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College career
Oklahoma Sooners 1984-1985
The New York Mets offered Aikman a contract out of high school, but instead of playing baseball he chose to pursue football and attended the University of Oklahoma under head coach Barry Switzer.
In 1985, his first season as a collegiate starter, Aikman led the Sooners to wins over Minnesota, Kansas State, and #17 Texas in the Red River Shootout before hosting the Miami Hurricanes and his future head coach Jimmy Johnson.
On October 19, in front of a sellout crowd of 75,008 at Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in Norman, Miami's Jerome Brown broke through the offensive line, sacked Aikman on the Sooner 29-yard line and broke Aikman's ankle. Aikman, who had been six of eight passing for 131 yards, would be lost for the season. Switzer and offensive coordinator Jim Donnan were forced to switch back to the wishbone offense under freshman quarterback Jamelle Holieway. The team went on to win the 1985 National Championship by beating Penn State in the 1986 Orange Bowl.[1][2] With Holieway established as the starting quarterback at OU, Aikman decided to transfer to UCLA.[3]
UCLA Bruins 1986-1989
Switzer oversaw Aikman's transfer to UCLA, a program under Terry Donahue that was more conducive to a passing quarterback. He had to redshirt one year due to college transfer rules but went on to lead the Bruins to a 20-4 record over two seasons.[3]
As a junior, Aikman led the Bruins to a 10-2 record and the 1987 Aloha Bowl, where they beat the Florida Gators 20-16.[4][5]
As a Senior, Aikman won the 1988 Davey O'Brien Award as the nation's top quarterback, a first for UCLA. He was a Consensus All-American, the UPI West Coast Player of the Year, the Washington DC Club QB of the Year, a finalist for the 1988 AFCA "Coaches Choice" Player of the year award, and he finished third for the 1988 Heisman Trophy. UCLA matched the victory total from the previous season under Aikman, going 10-2 and losing only to USC and Washington State. The season culminated with a 17-3 Bruin victory over the Arkansas Razorbacks in the 1989 Cotton Bowl, which is played in Dallas. The Dallas media spent most of the Cotton Bowl week promoting Aikman as the "next quarterback of the Cowboys," and much was made of Tom Landry watching Troy Aikman practice during the Bruins' workouts at Texas Stadium. Aikman finished his career as the number two career passing leader in UCLA history.[4][5]
Professional career
Aikman was the projected No. 1 overall pick in the 1989 NFL Draft, held by the Cowboys. The franchise had fallen on hard times, going a woeful 3-13 in 1988. On February 25, 1989, new owner Jerry Jones shocked the sports world by firing the beloved Tom Landry - the only head coach the Cowboys ever had - and replacing him with Jimmy Johnson, who, to no one's surprise, took Aikman in the draft. A few months later, in the NFL's supplemental draft, Johnson surprisingly selected quarterback Steve Walsh, who had played for Johnson (and most of the new Cowboys' coaching staff) the previous two years at the University of Miami (going 23-1 as a starter and winning a national championship). However, Aikman won the job over Walsh in training camp and (although Walsh played while Aikman was injured) never relinquished it. Walsh was traded early in the 1990 season.
Johnson did not develop Aikman slowly but instead threw him into action immediately. Meanwhile, Johnson spent the entire season shuffling the depth chart trying to find players talented enough to build a winning team. As a result, Aikman was constantly trying to adjust to the styles of different players. Then in middle of the season, the team's only Pro Bowl player, running back Herschel Walker, was traded for several veteran players and draft choices. Although the trade turned out to be successful in the long run, it was devastating to the team in the 1989 season.
Aikman started his first game with a 0-28 shutout loss against the New Orleans Saints. The following week against Atlanta, Aikman threw his first touchdown pass, a 65-yard completion to Michael Irvin, but the Falcons intercepted two of his passes and won the game. The next few weeks were not any better. The Washington Commanders sacked him four times, intercepted two passes, and held him to only six completions in his first home game. Then the Giants came to Dallas and only allowed Aikman to complete one pass before knocking him out of the game with a broken finger, which sidelined him for five games. During that time, the Cowboys ended up winning their only game of the year. But when Aikman returned, he showed the league why he was worthy of being picked with the first overall choice. In a close game against the Phoenix Cardinals, he threw for NFL-rookie record 379 yards, including an 80-yard touchdown pass that gave Dallas a 20-17 lead with 1:43 left in the game. But the Cardinals came back on their next drive to win the game. With the exception of a 17-14 loss against Miami and a 35-31 loss to the Los Angeles Rams, the Cowboys never came close to winning another game for the rest of year, and were finished off with a 20-10 loss to the Green Bay Packers in their final game with Aikman throwing 4 interceptions.
Aikman finished with an 0-11 record (155 of 293 for 1,749 yards, 9 TDs, 18 INTs) as the Cowboys went 1-15. Fans and sportswriters, still reeling from Landry's firing, publicly disparaged the team's "savior." But things improved sooner than most people expected.
Aikman proved resilient, and in 1990, led the Cowboys to the brink of the playoffs, started off the year by scoring his first rushing touchdown with 1:58 left in the fourth quarter to lead his team to a 17-14 opening day win over the San Diego Chargers. He also started having more help from his teammates, as Johnson showed an uncommon ability for evaluating talent, selecting Emmitt Smith with one of the draft picks from the Walker trade, and going on to build an offensive line and a defense that would rank among the league's best. Dallas was 7-7 with two weeks to play before Aikman suffered a season-ending injury. Dallas would lose its final two games, but Aikman had shown his potential for success in the NFL. His first two seasons had been a rough adjustment. He had thrown 36 interceptions and was sacked 58 times, but had shown his reliability when the game was on the line, leading his team to victory with fourth quarter scoring drives in six different games. In those six fourth quarter rallies, he had completed 71.1% of his passes for 456 yards and 2 touchdowns with no interceptions.
In 1991, Aikman led the Cowboys to a 6-5 record in the first 11 games and had the Cowboys ahead in week 12 against undefeated Washington when he was injured. Aikman's replacement, Steve Beuerlein did not produce passing stats as good as Aikman, but led the Cowboys to wins in their last four games and a playoff win. Aikman relieved Beuerlein in the NFC Divisional Playoff against Detroit, which the Cowboys lost, 38-6. In 1991, Aikman was selected to the first of six consecutive Pro Bowls. In 1992, Aikman set career highs in completions (302), passing yards (3,445) and touchdown passes (23), and led the Cowboys to Super Bowl XXVII at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena against the Buffalo Bills. Aikman completed 22-of-30 passes for 273 yards with 4 TDs as Dallas obliterated Buffalo, 52-17. He was named Super Bowl MVP.
The next year, with Aikman having one of his best seasons posting a 99.0 passer rating, Dallas defeated the Bills again in Super Bowl XXVIII for a second straight Super Bowl title. It was widely expected that the team might win the Super Bowl at the end of the 1994 season, becoming the first team to win three consecutive titles. However, Jones and Johnson began having disputes regarding their own personal responsibility for the team's success. Jones fired Johnson and hired Barry Switzer, a former college teammate of Jones' when the two were at Arkansas. Despite the turmoil, the Cowboys almost returned to the Super Bowl but were beaten, 38-28, in the NFC Championship game by the San Francisco 49ers.
The 1995 Cowboys bounced back, going 12-4 and culminated in a record-tying fifth Super Bowl win (on January 28, 1996) beating the Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl XXX, and Aikman threw for over 3,300 yards in the regular season.
In 1997, Aikman became the first quarterback in Dallas history to have three straight 3,000-yard seasons. However, the team missed the playoffs. Switzer suffered the first losing season of his coaching career. His off-the-field woes exacerbated a bad situation, and Switzer quit following the season.
Revolving-door personnel changes plagued the Cowboys for the rest of Aikman's tenure. His pass protection failed him repeatedly as the team, stymied by the salary cap, began a decline. In 1999, Aikman was forced to prematurely depart two consecutive games due to head-related injuries. In 2000, Aikman suffered a concussion early in the season opener against Philadelphia and threw 5 interceptions in a loss to the New York Giants. On December 10, 2000, Washington Commanders linebacker LaVar Arrington hit Aikman with such force that his head literally bounced off the turf, leaving a dent in his helmet; it resulted in Aikman's 10th concussion and would end his career. The Cowboys finished the season 5-11.
After he was waived a day before he was due a $7 million/7-year contract extension, Aikman asserted he could still play but found no interested teams. He announced his retirement on April 9, 2001, a press conference notable for the volume of people he thanked. He ended his career as the Cowboys' all-time leading passer (32,942 yards). His 90 wins in the 1990s is the most by any quarterback in any decade.
Oklahoma Sooners 1984-1985
The New York Mets offered Aikman a contract out of high school, but instead of playing baseball he chose to pursue football and attended the University of Oklahoma under head coach Barry Switzer.
In 1985, his first season as a collegiate starter, Aikman led the Sooners to wins over Minnesota, Kansas State, and #17 Texas in the Red River Shootout before hosting the Miami Hurricanes and his future head coach Jimmy Johnson.
On October 19, in front of a sellout crowd of 75,008 at Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in Norman, Miami's Jerome Brown broke through the offensive line, sacked Aikman on the Sooner 29-yard line and broke Aikman's ankle. Aikman, who had been six of eight passing for 131 yards, would be lost for the season. Switzer and offensive coordinator Jim Donnan were forced to switch back to the wishbone offense under freshman quarterback Jamelle Holieway. The team went on to win the 1985 National Championship by beating Penn State in the 1986 Orange Bowl.[1][2] With Holieway established as the starting quarterback at OU, Aikman decided to transfer to UCLA.[3]
UCLA Bruins 1986-1989
Switzer oversaw Aikman's transfer to UCLA, a program under Terry Donahue that was more conducive to a passing quarterback. He had to redshirt one year due to college transfer rules but went on to lead the Bruins to a 20-4 record over two seasons.[3]
As a junior, Aikman led the Bruins to a 10-2 record and the 1987 Aloha Bowl, where they beat the Florida Gators 20-16.[4][5]
As a Senior, Aikman won the 1988 Davey O'Brien Award as the nation's top quarterback, a first for UCLA. He was a Consensus All-American, the UPI West Coast Player of the Year, the Washington DC Club QB of the Year, a finalist for the 1988 AFCA "Coaches Choice" Player of the year award, and he finished third for the 1988 Heisman Trophy. UCLA matched the victory total from the previous season under Aikman, going 10-2 and losing only to USC and Washington State. The season culminated with a 17-3 Bruin victory over the Arkansas Razorbacks in the 1989 Cotton Bowl, which is played in Dallas. The Dallas media spent most of the Cotton Bowl week promoting Aikman as the "next quarterback of the Cowboys," and much was made of Tom Landry watching Troy Aikman practice during the Bruins' workouts at Texas Stadium. Aikman finished his career as the number two career passing leader in UCLA history.[4][5]
Professional career
Aikman was the projected No. 1 overall pick in the 1989 NFL Draft, held by the Cowboys. The franchise had fallen on hard times, going a woeful 3-13 in 1988. On February 25, 1989, new owner Jerry Jones shocked the sports world by firing the beloved Tom Landry - the only head coach the Cowboys ever had - and replacing him with Jimmy Johnson, who, to no one's surprise, took Aikman in the draft. A few months later, in the NFL's supplemental draft, Johnson surprisingly selected quarterback Steve Walsh, who had played for Johnson (and most of the new Cowboys' coaching staff) the previous two years at the University of Miami (going 23-1 as a starter and winning a national championship). However, Aikman won the job over Walsh in training camp and (although Walsh played while Aikman was injured) never relinquished it. Walsh was traded early in the 1990 season.
Johnson did not develop Aikman slowly but instead threw him into action immediately. Meanwhile, Johnson spent the entire season shuffling the depth chart trying to find players talented enough to build a winning team. As a result, Aikman was constantly trying to adjust to the styles of different players. Then in middle of the season, the team's only Pro Bowl player, running back Herschel Walker, was traded for several veteran players and draft choices. Although the trade turned out to be successful in the long run, it was devastating to the team in the 1989 season.
Aikman started his first game with a 0-28 shutout loss against the New Orleans Saints. The following week against Atlanta, Aikman threw his first touchdown pass, a 65-yard completion to Michael Irvin, but the Falcons intercepted two of his passes and won the game. The next few weeks were not any better. The Washington Commanders sacked him four times, intercepted two passes, and held him to only six completions in his first home game. Then the Giants came to Dallas and only allowed Aikman to complete one pass before knocking him out of the game with a broken finger, which sidelined him for five games. During that time, the Cowboys ended up winning their only game of the year. But when Aikman returned, he showed the league why he was worthy of being picked with the first overall choice. In a close game against the Phoenix Cardinals, he threw for NFL-rookie record 379 yards, including an 80-yard touchdown pass that gave Dallas a 20-17 lead with 1:43 left in the game. But the Cardinals came back on their next drive to win the game. With the exception of a 17-14 loss against Miami and a 35-31 loss to the Los Angeles Rams, the Cowboys never came close to winning another game for the rest of year, and were finished off with a 20-10 loss to the Green Bay Packers in their final game with Aikman throwing 4 interceptions.
Aikman finished with an 0-11 record (155 of 293 for 1,749 yards, 9 TDs, 18 INTs) as the Cowboys went 1-15. Fans and sportswriters, still reeling from Landry's firing, publicly disparaged the team's "savior." But things improved sooner than most people expected.
Aikman proved resilient, and in 1990, led the Cowboys to the brink of the playoffs, started off the year by scoring his first rushing touchdown with 1:58 left in the fourth quarter to lead his team to a 17-14 opening day win over the San Diego Chargers. He also started having more help from his teammates, as Johnson showed an uncommon ability for evaluating talent, selecting Emmitt Smith with one of the draft picks from the Walker trade, and going on to build an offensive line and a defense that would rank among the league's best. Dallas was 7-7 with two weeks to play before Aikman suffered a season-ending injury. Dallas would lose its final two games, but Aikman had shown his potential for success in the NFL. His first two seasons had been a rough adjustment. He had thrown 36 interceptions and was sacked 58 times, but had shown his reliability when the game was on the line, leading his team to victory with fourth quarter scoring drives in six different games. In those six fourth quarter rallies, he had completed 71.1% of his passes for 456 yards and 2 touchdowns with no interceptions.
In 1991, Aikman led the Cowboys to a 6-5 record in the first 11 games and had the Cowboys ahead in week 12 against undefeated Washington when he was injured. Aikman's replacement, Steve Beuerlein did not produce passing stats as good as Aikman, but led the Cowboys to wins in their last four games and a playoff win. Aikman relieved Beuerlein in the NFC Divisional Playoff against Detroit, which the Cowboys lost, 38-6. In 1991, Aikman was selected to the first of six consecutive Pro Bowls. In 1992, Aikman set career highs in completions (302), passing yards (3,445) and touchdown passes (23), and led the Cowboys to Super Bowl XXVII at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena against the Buffalo Bills. Aikman completed 22-of-30 passes for 273 yards with 4 TDs as Dallas obliterated Buffalo, 52-17. He was named Super Bowl MVP.
The next year, with Aikman having one of his best seasons posting a 99.0 passer rating, Dallas defeated the Bills again in Super Bowl XXVIII for a second straight Super Bowl title. It was widely expected that the team might win the Super Bowl at the end of the 1994 season, becoming the first team to win three consecutive titles. However, Jones and Johnson began having disputes regarding their own personal responsibility for the team's success. Jones fired Johnson and hired Barry Switzer, a former college teammate of Jones' when the two were at Arkansas. Despite the turmoil, the Cowboys almost returned to the Super Bowl but were beaten, 38-28, in the NFC Championship game by the San Francisco 49ers.
The 1995 Cowboys bounced back, going 12-4 and culminated in a record-tying fifth Super Bowl win (on January 28, 1996) beating the Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl XXX, and Aikman threw for over 3,300 yards in the regular season.
In 1997, Aikman became the first quarterback in Dallas history to have three straight 3,000-yard seasons. However, the team missed the playoffs. Switzer suffered the first losing season of his coaching career. His off-the-field woes exacerbated a bad situation, and Switzer quit following the season.
Revolving-door personnel changes plagued the Cowboys for the rest of Aikman's tenure. His pass protection failed him repeatedly as the team, stymied by the salary cap, began a decline. In 1999, Aikman was forced to prematurely depart two consecutive games due to head-related injuries. In 2000, Aikman suffered a concussion early in the season opener against Philadelphia and threw 5 interceptions in a loss to the New York Giants. On December 10, 2000, Washington Commanders linebacker LaVar Arrington hit Aikman with such force that his head literally bounced off the turf, leaving a dent in his helmet; it resulted in Aikman's 10th concussion and would end his career. The Cowboys finished the season 5-11.
After he was waived a day before he was due a $7 million/7-year contract extension, Aikman asserted he could still play but found no interested teams. He announced his retirement on April 9, 2001, a press conference notable for the volume of people he thanked. He ended his career as the Cowboys' all-time leading passer (32,942 yards). His 90 wins in the 1990s is the most by any quarterback in any decade.
