32 Years Ago Today

[Hostile]

Roger Staubach announced he was retiring.

Here's a little footage of that announcement.

[wittenacious]

I remember it well. He retired too young. Not to rock any boats, but I do wish Landry would've relented and allowed Staubach to call some of his own plays. Given that concession, Roger would have continued playing.

Many statisticians will point to the success the Cowboys continued to enjoy, even after Roger retired, as proof of the working effect of Tom Landry's system and his controlling the play calling. Still, I can't help but believe Staubach would've brought us even more success, taking nothing away from the effort Danny White gave.

Staubach respected Landry, though, whether he agreed w/ TL's hard and fast position about play calling or not, and retired with class.

[Whiskey Cowboy]

I wasn't born until 86 but I remember when I was growing up, my grandpa would show me old footage of Roger Dodger and those Cowboys. Lots of fun to watch, must have been a sad day for you older folks that were around to see it.

[hutch1254]

It was an awful day for me. Watching your hero walk away. I was devastated. That video is still hard to watch.

[jgboys1]

My childhood hero right there. First time a retirement for a player hit me hard. I always thought he would play forever. Thank you Roger for great childhood memories.

[Cajuncowboy]

Originally Posted by hutch1254

It was an awful day for me. Watching your hero walk away. I was devastated. That video is still hard to watch.

I too remember that day and felt the same way at that time. He was a hero to a lot of us and I think we all felt a part of us was missing after that.

[wittenacious]

Originally Posted by Whiskey Cowboy

I wasn't born until 86 but I remember when I was growing up, my grandpa would show me old footage of Roger Dodger and those Cowboys. Lots of fun to watch, must have been a sad day for you older folks that were around to see it.

I can admit it now, I did NOT handle it well at all. First, I cried like a little bitty baby, then had a hissy fit, I was so mad. Sad day, indeed.

Here's a video of me in my late-teens (I didn't age well - must've been the cigarettes - imagine what I look like now!), right after seeing the press conference where Roger Staubach retired that fateful day:

[dougonthebench]

Originally Posted by hutch1254

It was an awful day for me. Watching your hero walk away. I was devastated. That video is still hard to watch.

I felt the same way as you. I was 12 when he retired and I agree it was much too soon. But concussions got the best of him.

[burmafrd]

Originally Posted by wittenacious

I remember it well. He retired too young. Not to rock any boats, but I do wish Landry would've relented and allowed Staubach to call some of his own plays. Given that concession, Roger would have continued playing.

Many statisticians will point to the success the Cowboys continued to enjoy, even after Roger retired, as proof of the working effect of Tom Landry's system and his controlling the play calling. Still, I can't help but believe Staubach would've brought us even more success, taking nothing away from the effort Danny White gave.

Staubach respected Landry, though, whether he agreed w/ TL's hard and fast position about play calling or not, and retired with class.

don't know where you got the idea that play calling had anything to do with it but it was all about the concussions. The fact you claim he retired too young shows how little you know

[THUMPER]

Meredith, Lilly, Staubach, Aikman they all hit me hard when they retired. I felt like all 4 could have and should have kept playing. Lilly was really the only one who physically couldn't perform like he had earlier in his career but he was my first Cowboy hero and I NEVER wanted him to retire.

Meredith was only 31 when he left the game and had just had his best season (but his worst playoff game). I hated seeing him go as I never thought Morton was capable of winning for us and was awful in big games.

Staubach was 38 but had only played 11 years and really only 8 full seasons but concussions were taking a toll on him and he didn't feel like he should play any longer. This was way before anyone knew about the long term effects of concussions on players. Fortunately, it never appeared to cause him any problems. He also retired at the top of his game, having just had his best season.

Like Roger, concussions forced Aikman to retire before he needed to but could have played another 3-4 years easily. He wanted to continue but the opportunities to start were not available so he chose retirement rather than a backup role.

I would add Harvey Martin to the list as well. Only 33 when he retired but he was slowing down in his final season. Still thought he could play though.

[wittenacious]

Originally Posted by burmafrd

don't know where you got the idea that play calling had anything to do with it but it was all about the concussions. The fact you claim he retired too young shows how little you know

Wow! Comin' right at me. That's your thing? Okay.

I didn't make up what I said. I based it on fact. But here's a video that may convince you of more than I might say, even though I grew up watching Roger Staubach play for the Cowboys. If you can take a few minutes out of your life and learn something you obviously didn't know, watch the clip below and get a take on things from those that were there. From the series:

Tom Landry - A Football Life Part 3 (Act V - "The System")

Pay special attention to the segment where Roger Staubach talks about Landry's System [ 3:03 – 4:30 ] which includes a part of Roger's retirement speech, the same as is shown in the video in the OP, which reminded me of the story in the first place.

[JakeCamp12]

I still remember sitting in front of a tv at my grandparents crying like a baby as he announced this...my hero walking away from the game.

[dwarecwby311]

still hard to watch..

[Warick]

I remember that day, and my Mom and I cried along with him when he announced his retirement. Later that day, I got into a fight with a friend of mine, who laughed about it, saying he needed to retire anyway, that he sucked (he was a Steelers/Bradshaw fan).

[Eddie]

Originally Posted by Warick

I remember that day, and my Mom and I cried along with him when he announced his retirement. Later that day, I got into a fight with a friend of mine, who laughed about it, saying he needed to retire anyway, that he sucked (he was a Steelers/Bradshaw fan).

Yep ... when outsiders tell us Cowboys suck ... they get a fist to the cheek.