Dallas Cowboys 50th Anniversary Team

[percyhoward]

26 years ago, when the Cowboys were celebrating their 25th season, fans voted on a 25th Anniversary Team. (The team's official website refers to 1984 as the "25th Anniversary" btw, and dc.com even put together a 9-person panel to select the Top 50 players in team history as a tribute to what it called the "50th anniversary season" in May 2009.) But enough about that mess.:grin2:

Since we're about to enter the 51st season, and no 50th anniversary team has been selected, and to my knowledge no such selection is being planned, here's my shot at first and second teams:

OFFENSE
QB
Roger Staubach 70s
Troy Aikman 90s

RB
Emmitt Smith 90s
Tony Dorsett 70s

FB
Don Perkins 60s
Daryl Johnston 90s

WR
Michael Irvin 90s
Bob Hayes 60s
Drew Pearson 70s
Tony Hill 80s

TE
Jason Witten 00s
Jay Novacek 90s

Tackles
Rayfield Wright 70s
Ralph Neely 70s
Erik Williams 90s
Flozell Adams 00s

Guards
Larry Allen 90s
John Niland 70s
Nate Newton 90s
Herb Scott 80s

C
Mark Stepnoski 90s
Andre Gurode 00s

DEFENSE
Ends
Harvey Martin 70s
Charles Haley 90s
Ed "Too Tall" Jones 80s
George Andrie 60s

Tackles
Bob Lilly 60s
Randy White 80s
La'Roi Glover 00s
Jay Ratliff 00s

Linebackers
Demarcus Ware 00s
Chuck Howley 60s
Lee Roy Jordan 70s
Ken Norton Jr. 90s
Bob Breunig 80s
Dexter Coakley 00s

CB
Deion Sanders 90s
Mel Renfro 70s
Everson Walls 80s
Cornell Green 60s

S
Cliff Harris 70s
Darren Woodson 90s
Roy Williams 00s
Charlie Waters 70s

SPECIAL TEAMS
K
Rafael Septien 80s
Toni Fritsch 70s

P
Mat McBriar 00s
Mike Saxon 80s

KR
Mel Renfro 60s
Kevin Williams 90s

PR
Deion Sanders 90s
Bob Hayes 60s

Coach
Tom Landry
Jimmy Johnson

 

[The Emperor]

26 years ago, when the Cowboys were celebrating their 25th season, fans voted on a 25th Anniversary Team. (The team's official website refers to 1984 as the "25th Anniversary" btw, and dc.com even put together a 9-person panel to select the Top 50 players in team history as a tribute to what it called the "50th anniversary season" in May 2009.) But enough about that mess.

No, let's talk about that.

To me, the "50 years" makes sense because I live, breath, and consume Dallas Cowboys football year-round. There is no off-season for me. I don't do the Cowboys from August to January. I do the Cowboys every day of the week for the whole year. Do you understand where I'm coming from?

So, for me, as long as I've been a fan at 22 years (almost wrote "yards") old, I've been a fan for 17 years. I know that's 18 seasons, but I don't follow this team during the season. I follow them all year.

Leave that celebration of 50 "seasons" to those candy-arse franchises like the Vikings, Oilers, Bills, and Chiefs -- clowns that can't win a Super Bowl, and if they have, they can't even play in the frickin' conference championship game for the trophy that bears their founder's name. If I were a fan of those teams, yeah, I'd only want to think of the team in terms of "seasons," because I thought of the team in terms of "years," I'd think of all the time I wasted watching these clowns.

Anyway, the years thing makes sense to me. Heck, I wouldn't mind if they celebrated 50 seasons last year. Celebrate them both. I don't care. I'm just saying the 50 years thing makes sense to me.

 

[Number82]

26 years ago, when the Cowboys were celebrating their 25th season, fans voted on a 25th Anniversary Team. (The team's official website refers to 1984 as the "25th Anniversary" btw, and dc.com even put together a 9-person panel to select the Top 50 players in team history as a tribute to what it called the "50th anniversary season" in May 2009.) But enough about that mess.:grin2:

Since we're about to enter the 51st season, and no 50th anniversary team has been selected, and to my knowledge no such selection is being planned, here's my shot at first and second teams:

OFFENSE
QB
Roger Staubach 70s
Troy Aikman 90s

RB
Emmitt Smith 90s
Tony Dorsett 70s

FB
Don Perkins 60s
Daryl Johnston 90s

WR
Michael Irvin 90s
Bob Hayes 60s
Drew Pearson 70s
Tony Hill 80s

TE
Jason Witten 00s
Jay Novacek 90s

Tackles
Rayfield Wright 70s
Ralph Neely 70s
Erik Williams 90s
Flozell Adams 00s

Guards
Larry Allen 90s
John Niland 70s
Nate Newton 90s
Herb Scott 80s

C
Mark Stepnoski 90s
Andre Gurode 00s

DEFENSE
Ends
Harvey Martin 70s
Charles Haley 90s
Ed "Too Tall" Jones 80s
George Andrie 60s

Tackles
Bob Lilly 60s
Randy White 80s
La'Roi Glover 00s
Jay Ratliff 00s

Linebackers
Demarcus Ware 00s
Chuck Howley 60s
Lee Roy Jordan 70s
Ken Norton Jr. 90s
Bob Breunig 80s
Dexter Coakley 00s

CB
Deion Sanders 90s
Mel Renfro 70s
Everson Walls 80s
Cornell Green 60s

S
Cliff Harris 70s
Darren Woodson 90s
Roy Williams 00s
Charlie Waters 70s

SPECIAL TEAMS
K
Rafael Septien 80s
Toni Fritsch 70s

P
Mat McBriar 00s
Mike Saxon 80s

KR
Mel Renfro 60s
Kevin Williams 90s

PR
Deion Sanders 90s
Bob Hayes 60s

Coach
Tom Landry
Jimmy Johnson

Solid list, although, without doing the research, there's gotta be a better LBs and OTs than Flozell & Coakley.

Tuieni (sp?) vs. Flozell??

Coakley vs. Dat Nguyen. Coakley was my favorite player on those bad years, but I think Nguyen was a better player.

Hollywood Henderson maybe?

 

[percyhoward]

Solid list, although, without doing the research, there's gotta be a better LBs and OTs than Flozell & Coakley.

Tuieni (sp?) vs. Flozell??

Coakley vs. Dat Nguyen. Coakley was my favorite player on those bad years, but I think Nguyen was a better player.

Hollywood Henderson maybe?

Flozell outnumbered Tui in Pro Bowls 5 to 2. Maybe Flo didn't deserve all 5, but I can't think of anybody else as the 4th-best tackle except Pat Donovan.

I liked Dat a lot, and could easily switch him for Coakley. Hollywood is a just a case of what might have been.

 

[bbgun]

Flozell outnumbered Tui in Pro Bowls 5 to 2. Maybe Flo didn't deserve all 5, but I can't think of anybody else as the 4th-best tackle except Pat Donovan.

I think he went a couple of times as an injury replacement. Gotta omit those.

 

[Zaxor]

hard to argue at all with the list I might look at Ray Donaldson at Center

 

[percyhoward]

hard to argue at all with the list I might look at Ray Donaldson at Center

He may have been a better center than either Stepnoski or Gurode, but only played two years with Dallas.

 

[RS12]

I like Pat Donovan over Ralph Neely. Jethro Pugh over LaRoi Glover. How is RW the safety even on the team? When Woody retired so did he.

 

[HoosierCowboy]

I would have Pugh over Glover and DuPree as my second tight end--and i would not have D. Sanders anywhere on my team

 

[percyhoward]

I like Pat Donovan over Ralph Neely. Jethro Pugh over LaRoi Glover. How is RW the safety even on the team? When Woody retired so did he.

Can't argue with Pugh, as he was most likely the best Cowboy never to make the Pro Bowl. Your other points need some scrutinizing.

Neely was a 4-time All-Pro who made the All-Decade team.

Which four safeties were better than Williams?

 

[AdamJT13]

WR
Michael Irvin 90s
Bob Hayes 60s
Drew Pearson 70s
Tony Hill 80s

I have a feeling that Hill is going to get nudged off that list within a few years.

 

[RS12]

Can't argue with Pugh, as he was most likely the best Cowboy never to make the Pro Bowl. Your other points need some scrutinizing.

Neely was a 4-time All-Pro who made the All-Decade team.

Which four safeties were better than Williams?

Like you said Flozell had five PB's not all deserved. Maybe I caught Neely towards the end of his career but he seemed to get alot of holding penalties at critical times. I like Michael Downs over RW the safety. RW was toast on coverage most of his career.

 

[percyhoward]

I have a feeling that Hill is going to get nudged off that list within a few years.

You're not alone. I feel changes in the wind at CB and DT too.

 

[popcorn]

Please remove Septien from the list. As far as I'm concerned he was never a Cowboy.

 

[DallasCowboysRule!]

K
Rafael Septien 80s
Toni Fritsch 70s

I'd watch your back from now on for you are surely on Buehler's list.

 

[lurkercowboy]

Larry Cole or Pugh instead of Glover. Glover just didn't play enough seasons with the Cowboys to be on the all-time team.

 

[jobberone]

It's a sad day when Cornell Green is on the second team but I agree with the CBs.

 

[jobberone]

Larry Cole or Pugh instead of Glover. Glover just didn't play enough seasons with the Cowboys to be on the all-time team.

Pugh is an undervalued player.

 

[percyhoward]

Anybody care to venture a guess as to why Jerry didn't do a 50th Anniversary Team this year?

I'm stumped.

 

[AdamJT13]

You're not alone. I feel changes in the wind at CB and DT too.

Change at DT? Ratliff is already on the team, and he's certainly not going to challenge Lilly or White anytime soon, if ever.

And Newman and Jenkins have a long way to go to match any of the four cornerbacks on the list.