10 memorable events at Texas Stadium
The Associated Press
3:27 PM EST, December 18, 2008
A look back at 10 memorable events at Texas Stadium (in chronological order), which will host the final Dallas Cowboys game on Saturday night against the Ravens:
1. The opener (Oct. 24, 1971) -- Problems with weather and workers kept the Cowboys from moving in until their third home game. It was worth the wait. Duane Thomas ran 56 yards for an early touchdown, Bob Lilly helped the defense make an early goal-line stand while wearing only one shoe, and the Cowboys beat the Patriots 44-21. They lost on the road the next week, then didn't lose again en route to their first Super Bowl title.
2. Clint Longley's Thanksgiving surprise (Nov. 28, 1974) -- "The Mad Bomber," a rookie from Abilene Christian, became Roger Staubach's backup when Craig Morton was traded in October. He came in to throw his first NFL pass when the Redskins lived up to their vow of knocking out Staubach; it was the third quarter and Dallas trailed 16-3. Longley pulled out a 24-23 victory with a 50-yard touchdown pass to Drew Pearson with 28 seconds left.
3. Staubach's last, best rally (Dec. 16, 1979) -- The Cowboys, Redskins and Eagles were tied for first place in the NFC East, with Washington coming in for the finale. Dallas trailed 17-0, led 21-20, then trailed 34-21 when injured star Charlie Waters told radio listeners, "You've got to believe!" Staubach threw a TD pass, then the defense got the ball back. Staubach drove 75 yards without a timeout, throwing a TD pass for a 35-34 lead with 39 seconds left. Washington missed a field goal as time expired. This turned out to be the final regular-season home game of Staubach's career.
4. Tom Landry Appreciation Day (April 22, 1989) -- The man in the hat, under the hole in the roof, one more time. Two months after his firing, he's celebrated with a parade that starts downtown and ends inside the stadium. Landry worried no one would show up; about 100,000 did, all told. He didn't return to the stadium until going into the Ring of Honor in 1993; there's now also a statue of him outside Gate 1.
5. Leon Lett's snowy Thanksgiving blunder (Nov. 25, 1993) -- Already infamous for getting the ball stripped from behind at the goal line at the end of a long fumble return during the Super Bowl, Lett made a bigger gaffe on a blocked field goal at the end of a game played in a snowstorm. The ball would've been dead unless touched by a Dallas player, and Lett slid right into it. Miami recovered and kicked a field goal for a 16-14 victory.
6. "Put it in 3-inch headlines" (Jan. 23, 1994) -- Days before San Francisco came to Texas Stadium for a rematch of the previous year's NFC championship game, coach Jimmy Johnson called a popular sports talk radio show and proclaimed, "You can put it in 3-inch headlines. We will win the ballgame." They did, too, jumping ahead 28-7 by halftime on the way to a 38-21 victory. Troy Aikman was knocked out with a concussion in the second half. Asked on the sideline if he knew where the Super Bowl was going to be played, he said, "Henryetta, Oklahoma."
7. "I've done wet my britches" (Nov. 26, 1994) -- The state semifinal playoff game between Plano East and John Tyler was memorable enough for the 34 points scored in the final 3:03, but most people remember it for the colorful, folksy broadcasters and their homespun lines on a local cable channel. Down 41-17, Plano East went ahead with four touchdowns, three set up by recovered onside kicks. The next kickoff went deep and John Tyler returned it for a touchdown and a 48-44 victory. The game finished too late to make the morning papers, but the wild ending and the hilarious analysts guaranteed the game would never be forgotten.
8. T.O. defaces the star, George Teague defends it (Sept. 24, 2000) -- Playing for the 49ers, Terrell Owens celebrated a 3-yard touchdown by jogging to midfield, looking up through the hole and throwing out his arms. Emmitt Smith mocked him following a touchdown of his own, then T.O. went back for more after his next touchdown -- only to get taken down from behind by Cowboys safety George Teague. Teague was ejected (and deified locally). Nobody ever would've imagined Owens becoming a fan favorite in Dallas after San Francisco's 41-24 victory.
9. Emmitt's record-breaking run (Oct. 27, 2002) -- With an 11-yard run against Seattle, Smith passed Walter Payton to become the NFL's career rushing leader, accomplishing a goal he set at the start of his career, when people were saying he was too small and too slow to make it in the league. The record fell in the fourth quarter with his 93rd yard of the game; otherwise, he likely would've broken the mark in Detroit the following week. Forgotten is that Dallas lost 17-14.
10. Romo-mania peaks (Nov. 23, 2006) -- Tony Romo already was off to such a storybook start that before his first Thanksgiving start some fans strung his name together and hung it in the Ring of Honor. Then he lived up to it by throwing for five touchdowns in three quarters of a 38-10 victory over Tampa Bay. He ended up dating the halftime star, Carrie Underwood, while impressing another singer in the crowd, Jessica Simpson.
Other notables: Pro Bowl (Jan. 1973); SMU's "Pony Express" backfield of Eric Dickerson and Craig James vying for national titles (1981-82); Kerry Von Erich wrestling Ric Flair before 43,000 (May 1984); the "Bounty Bowl" (Nov. 1989); Jason Garrett beating the Packers (Thanksgiving 1994); Emmitt vs. Barry Sanders on a Monday night (Sept. 1995); Randy Moss shows the Cowboys what they could've had (Thanksgiving 1998); the "Pickle Juice Game" (Sept. 2000); Donovan McNabb's 14-second scramble and long heave to Freddie Mitchell (Nov. 2004); and Santana Moss spoils "The Triplets" going into the Ring of Honor (Sept. 2005).
3:27 PM EST, December 18, 2008
A look back at 10 memorable events at Texas Stadium (in chronological order), which will host the final Dallas Cowboys game on Saturday night against the Ravens:
1. The opener (Oct. 24, 1971) -- Problems with weather and workers kept the Cowboys from moving in until their third home game. It was worth the wait. Duane Thomas ran 56 yards for an early touchdown, Bob Lilly helped the defense make an early goal-line stand while wearing only one shoe, and the Cowboys beat the Patriots 44-21. They lost on the road the next week, then didn't lose again en route to their first Super Bowl title.
2. Clint Longley's Thanksgiving surprise (Nov. 28, 1974) -- "The Mad Bomber," a rookie from Abilene Christian, became Roger Staubach's backup when Craig Morton was traded in October. He came in to throw his first NFL pass when the Redskins lived up to their vow of knocking out Staubach; it was the third quarter and Dallas trailed 16-3. Longley pulled out a 24-23 victory with a 50-yard touchdown pass to Drew Pearson with 28 seconds left.
3. Staubach's last, best rally (Dec. 16, 1979) -- The Cowboys, Redskins and Eagles were tied for first place in the NFC East, with Washington coming in for the finale. Dallas trailed 17-0, led 21-20, then trailed 34-21 when injured star Charlie Waters told radio listeners, "You've got to believe!" Staubach threw a TD pass, then the defense got the ball back. Staubach drove 75 yards without a timeout, throwing a TD pass for a 35-34 lead with 39 seconds left. Washington missed a field goal as time expired. This turned out to be the final regular-season home game of Staubach's career.
4. Tom Landry Appreciation Day (April 22, 1989) -- The man in the hat, under the hole in the roof, one more time. Two months after his firing, he's celebrated with a parade that starts downtown and ends inside the stadium. Landry worried no one would show up; about 100,000 did, all told. He didn't return to the stadium until going into the Ring of Honor in 1993; there's now also a statue of him outside Gate 1.
5. Leon Lett's snowy Thanksgiving blunder (Nov. 25, 1993) -- Already infamous for getting the ball stripped from behind at the goal line at the end of a long fumble return during the Super Bowl, Lett made a bigger gaffe on a blocked field goal at the end of a game played in a snowstorm. The ball would've been dead unless touched by a Dallas player, and Lett slid right into it. Miami recovered and kicked a field goal for a 16-14 victory.
6. "Put it in 3-inch headlines" (Jan. 23, 1994) -- Days before San Francisco came to Texas Stadium for a rematch of the previous year's NFC championship game, coach Jimmy Johnson called a popular sports talk radio show and proclaimed, "You can put it in 3-inch headlines. We will win the ballgame." They did, too, jumping ahead 28-7 by halftime on the way to a 38-21 victory. Troy Aikman was knocked out with a concussion in the second half. Asked on the sideline if he knew where the Super Bowl was going to be played, he said, "Henryetta, Oklahoma."
7. "I've done wet my britches" (Nov. 26, 1994) -- The state semifinal playoff game between Plano East and John Tyler was memorable enough for the 34 points scored in the final 3:03, but most people remember it for the colorful, folksy broadcasters and their homespun lines on a local cable channel. Down 41-17, Plano East went ahead with four touchdowns, three set up by recovered onside kicks. The next kickoff went deep and John Tyler returned it for a touchdown and a 48-44 victory. The game finished too late to make the morning papers, but the wild ending and the hilarious analysts guaranteed the game would never be forgotten.
8. T.O. defaces the star, George Teague defends it (Sept. 24, 2000) -- Playing for the 49ers, Terrell Owens celebrated a 3-yard touchdown by jogging to midfield, looking up through the hole and throwing out his arms. Emmitt Smith mocked him following a touchdown of his own, then T.O. went back for more after his next touchdown -- only to get taken down from behind by Cowboys safety George Teague. Teague was ejected (and deified locally). Nobody ever would've imagined Owens becoming a fan favorite in Dallas after San Francisco's 41-24 victory.
9. Emmitt's record-breaking run (Oct. 27, 2002) -- With an 11-yard run against Seattle, Smith passed Walter Payton to become the NFL's career rushing leader, accomplishing a goal he set at the start of his career, when people were saying he was too small and too slow to make it in the league. The record fell in the fourth quarter with his 93rd yard of the game; otherwise, he likely would've broken the mark in Detroit the following week. Forgotten is that Dallas lost 17-14.
10. Romo-mania peaks (Nov. 23, 2006) -- Tony Romo already was off to such a storybook start that before his first Thanksgiving start some fans strung his name together and hung it in the Ring of Honor. Then he lived up to it by throwing for five touchdowns in three quarters of a 38-10 victory over Tampa Bay. He ended up dating the halftime star, Carrie Underwood, while impressing another singer in the crowd, Jessica Simpson.
Other notables: Pro Bowl (Jan. 1973); SMU's "Pony Express" backfield of Eric Dickerson and Craig James vying for national titles (1981-82); Kerry Von Erich wrestling Ric Flair before 43,000 (May 1984); the "Bounty Bowl" (Nov. 1989); Jason Garrett beating the Packers (Thanksgiving 1994); Emmitt vs. Barry Sanders on a Monday night (Sept. 1995); Randy Moss shows the Cowboys what they could've had (Thanksgiving 1998); the "Pickle Juice Game" (Sept. 2000); Donovan McNabb's 14-second scramble and long heave to Freddie Mitchell (Nov. 2004); and Santana Moss spoils "The Triplets" going into the Ring of Honor (Sept. 2005).
posted by The Gryphon at 6:19 PM
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