyler Green	125	WR	LSU
2006	5	Pat Watkins	138	DB	Florida St.
2006	6	Montavious Stanley	182	DT	Louisville
2006	7	Pat McQuistan	211	T	Weber St.
2006	7	E.J. Whitley	224	C	Texas Tech

2007

• January 2007: A construction worker is injured in a 20 ft fall.
• June 2008: Jones commissions the world’s largest 1080 HDTV, to hang above field. An electrician is electrocuted while working on the stadium. Two days before, three people were injured while assembling a crane.
• Training camp at Alamodome
• WR Micheal Irvin goes into NFL Hall of Fame

Year	Rnd	Player	Pick	Pos	College/Univ
2007	1	Anthony Spencer	26	DE	Purdue
2007	3	James Marten	67	T	Boston Col.
2007	4	Isaiah Stanback	103	QB	Washington
2007	4	Doug Free	122	T	Northern Illinois
2007	6	Nick Folk	178	K	Arizona
2007	6	Deon Anderson	195	FB	Connecticut
2007	7	Courtney Brown	212	DB	Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo
2007	7	Alan Ball	237	DB	Illinois

2008

• 2008 and 2010 Training camp at River Ridge in Oxnard

Year	Rnd	Player	Pick	Pos	College/Univ
2008	1	Felix Jones	22	RB	Arkansas
2008	1	Mike Jenkins	25	DB	South Florida
2008	2	Martellus Bennett	61	TE	Texas A&M
2008	4	Tashard Choice	122	RB	Georgia Tech
2008	5	Orlando Scandrick	143	DB	Boise St.
2008	6	Erik Walden	167	DE	Middle Tenn. St.

2009

• 2009: The stadium is scheduled for ‘substantial completion’ in June. The artificial-turf field was brought into the stadium in July. The Cowboys played their first pre-season home game on August 21 and their first regular-season home game on Sunday, September 20.
• May 2, 2009 Rich Behm is paralyzed and 11 others hurt when straightline winds take out a tent at Valley Ranch.
• May 13, 2009: Jerry Jones announced the official name of the new venue as Cowboys Stadium.
• 2009 and 2011: Training camp at Alamodome in San Antonio
• September 20, 2009: The Cowboys played their first NFL regular season game in the new stadium, . The Cowboys lose to the Giants 33–31 on a last second field goal by Lawrence Tynes. It was televised on NBC. This game attracted a record-breaking crowd of 105,121.
• ‘Bullet’ Bob Hayes finally goes into the NFL Hall of Fame

Year	Rnd	Player	Pick	Pos	College/Univ
2009	3	Jason Williams	69	LB	West. Illinois
2009	3	Robert Brewster	75	T	Ball St.
2009	4	Stephen McGee	101	QB	Texas A&M
2009	4	Victor Butler	110	LB	Oregon St.
2009	4	Brandon Williams	120	DE	Texas Tech
2009	5	DeAngelo Smith	143	DB	Cincinnati
2009	5	Michael Hamlin	166	DB	Clemson
2009	5	David Buehler	172	K	USC
2009	6	Stephen Hodge	197	DB	TCU
2009	6	John Phillips	208	TE	Virginia
2009	7	Mike Mickens	227	DB	Cincinnati
2009	7	Manuel Johnson	229	WR	Oklahoma

2010

• Emmitt Smith, NFL all time rushing leader is a first ballot NFL Hall of Famer

Year	Rnd	Player	Pick	Pos	College/Univ
2010	1	Dez Bryant	24	WR	Oklahoma St.
2010	2	Sean Lee	55	LB	Penn St.
2010	4	Akwasi Owusu-Ansah	126	DB	Indiana (PA)
2010	6	Sam Young	179	T	Notre Dame
2010	6	Jamar Wall	196	DB	Texas Tech
2010	7	Sean Lissemore	234	DT	William & Mary

2011

• February 6, 2011: The 2010 NFL Season Super Bowl was hosted at the Cowboys Stadium, which saw the Green Bay Packers defeat the Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl XLV. It was in the middle of a sudden snow and ice storm where several guests were struck by ice sliding off the roof. The City of Arlington had no capabilities for ice of this magnitude.
• Deion ‘Primetime’ Sanders goes into NFL Hall of Fame

Year	Rnd	Player	Pick	Pos	College/Univ
2011	1	Tyron Smith	9	T	USC
2011	2	Bruce Carter	40	LB	North Carolina
2011	3	DeMarco Murray	71	RB	Oklahoma
2011	4	David Arkin	110	G	Missouri State
2011	5	Josh Thomas	143	DB	Buffalo
2011	6	Dwayne Harris	176	WR	East Carolina
2011	7	Shaun Chapas	220	RB	Georgia
2011	7	Bill Nagy	252	G	Wisconsin

2012

Year	Rnd	Player	Pick	Pos	College/Univ
2012	1	Morris Claiborne	6	DB	LSU
2012	3	Tyrone Crawford	81	DE	Boise St.
2012	4	Kyle Wilber	113	LB	Wake Forest
2012	4	Matt Johnson	135	DB	East. Washington
2012	5	Danny Coale	152	WR	Virginia Tech
2012	6	James Hanna	186	TE	Oklahoma
2012	7	Caleb McSurdy	222	LB	Montana

2013

• July 25, 2013: Jerry Jones announced that the official name of the venue was changed to AT&T Stadium as part of a naming rights deal.
• Larry Allen, OT and OG for us goes into NFL Hall of Fame
• Bill Parcells, Cowboys Head Coach goes into NFL Hall of Fame
• The Star project was announced in 2013 as a partnership between the City of Frisco and the Dallas Cowboys as part of the “$5 Billion Mile” in Frisco Station, Texas. The Ford Center is part of a 91-acre development called The Star that includes the Dallas Cowboys’ team headquarters and training facility which moved from Valley Ranch, Texas, a 300-room Omni Hotel, the Dallas Cowboys Ring of Honor Walk, and retail and restaurant space. The Ford Center at The Star aside from the main stadium features practice fields and a sports training complex called the “Baylor Scott & White Sports Therapy & Research center for sports medicine”
• The Star becomes the 7th and current practice facility for the Dallas Cowboys.

Year	Rnd	Player	Pick	Pos	College/Univ
2013	1	Travis Frederick	31	C	Wisconsin
2013	2	Gavin Escobar	47	TE	San Diego St.
2013	3	Terrance Williams	74	WR	Baylor
2013	3	J.J. Wilcox	80	DB	Georgia Southern
2013	4	B.W. Webb	114	DB	William & Mary
2013	5	Joseph Randle	151	RB	Oklahoma St.
2013	6	DeVonte Holloman	185	LB	South Carolina

2014

Year	Rnd	Player	Pick	Pos	College/Univ
2014	1	Zack Martin	16	G	Notre Dame
2014	2	DeMarcus Lawrence	34	DE	Boise St.
2014	4	Anthony Hitchens	119	LB	Iowa
2014	5	Devin Street	146	WR	Pittsburgh
2014	7	Ben Gardner	231	DE	Stanford
2014	7	Will Smith	238	LB	Texas Tech
2014	7	Ahmad Dixon	248	DB	Baylor
2014	7	Ken Bishop	251	DT	Northern Illinois
2014	7	Terrance Mitchell	254	DB	Oregon

2015

• Charles Haley, DE and LB goes into NFL Hall of Fame

Year	Rnd	Player	Pick	Pos	College/Univ
2015	1	Byron Jones	27	CB	Connecticut
2015	2	Randy Gregory	60	OLB	Nebraska
2015	3	Chaz Green	91	T	Florida
2015	4	Damien Wilson	127	ILB	Minnesota
2015	5	Ryan Russell	163	DE	Purdue
2015	7	Mark Nzeocha	236	OLB	Wyoming
2015	7	Laurence Gibson	243	T	Virginia Tech
2015	7	Geoff Swaim	246	TE	Texas

2016

Year	Rnd	Player	Pick	Pos	College/Univ
2016	1	Ezekiel Elliott	4	RB	Ohio St.
2016	2	Jaylon Smith	34	OLB	Notre Dame
2016	3	Maliek Collins	67	DT	Nebraska
2016	4	Charles Tapper	101	DE	Oklahoma
2016	4	Dak Prescott	135	QB	Mississippi St.
2016	6	Anthony Brown	189	CB	Purdue
2016	6	Kavon Frazier	212	S	Central Michigan
2016	6	Darius Jackson	216	RB	East. Michigan
2016	6	Rico Gathers	217	TE	Baylor

2017

• Jerry Jones goes into NFL Hall of Fame as an owner

Year	Rnd	Player	Pick	Pos	College/Univ
2017	1	Taco Charlton	28	DE	Michigan
2017	2	Chidobe Awuzie	60	CB	Colorado
2017	3	Jourdan Lewis	92	CB	Michigan
2017	4	Ryan Switzer	133	WR	North Carolina
2017	6	Xavier Woods	191	S	Louisiana Tech
2017	6	Marquez White	216	CB	Florida St.
2017	7	Joey Ivie	228	DT	Florida
2017	7	Noah Brown	239	WR	Ohio St.
2017	7	Jordan Carrell	246	DT	Colorado

2018

• WR Terrell Owens goes into NFL Hall of Fame

Year	Rnd	Player	Pick	Pos	College/Univ
2018	1	Leighton Vander Esch	19	OLB	Boise St.
2018	2	Connor Williams	50	T	Texas
2018	3	Michael Gallup	81	WR	Colorado St.
2018	4	Dorance Armstrong Jr.	116	DE	Kansas
2018	4	Dalton Schultz	137	TE	Stanford
2018	5	Mike White	171	QB	Western Kentucky
2018	6	Chris Covington	193	LB	Indiana
2018	6	Cedrick Wilson	208	WR	Boise St.
2018	7	Bo Scarbrough	236	RB	Alabama

2019

• Gil Brandt becomes the first Director of Player Personnel in the NFL Hall of Fame

Year	Rnd	Player	Pick	Pos	College/Univ
2019	2	Trysten Hill	58	DT	Central Florida
2019	3	Connor McGovern	90	G	Penn St.
2019	4	Tony Pollard	128	RB	Memphis
2019	5	Michael Jackson	158	CB	Miami (FL)
2019	5	Joe Jackson	165	DE	Miami (FL)
2019	6	Donovan Wilson	213	S	Texas A&M
2019	7	Mike Weber	218	RB	Ohio St.
2019	7	Jalen Jelks	241	DE	Oregon

2020

Year	Rnd	Player	Pick	Pos	College/Univ
2020	1	CeeDee Lamb	17	WR	Oklahoma
2020	2	Trevon Diggs	51	CB	Alabama
2020	3	Neville Gallimore	82	DT	Oklahoma
2020	4	Reggie Robinson II	123	CB	Tulsa
2020	4	Tyler Biadasz	146	C	Wisconsin
2020	5	Bradlee Anae	179	DE	Utah
2020	7	Ben DiNucci	231	QB	James Madison

If you haven’t read our interview with Cowboy All Pro LB Thomas ‘Hollywood’ Henderson, go to https://memoriesofdallas.org/thomashenderson/

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