The Dallas Cowboys have a glorious history when it comes to their success in the NFL. While they have struggled in the last two decades, they have a ton of NFL Hall of Fame players and a number of Super Bowl championships in their history. They are now putting their franchise in the hands of a young 24-year-old quarterback named Dak Prescott, who feels that he has a lot to offer the Cowboys organization. With that said, Prescott turned some heads when he talked to reporters at the Cowboys’ Reliant Home Run Derby this past week. According to Prescott, his goal is to become the best quarterback that the Dallas Cowboys ever had.
The ‘60s for the Cowboys
That is a huge statement as the Dallas Cowboys have had superstar names at quarterback since the franchise started back in 1960. Their first quarterback was Eddie LeBaron, a former Washington Redskins star that the Cowboys got in their debut season supplemental draft when the Redskins forgot to protect him from that draft. That pick was what helped kickstart the hated rivalry between Dallas and Washington, even though LeBaron retired in 1963.
The reason LeBaron retired was that the Dallas Cowboys had a man named Don Meredith who stepped up and took over leadership of the team. Meredith had the poise and attitude to really help form the idea of the Cowboys being America’s Team.
He ended up playing for Dallas from 1960 until 1968, and while it was a shorter tenure, he retired as a Cowboys legend and remains beloved by Dallas fans to this day. Craig Morton replaced him and that lasted until Dallas drafted a Navy legend.
Roger Staubach
The Dallas Cowboys drafted Roger Staubach after he won the Heisman Trophy in 1963 for Navy.
However, he served a tour of Vietnam before returning and taking the leadership role with the Dallas Cowboys. Staubach became the greatest quarterback Dallas had ever seen in short time, leading them to five Super Bowls, and winning two of them. He is one of only four players to win the Heisman Trophy and a Super Bowl MVP award.
Staubach entered the NFL Hall of Fame in 1985.
The ‘80s for the Cowboys
Danny White took Staubach’s place as the starting quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys and was great. However, the rest of the team was getting older, and despite breaking a ton of records, the Cowboys failed to reach the playoffs towards the end of White’s tenure as the quarterback. Forgettable names like Gary Hogeboom and Steve Pelluer followed and then Dallas found their next legend.
Troy Aikman
The Dallas Cowboys drafted Troy Aikman with the first overall pick in the 1989 NFL Draft. He joined new head coach Jimmy Johnson, 1988 draft pick Michael Irvin and 1990 draft pick Emmitt Smith and turned the Cowboys into winners again.
Behind these men, the Cowboys won three Super Bowls in four seasons and Aikman was a large part of that. Aikman entered the NFL Hall of Fame in 2006.
The Cowboys last two decades
The best name to come to Dallas since Aikman retired in 2000 is Tony Romo. While Romo was unable to lead the Dallas Cowboys to any Super Bowl appearances, he was easily one of the top quarterbacks in the NFL when not injured. The fact that he followed names like Quincy Carter, Chad Hutchinson, Vinny Testaverde and an aging Drew Bledsoe made Romo look even better. Romo ended up actually losing his job to Dak Prescott – something that never happened to Don Meredith, Roger Staubach or Troy Aikman. However, id Dak wants to surpass those names, he has a lot to accomplish on the field.