Tom Landry: Hall of Fame

[Hostile]

Thomas Wade Landry
1960 - 1988
Head Coach, Texas

Thomas Wade Landry. . .Noted for impassive, sideline demeanor. . . Perfected flex defense, multiple offense, revived shotgun (spread) offense. . .29-year tenure with one team tied NFL record. . .Career record: 270-178-6. . .270 wins third most ever. . .Had 20 straight winning seasons, five NFC titles, two Super Bowl wins. . . Defensive back, punter with Yankees (AAFC), Giants (NFL), 1949-1955. . .Born September 11, 1924, in Mission, Texas . . .Died February 12, 2000, at age of 75.

Inducted in the Pro Football Hall of Fame 8/4/90
Inducted in Cowboys Ring of Honor 11/7/93

Regular Season Record 250-162-6


Post Season Record 20-16


Two Time Super Bowl Winning Head Coach


Super Bowl VI


Super Bowl XII

Link to Tom Landry's Hall of Fame Page
Link to Tom Landry's stats

Tom Landry was selected as the head coach when the Dallas Cowboys started their first National Football League season in 1960. He remained in that capacity for 29 seasons until new ownership opted for new field leadership after the 1988 campaign.

At the time of his retirement, only George Halas, who coached the Chicago Bears for 40 years, surpassed his 29-year tenure with one club. It took Landry a few years to develop his young club into contender status but, once he did, the Cowboys enjoyed exceptional success for more than two decades.

The Cowboys under Landry had their first winning season and their first NFL Eastern Conference championship in 1966. They didn't fall below .500 again until 1986. During that period, Landry's teams had 20 straight winning seasons, 13 divisional championship, five NFC titles and victories in Super Bowls VI and XII. The Cowboys also played in Super Bowls V, IX and XIII.

His regular season career record is 250-162-6 and his record counting playoffs is 270-178-6. Only Halas and Don Shula top his 270 career wins.

Landry gained a reputation as a great technical innovator, as well as an inspirational leader. He introduced the "flex defense" and "multiple offense" in the 1960s. In the 1970s, he restructured the "shotgun" or "spread" offense and, in the 1980s, he embraced and helped develop the "situation substitution" concept of handling his player talent.

Landry was an excellent player in the pros. He was a defensive back, punter and kick returner with the 1949 New York Yankees in the All-America Football Conference and with the New York Giants in the NFL between 1950 and 1955. He recorded 32 career interceptions and had a 40.9-yard punting average. He served the Giants as a player-coach in 1954 and 1955 before becoming a full-time defensive coach from 1956 to 1959.

[ABQCOWBOY]

What can you say about Coach Landry. The list of attributes is too long. I'm certain that he had faults. I'm certain he had weaknesses. However, to me, the thing that I will always remember about Coach Landry is how he handled the dismissal back in 89. Never a negative word. Never had a bad thing to say about how it was done. He took it with class and represented himself with the highest standards of professionalisam imaginable. To me, that said a great deal. It's not what you do when things are going great. It's what you do when things are not going great that set you apart. Coach Landry was a man apart from most men IMO.

This is the memory that will be most lasting for me.

[Hostile]

I love Walt Garrison's commentary about a reporter asking him if he had ever seen Coach Landry smile. Walt replied, "I only played there 9 years, but I know he smiled at least 3 times in his life because he has 3 kids."



Yes, Coach had a nice smile.

[DallasCowpoke]

[CrazyCowboyesque]He was real good![/CrazyCowboyesque]


Oh yea, and he was a Longhorn!!

[bbgun]

I remember the Monday night game (late 80s?) in Anaheim when he had to dash to the locker room to put on a bullet-proof vest. Apparently, someone had phoned in a death threat. Who'd want to kill a saintly man like Landry?

[WV Cowboy]

I grew up in a Christian home with a strong, never-ending passion for football. So that's who I was.

Here was a strong Christian man that was a great football coach.

He was my idol, ... perfect in my young eyes.

I was fortunate enough to shake hands with Coach Landry twice.

[ZeroClub]

Tom Landry served as a WWII bomber pilot. He earned a B.A. in business administration (University of Texas) and a B.S. in mechanical engineering (University of Houston). Tom Landry's father was a mechanic.

Landry was an engineer who exhibited technical creativity as he applied his intellect to football.

Engineers tend to be quite focused and often are analytic - studying processes (which can result in others seeing them as socially aloof / emotionally detached).

I think that is the person that Landry was.

It certainly appears that he consciously worked at becoming the very best version of himself that he could be.

[Bob Sacamano]

Originally Posted by bbgun

I remember the Monday night game (late 80s?) in Anaheim when he had to dash to the locker room to put on a bullet-proof vest. Apparently, someone had phoned in a death threat. Who'd want to kill a saintly man like Landry?

probably a stupid Philly fan

[dougonthebench]

Originally Posted by bbgun

I remember the Monday night game (late 80s?) in Anaheim when he had to dash to the locker room to put on a bullet-proof vest. Apparently, someone had phoned in a death threat. Who'd want to kill a saintly man like Landry?

someone who was tired of Landry's ability to hand them their a**,repeatedly!

[jackrussell]

Sitting right behind the Landry family at Tom's induction could be my all time greatest Cowboy moments.

Now if I can only find that VHS tape I took during the ceremony!

[Juke99]

I don't have any one memory that stands out for me.

What I DO recall is the feeling of confidence I'd always have knowing he was on the sidelines.

The other thing that struck me about Coach Landry was that if he said the team needed to improve its performance in a facet of the game, sure as hell, the next week, they'd improve on it...without fail.

[Cajuncowboy]

Not to get all goofy and such but here goes...

When I was a year old my parents split up. I spent time with my Dad on weekends and stuff but was never really with him like I should have been.
When I was 5 I saw the Cowboys for the first time on TV and was instantly hooked. For the most of my childhood, the only thing that remained constant was that Tom Landry was the coach of MY team. He was everything I thought a man should be. I read everything I could about him.

I know it sounds really odd but Tom Landry was sorta like a surrogate father to me without even knowing it.

So my memory of him is probably a little different from most. I sent him a letter once and he mailed me back a real nice hand written letter and sent me an autographed photo of him. I still have them.

[CalCBFan]

Originally Posted by Cajuncowboy

Not to get all goofy and such but here goes...

When I was a year old my parents split up. I spent time with my Dad on weekends and stuff but was never really with him like I should have been.
When I was 5 I saw the Cowboys for the first time on TV and was instantly hooked. For the most of my childhood, the only thing that remained constant was that Tom Landry was the coach of MY team. He was everything I thought a man should be. I read everything I could about him.

I know it sounds really odd but Tom Landry was sorta like a surrogate father to me without even knowing it.

So my memory of him is probably a little different from most. I sent him a letter once and he mailed me back a real nice hand written letter and sent me an autographed photo of him. I still have them.

Now THAT'S a great memory and story...

[staubach to pearson]

Tom Landry, the great coach the Dallas Cowboys ever head. I sure miss Coach Landry.