..the quintessential moment the Cowboys became a team with a threat..
up until then..the team had no stars and had no glamour.
This would be the summer of '65 and Bob Hayes was just a rookie. I think it was the Salesmanship Club Game against the then World Champion Green Bay Packers.
I was about 10 years old.
As I remember, the crowd at the Cotton Bowl was there to see Hayes play and he didn't disappoint. About the middle of the second period he blew by the Packers secondary and Meredith lofted a deep throw about 10 yards past the secondary for a TD.
Hayes was light years past the defenders. He gathered in the pass and covered the last 20-30 years with ease. The crowd went crazy..we all jumped to our feet and high fived and back slapped each other..being complete strangers.
Later in the game, he also returned a long punt return and almost broke it for a TD.
Everybody just went crazy.
Walking back to our car, everybody was talking about Hayes and his legend had begun. Pocket radios were blaring as people as they were walking were leaning in to hear the post-game interviews.
It was a magic moment. As a fan..it was like finding the Holy Grail. And Hayes became one of the most feared receivers in football.
Oh happy day.
ReDBaLL ExPrESS
