Best Dallas Cowboys player to wear No. 66 stepped up when it mattered most

Welcome back to our series covering the best Dallas Cowboys players to wear every jersey number from No. 0 to No. 99.

We're now basically two-thirds of the way through our journey, and we've got one of the top defensive players in the early years of the franchise here at No. 66, one who helped turn the Cowboys from a lowly expansion team into one of the top title contenders in the league.

But before we get to the reveal, of course, let's first have a look at every players who's donned the double sixes for Dallas over the years.

George Andrie, DE
Jesse Baker, DE
T.J. Bass, G
Ken Bishop, DT
Ben Fricke, C/G
Clifton Geathers, DE
Kevin Gogan, OL
Ed Husmann, DT
Tony Hutson, G
Tank Johnson, DT
Burton Lawless, G
Connor McGovern, OL
Jeremy McKinney, G
Lewis Neal, DE
Jay Ratliff, DE
Jimmy Saddler-McQueen, DT
Brian Schaefering, DT
Chris Schultz, OT
Norm Wells, DT

Outside of our official selection, there are a couple of other notable names on this list, one being four-time Pro Bowl defensive end Jay Ratliff. But as he only wore No. 66 as a rookie in 2005 before switching to his more familiar No. 90, he was never genuinely in consideration for the runner-up slot.

As such, that honor goes to versatile offensive lineman Kevin Gogan, who split his time between guard and tackle and started 75 of the 103 games in which he appeared for America's Team during his seven-season run with the club from 1987 to 1993, the last two campaigns of which resulted in a Lombardi Trophy.

But our choice here was never in question, as the clear-cut call at No. 66 is defensive end George Andrie.

George Andrie had the most sacks in Dallas Cowboys history when he retired

Andrie had a solid collegiate career at Marquette, leading the team in receiving yards out of the slotback position in both his sophomore and junior seasons in 1959 and 1960, while also being among the team leaders in tackles on the other side of the ball as a defensive end.

Ahead of his senior season, however, the university cut the football program, at which point he considered transferring to Tulsa. Instead, though, he simply stayed on campus to finish his degree, but kept himself in shape just in case he had a future in football at the professional level.

And Andrie ultimately had his choice of futures, as he was taken by Dallas in the sixth round of the 1962 NFL Draft with the 82nd overall selection, while also being picked by the San Diego Chargers in the 12th round of the 1962 AFL Draft at No. 96 overall.

The 6-foot-6, 250-pounder opted to join the Cowboys, who were just three seasons old as a franchise at that time, and made an immediate impact, winning the starting role at right defensive end and racking up 7.0 sacks en route to earning All-Rookie Team honors.

Yes, we're aware that sacks didn't become an official stat until 1982, but as the fine folks at Pro Football Reference went back and tallied everything dating back to 1960, those are the numbers you'll see here. But I digress.

Tom Landry moved Andrie to the left side of the line in 1964, and while he had a strong season, recording a then-career-best 12.5 sacks, he moved back to the right side in 1965 alongside Bob Lilly, and his career, the group that came to be known as the "Doomsday Defense," and the Cowboys organization as a whole just skyrocketed from there.

In the five-year stretch from 1965 to 1969, Andrie earned five consecutive trips to the Pro Bowl, as well as a Second-Team All-Pro selection in 1967.

That '67 campaign, of course, saw Dallas take on the Green Bay Packers in the NFL Championship Game for the second straight season, with this second matchup being the famed "Ice Bowl" at Lambeau Field, a contest during which Andrie picked up a Bart Starr fumble in the second quarter that got the Cowboys on the scoreboard.

Dallas took a loss that day, but Andrie certainly wasn't done showing out in big games.

In the Cowboys' first Super Bowl appearance to close out the 1970 season, he hit Baltimore Colts quarterback Johnny Unitas so hard that the three-time NFL MVP had to leave the game, but Dallas was unfortunately unable to capitalize in a heartbreaking 16-13 loss.

A year later, facing the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Championship Game, he intercepted John Brodie in the second quarter and ran the ball back to the Niners' 2-yard line, setting up a Calvin Hill touchdown run that ultimately proved to be the game-wnning score, as Dallas went on to a 14-3 victory. The Cowboys then went on to win the first title in team history with an easy 24-3 win over the Miami Dolphins in Super Bowl 6.

Andrie was limited to just three games in 1972 and opted to retire following that season after battling back problems. In his 11 seasons with the Cowboys, he tallied 98.5 sacks, which were the most of any Dallas player ever at the time of his retirement and remain the fifth-most in franchise history.

Other players of that original version of the aforementioned "Doomsday Defense" may get more overall recognition, but Andrie was undoubtedly a big piece of that puzzle, and you can see why it was so easy to award him this title of the best Cowboys player to wear No. 66.

Other Dallas Cowboys jersey honorees

This list will be updated daily until all 100 entries are complete, so please be sure to bookmark this page or check back in with The Landry Hat for updates.

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George Andrie had the most sacks in Dallas Cowboys history when he retired

Other Dallas Cowboys jersey honorees

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