While the Dallas Cowboys are currently the most valuable sports franchise on the entire planet, just getting this team into the NFL at all proved to be a challenge, as the club's original owner and founder, Clint Murchison Jr., couldn't get the required unanimous consent he needed, as he was engaged in a rivalry with George Preston Marshall, the then-owner of the team now known as the Washington Commanders.
Murchison actually had a deal in place with Marshall in 1958 to buy Washington with the intent on moving the team to Dallas, only for Marshall to change the terms just before the contract was finalized.
But after buying the rights to the Washington theme song, the lyrics of which had been written by Marshall's wife, Murchison basically traded the rights back to Marshall to secure his vote, and thus, the Dallas Cowboys were born and officially entered the league in 1960, with Tom Landry as the head coach, Tex Schramm as the general manager, and Gil Brandt as the head of player personnel.
After failing to win a single game in their first season, the Cowboys gradually improved over the next few years, and in 1966, they battled the Green Bay Packers for the NFL Championship, which also meant playing for the right to represent the NFL against the AFL's best in what was then called the AFL-NFL World Championship Game, which we now know as the Super Bowl.
The Packers, of course, won the game and the first Super Bowl, and then again defeated Dallas in the NFL title game the following year in the famed "Ice Bowl," again going on to take the Super Bowl.
The Cowboys finally made the Super Bowl at the end of the 1970 season, the first official campaign under the AFL-NFL merger, but took a heartbreaking defeat at the hands of the then-Baltimore Colts. Dallas returned to the title game the following season and won the franchise's first championship, besting the Miami Dolphins in Super Bowl 6 by a score of 24-3. The Cowboys remained one of the league's top teams throughout the remainder of the 1970s, winning more games than any other franchise, reaching the Super Bowl three more times but only winning one of them, defeating the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl 12.
America's Team remained one of the NFC's elite in the first half of the 1980s, but the second half didn't go as smoothly, and in early 1989, the team was purchased by Jerry Jones, who famously fired Landry and Brandt, which effectively prompted Schramm to resign, at which point Jones took over control of all football operations.
Jones' former college teammate, Jimmy Johnson, was hired to replace Landry, and while the first year of the Jerry era was tough, with Dallas going just 1-15, the Cowboys quickly turned things around and won Super Bowls 27 and 28, beating the Buffalo Bills both times before Johnson stunningly stepped down, as the relationship between him and Jones had soured.
Barry Switzer was brought in, and while Dallas missed out on a three-peat by losing to the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC title game in the 1994 postseason, the franchise claimed its fifth Lombardi Trophy to close out the '95 campaign by beating the Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl 30.
Sadly for supporters but much to the delight of haters, that was the last time the Cowboys won or even appeared in the Super Bowl. Truth be told, they haven't even reached the conference championship since then. It's not that they haven't had some solid teams over the last three-plus decades, but things just haven't gone their way.
Nevertheless, from an overall standpoint, Dallas remains one of the most successful franchises in NFL history, as the Cowboys are tied for the second-most Super Bowl appearances (eight), are tied for the third-most Super Bowl wins (five), are tied for the fourth-most postseason wins (36), and have the second-best regular-season winning percentage of all time (.571).
With a legendary franchise, of course, come legendary players, and the Cowboys have certainly had their fair share over the years. And while not every legend who suited up for America's Team can make this particular list of the best to wear every single jersey number—No. 88 alone will knock a few out once we get there—but the vast majority will be seen here as we roll along. Of course, you'll also see some not-so-legendary players, as, let's face it, not every number has produced a top-tier talent.
So, without further ado, let's have a look at the best player to wear every Dallas Cowboys jersey number.
Best player to wear every Dallas Cowboys jersey number from No. 0 to No. 99
- No. 0: Well, there's literally only one option here
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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