Customer Reviews:
 Superb breadth of coverage in few pages; awesome glossy photos February 2, 2008
Fred Goodwin (San Antonio, TX)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Review: The History of the Dallas Cowboys
Hawkes, Brian. The History of the Dallas Cowboys (NFL Today). Mankato, MN: Creative Education, 2005. HB, 48p, illus. list: 27.10 ISBN: 1-58341-294-8
This thin volume is heavy on photography and light on text. The device of adding "graininess" to some of the images evokes antique photos from the 60s, when the Dallas Cowboys were struggling to reach .500. But even in a few pages, the author does a great job of covering the hi-lights of the history of this storied franchise.
Hawkes accurately summarizes the struggles of those Cowboys teams, from the NFL awarding the franchise to owner Clint Murchison, to the hiring of GM Tex Schramm and head coach Tom Landry, to the deal-making that led to the acquisitions of QB Don Meredith and FB Don Perkins without the benefit of a college draft (the franchise was awarded after the NFL draft).
The Cowboys fought hard under the leadership of diminutive QB Eddie LeBaron, but didn't win consistently until Meredith took over. Still, the Cowboys lost two straight NFL Championships to the Green Bay Packers, and could not win "The Big One" until after Meredith retired and Roger Staubach took over at QB.
With Roger "the Dodger" at the controls, the Cowboys played in five Super Bowls in the 70s (winning two) and was the winningest team of the decade, earning for themselves the title of "America's Team".
The winning ways continued after Staubach's retirement in 1979 -- with QB Danny White and RB Tony Dorsett leading the way, the Cowboys played in three straight NFC championship games to open the decade of the 80s, but again, the Cowboys could not finish the seasons with a championship. The worst was yet to come, as the Cowboys finished the decade with losing records every year from 1986-1989.
A new era dawned when Jerry Jones bought the Cowboys in April, 1989. Even though the Cowboys went 1-15 in 1989, changes were underway. Jimmy Johnson replaced the legendary Tom Landry as head coach, and quickly turned the team around. Johnson traded star RB Herschel Walker to the Vikings for a bevy of players and draft picks.
Jones and Johnson parlayed those choices into three Super Bowl championships in the early 90s. Led by the dynamic "Triplets" of WR Michael Irvin, QB Troy Aikman, and RB Emmitt Smith, the Cowboys dominated the 90s, but again finished the decade on a down note, making the playoffs but not advancing.
After finishing 5-11 in 2002, Jones hired Bill Parcells as head coach, and he immediately turned the team around, leading them to a 10-6 finish in 2003. The Cowboys looked poised to once again be successful in the 2000s.
© Fred Goodwin, February 2, 2008
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