Dallas Cowboys Ring Of Honor

[Hostile]

88 - Michael Irvin
"The Playmaker"
1988 - 1999
WR, Miami



5 time Pro Bowl...1991 - 95
1 time All Pro...1991

Inducted in Cowboys Ring of Honor 9/19/05
Inducted in Pro Football Hall of Fame 8/5/07

Link to Michael Irvin's Ring of Honor page.

Despite having his career cut short due to a spine injury, Michael Irvin left the NFL following the 1999 season owning or tied for 20 Cowboys receiving records, including nearly every major career and single-season standard - career receptions (750), yardage (11,904) and 100-yard receiving games (47). During his illustrious career, Irvin also etched his name in the NFL record books. In league history, only Jerry Rice (12) and Steve Largent (8) had recorded more 1,000-yard receiving seasons than the seven produced by Irvin when he retired. His 11 100-yard receiving games during the 1995 season is still the NFL standard, as is the seven consecutive 100-yard games he produced that same year. Irvin's 47 career 100-yard receiving games still stands as the third most in NFL history, behind Rice (65) and Don Maynard (50). The Cowboys posted a 36-11 record when Irvin topped the 100-yard mark.

In the 1990s, Irvin's consistent ability to achieve at the highest level established his place among the game's elite receivers. He finished his career tied with Charlie Joiner for 10th in NFL history on the all-time reception list, and he was ninth in league history in receiving yardage. Five years after his retirement, he is still 11th in the league in receiving yardage and 16th in receptions.

Irvin was selected to five Pro Bowls between 1991-98, giving him two more Pro Bowl appearances than any other wide receiver in club history. He is the only Cowboys player to top 75 catches in five straight seasons (1991-1995), and his reception and yardage totals for six of the years between 1991-98 represent six of the top nine single-season performances in club history: 1997 (75 receptions for 1,180 yards); 1995 (111 for 1,603); 1994 (79 for 1,241), 1993 (88 for 1,330), 1992 (78 for 1,396) and 1991 (93 for 1,523). Irvin also stands alone as the club record holder in terms of most consecutive seasons leading the team in receptions (eight, 1991-98) and most total seasons leading the club in receptions (eight). He led or tied for the team lead in catches in 85 of his last 130 regular-season games. Including playoffs games, he had a catch of 20-yards-or-more in 121 of the 175 NFL games he played.

Irvin's career receiving average of 15.9 is the fourth highest in team history, and he is second on the club's all-time receiving touchdown list with 65 - trailing only Bob Hayes (71).

Of his 750 career regular season catches, 95 went for 20- 29 yards, 38 for 30-39, 18 for 40-49, 10 for 50-59 and nine for 60 yards-or-more. He started 147-of-159 regular season games (163-of-175 including playoffs) he played upon entering the league in 1988. Irvin did not miss a start due to injury after the 1990 season, when he was overcoming a 1989 knee injury.

Always a clutch performer, he became Troy Aikman's goto- guy on third or fourth down and prospered, leading the team in catches on third or fourth down for first downs in '92 (22), '93 (16), '94 (20), '95 (27), '97 (23) and '98 (16). He had 165 first down catches on third or fourth down in his last 121 games and 185 after returning from the knee injury in 1990. His performance in the postseason was every bit as impressive as his consistent play throughout the regular season.

His six career 100-yard receiving days in the postseason are two shy of the NFL mark of eight by Jerry Rice. Irvin's 87 postseason receptions place him second in NFL playoff history behind Rice (151) and his 1,315 postseason receiving yards also ranks second in league annals behind Rice (2,245).

Born March 5, 1966 in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.

Link to Michael Irvin's Ring of Honor thread.

[Hostile]

22 - Emmitt Smith
"Catch 22"
1990 - 2002
RB, Florida



8 time Pro Bowl...1990 - 95, 98 - 99
4 time All Pro...1992 - 95
Super Bowl XXVIII MVP

Inducted in Cowboys Ring of Honor 9/19/05

Link to Emmitt Smith's Ring of Honor page.

In 15 seasons, Emmitt Smith made an impact on the NFL that few players can match at any position or in any era. As the NFL's all-time rushing leader, Smith won four NFL rushing titles, three Super Bowl titles and a league (1993) and Super Bowl (XXVIII) MVP award. He was selected to the Pro Bowl eight times, with only Barry Sanders (10) having been selected more times among NFL running backs.

Smith is the seventh player in NFL history to carry the title of all-time rushing leader, and he is the only player in NFL history to rush for more than 18,000 yards. Smith is also the NFL's career rushing touchdowns leader with 164, and he stands second in league annals in total touchdowns with 175, trailing the all-time leader, Jerry Rice, by 32.

The first player in NFL history with five straight seasons with over 1,400 rushing yards, Smith and Jim Brown are the only players with seven straight 10-touchdown seasons to start their career. With 1,021 yards rushing in 2001, Smith became the first player in NFL history to rush for 1,000 yards in 11 consecutive seasons and the first to post 11 1,000-yard rushing seasons in a career.

He is also the NFL's alltime leader in rushing attempts with 4,409. With a then NFL record 25 touchdowns in 1995, Smith scored 100 career touchdowns in just six seasons, the fastest anyone in league history has reached that mark (he tied Brown's NFL record by scoring 100 touchdowns in just 93 career games). His 164 career rushing touchdowns in 226 games gives him a 0.73 touchdown-per-game scoring average, second behind Brown's 0.90 for tops among the all-time rushing touchdown scorers (John Riggins 0.59 and Walter Payton 0.58 are next on the list). Smith's longevity and ability to score touchdowns have combined to give him three of the five best touchdown totals against a single opponent in league history. His 25 career scores against the Arizona Cardinals is the third best total by a player against an opponent since 1970, followed by his 24 scores against Washington and his 23 against the N.Y Giants.

Smith is one of only three players in Cowboys history with three career 100-point seasons, and he is the only non-kicker to accomplish the feat.

His value to his team's success can be seen in the clubs' 101-26 mark (93-24 in regular season) when he carried the ball 20-or-more times a game and 65-18 record (58-18 in regular season) when he rushed for 100 yards.

The century mark became a big number in Smith's career, having rushed for 100 yards in 155-of-326 games dating back to high school (45-of-49 at Escambia High School, 25-of-34 at Florida, 81-of-202 at Dallas, including playoffs, and two-of-25 at Arizona). His 45 100-yard games in high school is still the national record, and in NFL annals, Smith's 78 100-yard rushing games makes him the NFL's all-time leader - just ahead of Payton (77) and Sanders (76). Included in Smith's leaguerecord 78 regular season 100-yard rushing games are 18 days with over 150 yards (the fourth highest total of 150-yard games in NFL history).

Smith has rushed for over 100-yards against 23 of the 33 NFL teams he faced. In addition, he rushed for 2,466 yards against the Philadelphia Eagles in his 15 - year career, his best output against any single opponent. That total ranks second since 1970 for running backs against one team. Smith also has the third and fifth best totals in that category.

One reason Smith was such a workhorse over the years was his ability to answer the bell at game time, having started 236-of-243 career games - including playoffs. He missed just 11 career games due to injury. Smith also accumulated a number of NFL postseason records, including rushing touchdowns (19), consecutive games with a rushing touchdown (nine) and 100-yard rushing games (seven). His 1,586 yards rushing is also tops on the NFL postseason chart, and he shares the total playoff touchdown mark of 21 with Thurman Thomas. Smith is one of only five NFL players who have amassed over 10,000 career-rushing yards and 400 career receptions. He is also second on the NFL's all-time total yards from scrimmage list with 21,579 yards. 2004: Smith - who finished 2003 as a reserve - started the 2004 season at the Cardinals starting running back and accounted for 937 rushing yards and nine touchdowns on 267 carries. His 267 carries marked his highest total since 2000 and his nine touchdowns were his highest total since scoring 11 times in 1999. He also caught 15 passes for 105 yards for Arizona. He opened the season at St. Louis (9/12) with 87 rushing yards and a touchdown on 16 carries. He recorded his 49th one-yard touchdown run against New England (9/19), then totaled 45 yards on 18 carries and 11 yards on two catches at Atlanta (9/26). He posted his best game as a Cardinal the following week against New Orleans (10/3), totaling 127 rushing yards on 21 carries (6.0 avg.), including a 29-yard socring jaunt (his longest as a Cardinal). The Saints game marked his 77th career regular season 100-yard rushing game, tying Payton for the most in NFL history.

The last NFL player to eclipse the 100-yard mark in a game after his 35th birthday was Marcus Allen for Kansas City at Cleveland on Dec. 3, 1994.

Smith also completed his first career pass against New Orleans, tossing a 21-yard scoring strike to fullback Obafemi Ayanbadejo. Smith carried the ball 16 times for 63 yards and a touchdown at San Francisco (10/10), then broke Payton's record for career 100-yard rushing games when he totaled 106 yards and a touchdown on 26 carries against Seattle (10/24) He also added four catches for 30 yards, allowing him to become only the fourth player in NFL history to eclipse the 21,000-combined yards mark. At Buffalo, he accounted for 64 yards on 22 carries. After rushing 19 times for 42 yards and a score at Miami (11/7), he totaled 67 yards and two touchdowns on 19 carries against the N.Y. Giants (11/14) to become the only player in NFL history to eclipse the 18,000 career rushing yard mark.

He was hampered with a toe injury at Carolina (11/21) and against the N.Y. Jets (11/28) before missing the game at Detroit (12/5) due to the toe problem. He returned to action against San Francisco (12/12) and carried the ball 18 times for 53 yards and a score. A week later, he totaled 71 yards on 19 carries and 24 yards on two receptions against St. Louis (12/19). He recorded 65 yards on 23 carries at Seattle (12/26) before closing out the season with 69 yards on 23 carries and 13 yards on two catches against Tampa Bay (1/2/05).

Born May 15, 1969 in Pensacola, Florida.

Link to Emmitt Smith's Ring of Honor thread.

[Hostile]

73 - Larry Allen
1994 - 2005
G, Sonoma State



10 Time Pro Bowl...1995-2002, 2004, & 2005
7 Time All Pro...1995-2001

Inducted in Cowboys Ring of Honor 11/6/2011.

Link to Larry Allen's Ring of Honor Page.

As a member of the NFL's All-Decade team for the 1990s and 2000s, Larry Allen was widely recognized as one of the NFL's premier offensive linemen, and he established himself as one of the most decorated offensive players in Dallas Cowboys and NFL history.

In 14 NFL seasons since being drafted in the second round out of Sonoma State, Allen was named to more Pro Bowls (10) than any other offensive player in Cowboys history. He also earned another Pro Bowl berth in 2006 while finishing his career with the San Francisco 49ers, bringing his Pro Bowl total to 11 selections. He was also named All-Pro seven times, six times at guard (1995-97, 1999-01) and once at tackle (1998). With his Pro Bowl selection at tackle in 1998, he became just the third player in league history to be selected to the Pro Bowl at more than one offensive line position during his career, joining Bruce Matthews (guard/center) and Chris Hinton (guard/tackle).

An ankle injury in the second week of the 2002 season limited Allen to five games and snapped his seven-year string of trips to the Pro Bowl, the fourth-longest streak in club history and the standard for Pro Bowl selections by a Dallas offensive lineman. Allen fully recovered from his injury and earned his eighth Pro Bowl selection in 2003, tying Emmitt Smith as the only Dallas offensive player to be selected to eight Pro Bowls. In 2004, he earned his ninth trip to Hawaii. Allen is tied with Mel Renfro (10) for the second-most Pro Bowl selections by a Cowboy, with both players trailing Bob Lilly (11).

He played all but one position along the offensive line in his 12 seasons in Dallas, moving between right tackle (1994), right guard (1995-97), left tackle (1997-98) and left guard (1999-03). During his illustrious career in Dallas, Allen was a member of an offensive unit that posted the four lowest sacks allowed totals in club history with 18 in 1995, 19 in 1996 and 1998, and 20 in 1994. He also played a very important part in Smith's race toward the all-time NFL rushing mark, having blocked for eight of Smith's 11 1,000-yard rushing seasons. Smith gained 11,463 of his 17,162 career yards with Dallas after Allen joined the Cowboys in 1994 and was a pivotal member of the Super Bowl XXX Champion team in 1995.

With a career-best bench press of 700 pounds and a squat lift of 900 pounds, Allen is also considered to be the strongest man to ever play professional football. After missing most of 2002 with a sprained left ankle that required surgery to remove bone spurs, Allen went on to start 48 straight games before signing and playing for two seasons (2006-07) with San Francisco where he started the final 27 games of his career. Allen started 197-of-203 career games played.

Link to Larry Allen's Ring of Honor Thread.

[Hostile]

94 - Charles Haley

1992 - 1996

DE, James Madison

2 Time Pro Bowl Selection...1994 & 1995
1 Time All Pro Selection...1994

Inducted into Cowboys Ring of Honor 11/6/2011.

Link to Charles Haley's Ring of Honor page.

Charles Haley joined the San Francisco 49ers in 1986 as the team's fourth round draft pick. He developed into one of the NFL's most devastating pass rushers during a career split between the 49ers and the Dallas Cowboys. He is the only player in NFL history to win five Super Bowls. Haley was a member of two 49ers championship teams (Super Bowls XXIII and XXIV) before his trade to Dallas. He earned three more Super Bowl rings during his first four seasons with the Cowboys. Haley began his NFL career at linebacker and led San Francisco in sacks in each of his first six seasons. He recorded four double-digit sack totals with the 49ers, including 12 sacks as a rookie and a career-high and NFC-leading 16 sacks in 1990. He was moved to defensive end after his trade to Dallas and continued to excel at pressuring the quarterback. He added two more double-digit sack seasons in 1994 and 1995. Haley then suffered a serious back injury in 1996 that limited him to just five games. He retired after undergoing surgery. However, after a two-year hiatus, Haley re-signed with the 49ers as a backup defensive end for two playoff games in 1998. He came back to play one final season in 1999 and added three sacks to his career total.

When he walked away for the final time, Haley had amassed 100.5 sacks during his 169-game career. He was twice named NFC Defensive Player of the Year (1990 and 1994), voted to five Pro Bowls and named All-Pro two times, once as a linebacker and once as a defensive end. He played in six NFC championship games over a seven-season period. He started at left outside linebacker for the 49ers in the 1988, 1989, and 1990 games and at right defensive end for the Cowboys in the conference championships in 1992, 1993, and 1994. He was inactive for the Cowboys victory in the 1995 NFC Championship Game.

Haley was a member of 10 division championship teams during his 12-season NFL career. His final sea- son marked the only year he played on a team with a losing record. Prior to that, the fewest number of wins in a season any 49ers and Cowboys team recorded with Haley on the roster was 10.

Link to Charles Haley's Ring of Honor Thread.

[Hostile]

88 - Drew Pearson

1973 - 1983

WR, Tulsa

3 Time Pro Bowl Selection...1974, 1976, & 1977

3 Time All Pro Selection...1974, 1976, & 1977

Inducted into Cowboys Ring of Honor 11/6/2011.

Link to Drew Pearson's Ring of Honor Page.

In 11 seasons with the Dallas Cowboys, Drew Pearson rose from undrafted free agent rookie to one of the club's all-time leading receivers, from unknown to legend. Named to the All-Decade Team of the 1970s by the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1980, Pearson earned a niche as one of the top clutch receivers in football history.

During his career as a Cowboy, Pearson led the team in receptions and receiving yards during four consecutive seasons (1974-77) and recorded two 1,000-yard campaigns. His most memorable catches form a list of some of the great moments in Cowboys history – an 83-yard fourth-quarter touchdown reception to beat the Rams (12/23) in the 1973 playoffs; a 50-yard scoring catch in the closing seconds to beat Washington (11/28) on Thanksgiving Day in 1974; the 50-yard "Hail Mary" touchdown reception in the final 20 seconds to beat Minnesota (12/28) in the 1975 playoffs; two touchdown catches in the final 3:40 at Atlanta (1/4/81) in the 1980 playoffs, the second with 42 seconds left, to rally the Cowboys past the Falcons 30-27.

Pearson became the Cowboys then all-time leading receiver in receptions in 1980 when he passed Bob Hayes' mark of 365 catches and in 1983 surpassed Hayes' club top mark of 7,295 receiving yards. Pearson's totals concluded at 489 receptions for 7,822 yards and 48 touchdowns. Pearson also left his mark in the post-season in league record books with his receptions (67) placing him third and his receiving yards (1,105) and touchdowns (eight) ranking him fourth all-time when he left the NFL – all club records at the time of his retirement - and he caught a pass in a club-record 22 consecutive playoff games.

Pearson was named All-Pro and to the Pro Bowl in 1974, 1976 and 1977 and was a key member of the 1977 Super Bowl XII Championship squad. He led NFC pass catchers in 1976 with 58 receptions and once held the club record for catching passes in 58 consecutive games. He served as an offensive captain on the team during the 1977, 1978, 1982 and 1983 seasons and helped the team win six division championships. In 1979, Pearson and Tony Hill each posted 1,000 receiving yards to become the first NFC receiving duo to post 1,000-yard seasons, and along with Tony Dorsett's 1,000 rushing yards, it allowed the Cowboys to become the first team in NFL history to boast two 1,000-yard receivers and a 1,000-yard rusher in the same season.

Link to Drew Pearson's Ring of Honor thread.