2021 season countdown thread

[Hagman]

Duane Thomas marched to his own drummer. Heck, then he would ignore that other drummer too and march in his own way I don't really understand what went on in Duane's head or why, but I admired his transcendent talent and hated to see it evaporate while he dealt with his demons. He did provide some of the greatest quotes in Cowboys' history. As the link below reminds us before Super Bowl V a reporter asked him what it was like playing in the Super Bowl:

“Okay,” Duane told them. “It’s just another game.”
But it’s the ultimate game, they assured him.
Duane cocked his head proudly so they could see up his nostrils, and he posed his own question: “Then why are they playing it again next year?”

He famously took a vow of silence all during the Cowboys march to their first Super Bowl win in VI. The story tells how that vow began when Duane made a crucial fumble in V. He was so devastated that he cried afterwards and disappeared from close friends for months.

After that win in VI Duane famously broke his silence when Tom Brookshire interviewed him after the game and ask him if he was as fast as he looked.
"Evidently." Duane replied.

Perhaps most famously during his contract dispute the next year Duane blasted the Cowboys' Trinity.
He described coach Tom Landry as “a plastic man, actually no man at all.”
Gil Brandt was branded “a liar.”
Duane put down club president Tex Schramm as a man who was “sick, demented and completely dishonest,” to which Schramm replied good naturedly, “That’s not bad. He got two out or three.”

To their credit the Cowboys brought back Duane for a tryout during camp in 1976, but the spark that made him great was gone, and he was cut before the season began.

There's more to his story than can be summarized here, so if you're bored waiting for the Cowboys to give their Hall of Fame speeches this weekend, I encourage you to read the Texas Monthly story below.

https://www.texasmonthly.com/arts-entertainment/the-lonely-blues-of-duane-thomas/

 

[Hagman]

AND, Duane Thomas scored the first touchdown in Texas Stadium when it opened in 1971…a 56 yard run against the Patriots in game 6.

 

[Bobhaze]

We cannot forget to show some love for the greatest #33- TD himself, Tony Dorsett. A guy who owns an NFL record that will never ever be broken- the 99 yd TD run.

And TD was one of the fastest guys to ever wear the Star. His ability to change directions while at full speed was truly a thing of beauty. I remember when he was drafted in ‘77, many NFL scouts believed he was too small and not tough enough. Twelve seasons and 12,739 yards later, he proved all those guys were dead wrong.

To put his yards in perspective, Zeke will need almost 6,400 more yards to catch TD. Dorsett is second only to Emmitt Smith as the greatest RB in Cowboys history.

 

[Jake]

My Tony Dorsett story is probably different than most here, since he played high school ball about 20 miles from where I grew up. I was hearing about him from the time he was 15. Then when he was at Pitt, pretty much the only college football we got where I lived was Ohio State, Pitt, and Notre Dame, so I watched him all through college. He just destroyed college defenses and made it look easy, winning a Heisman and Pitt's last national championship. So when I heard the Cowboys made the move to go get him it was a dream come true.

 

[Hagman]

The original Number 33 for the Cowboys was Gene Babb. He was chosen in the 19th (!) round of the draft by the 49ers in 1957, where he primarily functioned as a backup fullback. He was traded to Dallas for a 5th round pick in July of 1960, so he qualifies as an original Dallas Cowboy. He was primarily a reserve fullback that year too, but was switched to linebacker when Don Perkins came off of the injury list in 1961. He started 9 games at linebacker before being replaced by Mike Dowdle. The Cowboys released him in August 1962, when he played for the Oilers in the AFL for two seasons.

He died in December of 2018.

On this Hall of Fame induction day, Gene will not be remembered as someone Hall worthy, but he was one of the original Cowboys and so has that special place in our history.

 

[maryquality]

32 more days!!! Former #32's are Walt Garrison, Dennis Thurman of the famed "Thurman's Thieves" secondary, and Orlando Scandrick. Current player with #32 is Jayron Kearse.

 

[Hagman]

 

[Daillest88]

Any word on Golston getting off of PUP?

 

[Bobhaze]

Walt Garrison. A real Cowboy. Was an Oklahoma State Cowboy before he was a Dallas Cowboy. He never put on a football uniform in college or the pros when he wasn’t a Cowboy.

I have a bittersweet memory of Walt Garrison from a couple of years back. I was in a restaurant in Grapevine and saw him from a few feet away walking with his wife toward the exit. I smiled as he approached and he smiled back, extended his hand, and gave me a hearty handshake.

It was obvious immediately that he thought I was someone else. He even called me by someone else’s name and when I tried to set the record straight, it was as if he didn’t hear me. He talked to me for a about a minute or two and I could tell within in a few seconds his mind wasn’t all there. His wife gave me a knowing look and took him gently by the arm and they left.

He could not have been more kind or gracious. His eyes and smile were full of kindness. But I got the feeling he had some kind of CTE type issue. Made me very sad.

Walt Garrison was one of the toughest Cowboys to ever wear the Star.

 

[Thomas82]

We cannot forget to show some love for the greatest #33- TD himself, Tony Dorsett. A guy who owns an NFL record that will never ever be broken- the 99 yd TD run.

And TD was one of the fastest guys to ever wear the Star. His ability to change directions while at full speed was truly a thing of beauty. I remember when he was drafted in ‘77, many NFL scouts believed he was too small and not tough enough. Twelve seasons and 12,739 yards later, he proved all those guys were dead wrong.

To put his yards in perspective, Zeke will need almost 6,400 more yards to catch TD. Dorsett is second only to Emmitt Smith as the greatest RB in Cowboys history.

Here is a look at Tony Dorsett's strong football resume:

College:
-National Champion (1976)
-Heisman Trophy (1976)
-Maxwell Award (1976)
-Walter Camp Award (1976)
-3x 1st Team All-American (1973, 1975, 1976)
-No. 33 Jersey Retired (Pitt)
-College Football Hall Of Fame (1994)

NFL:
-Super Bowl Champion (XII)
-NFL Offensive Rookie Of The Year (1977)
-4x Pro Bowl (1978, 1981-1983)
-1st Team All-Pro (1981)
-2nd Team All-Pro (1982, 1983)
-NFL Record 99-Yard Rushing Play
-Dallas Cowboys Ring Of Honor (1994)
-Pro Football Hall Of Fame (1994)

*The only player in the history of football to win the Heisman trophy, NCAA National Championship, and Super Bowl in back-to-back seasons.

*The first of only 2 players (Marcus Allen) in the history of football to win an NCAA National Championship, Heisman Trophy, and Super Bowl and be enshrined in both the College and Pro Football Halls Of Fame.

 

[Hagman]

My Walt Garrison encounter was more positive, but a long time ago. In 1972 I was a high school sophomore in a small town on the dusty High Plains of West Texas. One spring day word began to circulate that Walt Garrison and Bob Lilly were coming to town to support this candidate. Nobody cared about that, but the thought that Dallas Cowboys were coming to our dusty town was electric. When the school district confirmed the rumors that afternoon classes were cancelled so that we could all go downtown to meet him. I got his autograph too.

Yea, I'm that kid over there. You can see part of my sister's face closer to Walt. We never did run into Lilly.

 

[Jake]

Walt Garrison. A real Cowboy. Was an Oklahoma State Cowboy before he was a Dallas Cowboy. He never put on a football uniform in college or the pros when he wasn’t a Cowboy.

I have a bittersweet memory of Walt Garrison from a couple of years back. I was in a restaurant in Grapevine and saw him from a few feet away walking with his wife toward the exit. I smiled as he approached and he smiled back, extended his hand, and gave me a hearty handshake.

It was obvious immediately that he thought I was someone else. He even called me by someone else’s name and when I tried to set the record straight, it was as if he didn’t hear me. He talked to me for a about a minute or two and I could tell within in a few seconds his mind wasn’t all there. His wife gave me a knowing look and took him gently by the arm and they left.

He could not have been more kind or gracious. His eyes and smile were full of kindness. But I got the feeling he had some kind of CTE type issue. Made me very sad.

Walt Garrison was one of the toughest Cowboys to ever wear the Star.

Between football and rodeo God only knows how many concussions he's had in his life. It's sad seeing our heroes get old.

 

[Jake]

My Walt Garrison encounter was more positive, but a long time ago. In 1972 I was a high school sophomore in a small town on the dusty High Plains of West Texas. One spring day word began to circulate that Walt Garrison and Bob Lilly were coming to town to support this candidate. Nobody cared about that, but the thought that Dallas Cowboys were coming to our dusty town was electric. When the school district confirmed the rumors that afternoon classes were cancelled so that we could all go downtown to meet him. I got his autograph too.

Yea, I'm that kid over there. You can see part of my sister's face closer to Walt. We never did run into Lilly.

That's awesome! I'm glad your school district had their priorities straight. Algebra could wait until tomorrow.

 

[Jake]

32 days to Tampa Bay

No disrespect to Dennis Thurman and the others, when I see one of the original Cowboys in @Hagman's list my curiosity takes over.

Tom Franckhauser was the original 32 for the Cowboys in 1960, selected in the expansion draft after spending one season with the Rams. Turns out he grew up in my neck of the woods, and played high school ball for the Crusaders of Catholic Central High School in Steubenville, OH. My high school played them every year, faced them myself a few times (It didn't go well. I was part of a 27 game losing streak in high school, but that's another story).

Franckhauser played college ball at Purdue, not a fan of those guys either (OSU alum), before being taken in the 3rd round in 1959. He was voted MVP by his teammates after his senior season. A tight end in college, the Rams converted him to cornerback. He played corner for Dallas as well, and holds the distinction of being the first ever Cowboy to carry the football when he returned the opening kickoff of the first game.

Franckhauser died in Houston in 1997 at the age of 59.

 

[Hagman]

32 days to Tampa Bay

No disrespect to Dennis Thurman and the others, when I see one of the original Cowboys in @Hagman's list my curiosity takes over.

Tom Franckhauser was the original 32 for the Cowboys in 1960, selected in the expansion draft after spending one season with the Rams. Turns out he grew up in my neck of the woods, and played high school ball for the Crusaders of Catholic Central High School in Steubenville, OH. My high school played them every year, faced them myself a few times (It didn't go well. I was part of a 27 game losing streak in high school, but that's another story).

Franckhauser played college ball at Purdue, not a fan of those guys either (OSU alum), before being taken in the 3rd round in 1959. He was voted MVP by his teammates after his senior season. A tight end in college, the Rams converted him to cornerback. He played corner for Dallas as well, and holds the distinction of being the first ever Cowboy to carry the football when he returned the opening kickoff of the first game.

Franckhauser died in Houston in 1997 at the age of 59.

I'm so glad that you posted about Tom. As you point out he holds a little extra-special place in Dallas Cowboys history.

As Jake points out, On opening day in 1960 Tom Franckhauser took the opening kick and ran it back. He therefore is the first Dallas Cowboy to touch a football in a game.

He was also the team's first starter at left cornerback. That first year he made 45 tackles, 3 ints, and ran back 25 kicks for a 19.8 yard avg and returned 3 punts.

So thanks Tom. You will always be the first Dallas Cowboy to touch a football in a game.

https://amp.ww.en.freejournal.org/12961956/1/tom-franckhauser.html

 

[Bobhaze]

Thurman’s Thieves! We need those guys now!

 

[Jake]

Dennis Thurman grew up a California kid and played college ball at USC. Despite being an All-America, he fell to the 11th round in the 1978 draft because he was considered too small and too slow for the NFL. All he did was play 8 seasons for the Cowboys, never missed a game, and finished third on the all-time team interceptions list with 36 picks. Only Mel Renfro and Charlie Waters are ahead of him. Thurman also is tied for the most pick sixes (4) in club history, along with Dexter Coakley.

Thurman finished his career playing one season for the Cardinals. He's now Deion Sanders' Defensive Coordinator at Jackson State.

 

[maryquality]

31 more days!! Former players who wore #31 are Roy Williams and Benny Barnes. Current player with #31 is Maurice Canady.

 

[Hagman]

 

[maryquality]

Dang!! I totally forgot about Byron Jones, George Teague and Mike Jenkins!!