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Tom Landry

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Tom Landry
refer to caption
Landry in January 1997
No. 85, 49
Position:Safety
Punter
Personal information
Born:(1924-09-11)September 11, 1924
Mission, Texas, U.S.
Died:February 12, 2000(2000-02-12) (aged 75)
Dallas, Texas, U.S.
Height:6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Weight:195 lb (88 kg)
Career information
High school:Mission
College:Texas (1946–1948)
NFL draft:1947 / round: 20 / pick: 184
Career history
As a player:
As a coach:
Career highlights and awards
As a player
As a head coach
As an assistant coach
Career AAFC/NFL statistics
Punts:389
Punting yards:15,900
Punting average:40.9
Longest punt:69
Interceptions:32
Interception yards:404
Fumble recoveries:10
Defensive touchdowns:5
Stats at Pro Football Reference
Head coaching record
Regular season:250–162–6 (.605)
Postseason:20–16 (.556)
Career:270–178–6 (.601)
Military career
Allegiance United States
Service / branchUnited States Army Air Corp seal U.S. Army Air Corps
Years of service1942–1945
Rank Second Lieutenant
Unit
Battles / wars
Record at Pro Football Reference
Pro Football Hall of Fame

Thomas Wade Landry (September 11, 1924 – February 12, 2000) was an American professional football coach, player, and World War II veteran. Regarded as one of the greatest head coaches of all time,[1] he was the first head coach of the Dallas Cowboys in the National Football League (NFL), a position he held for 29 seasons. During his coaching career, he created many new formations and methods, such as the now default 4–3 defense that is used by a majority of teams in the NFL, and the "flex defense" system made famous by the "Doomsday Defense" squads he built during his tenure with the Cowboys. His 29 consecutive years from 1960 to 1988 as the coach of one team is an NFL record,[A] along with his 20 consecutive winning seasons, which is considered to be his most impressive professional accomplishment.

In addition to his record 20 consecutive winning seasons from 1966 to 1985, Landry won two Super Bowl titles in Super Bowl VI and XII,[2] five NFC titles, and 13 divisional titles. He compiled a 270–178–6 record, the fourth-most wins all-time for an NFL coach, and his 20 career playoff victories are the third-most of any coach in NFL history. Landry was also named the NFL Coach of the Year in 1966 and the NFC Coach of the Year in 1975.

From 1966 to 1982, a span of 17 years, Dallas played in 12 NFL or NFC Championship games. Furthermore, the Cowboys appeared in 10 NFC Championship games in the 13-year span from 1970 to 1982. Leading the Cowboys to three Super Bowl appearances in four years between 1975 and 1978, and five in nine years between 1970 and 1978, along with being on television more than any other NFL team, resulted in the Cowboys receiving the label of "America's Team", a title Landry did not appreciate because he felt it would bring on extra motivation from the rest of the league to compete with the Cowboys. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1990 as a head coach.

Early life

[edit]

Born in Mission, Texas, to Ray (an auto mechanic and volunteer fireman) and Ruth (Coffman) Landry, Tom was the second of four children (Robert, Tom, Ruthie, and Jack).[3] Landry's father had suffered from rheumatism, and relocated to the warmer climate of Texas from Illinois.[4] Ray Landry was an athlete, making his mark locally as a pitcher and football player.[5] Tom played quarterback and punter for Mission High School, where he led his team to a 12–0 record in his senior season.[3] The Mission High School football stadium is named Tom Landry Stadium and is home to the Mission Eagles and Mission Patriots which also bears the Pro Football Hall of Fame logo.

Landry attended the University of Texas at Austin as an industrial engineering major. Landry had given thought to enrolling at Mississippi State University, where his friend John Tripson was an All-American, but did not want to be far away from his friends and family in Texas. The main driving force in keeping him from enrolling at Mississippi State University was the notion that it would be too long a travel for his parents to see him play college football.[5]

U.S. Army Air Corps

[edit]

He interrupted his education after a semester to serve in the United States Army Air Corps during World War II. Landry was inspired to join the armed forces by his brother Robert Landry, who had enlisted in the Army Air Corps after the attack on Pearl Harbor. While ferrying a B-17 over to England, Robert Landry's plane had gone down over the North Atlantic, close to Iceland. Several weeks passed before the Army was able to officially declare Robert Landry dead.[5] Landry began his basic training at Sheppard Field near Wichita Falls, Texas (now Sheppard AFB), and his preflight training at Kelly Field (now Kelly Field), located near San Antonio, Texas. Landry's first experience as a bomber pilot was a tough one. A few minutes after takeoff, Landry noticed that the pilot seemed to be working furiously, causing him to realize that the plane's engine had died. Despite this experience, Landry was committed to flying. At the age of 19, Landry was transferred to Sioux City, Iowa, where he trained as a copilot on the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress heavy bomber. In 1944, Landry got his orders, and from Sioux City he went to Liverpool, England, where he was assigned to the Eighth Air Force, in Ipswich.[5] Landry earned his wings and a commission as a Second Lieutenant at Lubbock Army Air Field, and was assigned to the 493d Bombardment Group at RAF Debach, England, in the 860th Bombardment Squadron. From November 1944 to April 1945, he completed a combat tour of 26[6] missions, (his entire crew went on 29 missions and Landry did not go on 3 of them), he also survived a crash landing in Belgium after his bomber ran out of fuel.[7]


He returned to his studies at the University of Texas in the fall of 1946.[7] On the football team, he played fullback and defensive back on the Texas Longhorns' bowl game winners on New Year's Day of 1948 and 1949. At UT, he was a member of the Texas Cowboys and Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity (Omega Chi chapter). He received his bachelor's degree from UT in 1949. In 1952, he earned a master's degree in industrial engineering from the University of Houston.[8]

Playing career

[edit]

Landry was selected in the 19th round (128th overall) of the 1948 AAFC Draft. He played one season in the All-America Football Conference for the New York Yankees, then moved in 1950 across town to the New York Giants.

Landry was also selected by the New York Giants in the 20th round (184th overall) of the 1947 NFL draft.

After the 1949 season, the AAFC folded, and the Yankees were not among the teams absorbed by the NFL. The New York Giants exercised their territorial rights and selected Landry in a dispersal draft. Under the guidance of Giants head coach Steve Owen, Landry got his first taste of coaching. Instead of explaining the 6–1–4 defense to the players, Owen called Landry up to the front, and asked him to explain the defense to his teammates. Landry got up, and explained what the defense would do to counter the offense, and this became Landry's first coaching experience. The 1953 season would be a season to forget, with the lowest point coming in a 62–10 loss at the hands of the Cleveland Browns. This loss would ultimately cost Coach Owen his job, and would again have Landry pondering his future.[9] In 1954, he was selected as an All-Pro. He played through the 1955 season, and acted as a player-assistant coach the last two years, 1954 through 1955, under the guidance of new Giants head coach Jim Lee Howell. Landry ended his playing career with 32 interceptions in only 80 games, which he returned for 404 yards and three touchdowns. He also recovered 10 fumbles (seven defensive), returning them for 67 yards and two touchdowns.

Landry on a 1955 Bowman football card

Career statistics

[edit]
Led the NFL
Led the AAFC
Special teams
Year Team G Punting Kick returns Punt returns
Punts Yards Avg Long Block KR Yards Avg TD PR Yards Avg TD
1949 NY Yankees 12 51 2,249 44.1 – 2 2 39 19.5 0 3 52 17.3 0
1950 NY Giants 10 58 2,136 36.8 61 1 – – – – – – – –
1951 NY Giants 12 15 638 42.5 59 0 1 0 0.0 0 1 0 0.0 0
1952 NY Giants 12 82 3,363 41.0 61 1 1 20 20.0 0 10 88 8.8 0
1953 NY Giants 12 44 1,772 40.3 60 0 2 38 19.0 0 1 5 5.0 0
1954 NY Giants 12 64 2,720 42.5 61 0 – – – – – – – –
1955 NY Giants 12 75 3,022 40.3 69 1 – – – – – – – –
Career (1949–1955) 82 389 15,900 40.9 69 5 6 97 16.2 0 15 145 9.7 0
AAFC stats (1949) 12 51 2,249 44.1 – 2 2 39 19.5 0 3 52 17.3 0
NFL stats (1950–55) 70 338 13,651 40.4 69 3 4 58 14.5 0 12 93 7.8 0

Coaching career

[edit]

For the 1954 football season, Landry became the defensive coordinator for the Giants, opposite Vince Lombardi, who was the offensive coordinator. Landry stayed on as a full-time defensive coordinator after his retirement, and led one of the best defensive units in the league from 1956 to 1959. The two coaches created a fanatical loyalty on a team that they coached to three appearances in the NFL championship game in four years. The Giants beat the Paddy Driscoll-led Chicago Bears 47–7 in 1956, but lost to the Baltimore Colts in 1958 and 1959.

In 1960, he became the first head coach of the Dallas Cowboys, a position he held for 29 seasons (1960–88). The Cowboys started with difficulties, recording an 0–11–1 record during their first season, with five or fewer wins in each of their next four. Despite this early futility, in 1964, Landry was given a 10-year extension by owner Clint Murchison Jr. It would prove to be a wise move, as Landry's hard work and determination paid off, and the Cowboys improved to a 7–7 record in 1965. In 1966, they surprised the NFL by posting 10 wins and making it all the way to the NFL Championship game. Dallas lost the game to Lombardi's Green Bay Packers, but this season was but a modest display of what lay ahead.

The Great Innovator

[edit]

Landry developed the now-popular "4–3 defense" while serving as Giants defensive coordinator.[10] It was called "4–3" because it featured four down lineman (two ends and two defensive tackles on either side of the offensive center) and three linebackers – middle, left, and right. The innovation was the middle linebacker. Previously, a lineman was placed over the center. But Landry had this person stand up and move back two yards. The Giants' middle linebacker was the legendary Sam Huff.

Landry built the 4–3 defense around me. It revolutionized defense and opened the door for all the variations of zones and man-to-man coverage, which are used in conjunction with it today. —Sam Huff[11]

When he came to Dallas, Landry refined the 4–3 even further, specifically to counter Lombardi's "run to daylight" strategy. Lombardi's offense was built around sending the running back through any open space, rather than a specific assigned hole. Landry reasoned that the best counter was a defense that blotted out the daylight.[12] The result was the "Flex Defense," which assigned the defenders specific areas of the field to cover. When Landry first implemented it in 1964, fans were initially mystified when they saw the Cowboys defense not swarming to the ball. However, the skeptics were won over when ball carriers invariably ran right into the arms of one of Landry's defenders.[13] The Flex Defense worked so well that Landry had to create an offense to score on it, one which disguised an otherwise simple play with multiple formations.[14]

Landry did not always search inside the traditional college football pipeline for talent. For example, he recruited several soccer players from Latin America, such as Efren Herrera and Rafael Septién, to compete for the job of placekicker for the Cowboys. Landry looked to the world of track and field for speedy skill-position players. For example, Bob Hayes, once considered the fastest man in the world, was drafted by and played wide receiver for the Cowboys under Landry.[15]

Landry produced a very large coaching tree. In 1986, five NFL head coaches were former Landry assistants: Mike Ditka, Dan Reeves, John Mackovic, Gene Stallings, and Raymond Berry.

Coaching in the Super Bowl

[edit]
Statue of Landry outside of AT&T Stadium

While Tom Landry's Cowboys are known for their two Super Bowls against Chuck Noll and the Pittsburgh Steelers, Landry also led Dallas to three other Super Bowls, and they were a Bart Starr quarterback sneak away from representing the NFL in the second Super Bowl. Tom Landry was 2–3 in Super Bowls, winning both in New Orleans and losing all three at the Miami Orange Bowl.

Landry coached the Cowboys to their first Super Bowl win, defeating the Miami Dolphins 24–3, holding the Dolphins to a single field goal. The Cowboys won their first Super Bowl a year after losing to the Baltimore Colts. The Cowboys lost the first battle with the Steelers, in a game that is heralded as a classic. The rematch would be just as good, with the Cowboys being a Jackie Smith catch away from tying the Steelers and keeping pace early in the third quarter; instead, Pittsburgh scored twice in succession and put the game away. Before the Super Bowl XIII rematch, Cowboys linebacker Thomas "Hollywood" Henderson famously stated, "Terry Bradshaw couldn't spell c-a-t if you spotted him the C and the T." Landry recalled in his autobiography how he cringed when he heard that, because he did not feel that Bradshaw needed additional motivation in a big game like the Super Bowl.[9]

Dismissal and legacy

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During the 1980s, the Cowboys won two division championships, made five playoff appearances, and reached the NFC Championship Game in three consecutive seasons (1980–1982). However, they failed to reach the Super Bowl during the decade. The team's 1982 NFC Championship Game loss was Landry's final conference championship game appearance; the preceding week's win was his final playoff victory.

In 1984, Dallas businessman Bum Bright bought the team from Murchison. As the Cowboys suffered through progressively poorer seasons (their record falling from 10–6 in 1985 to 7–9 in 1986, 7–8 in 1987, and 3–13 in 1988), Bright became disenchanted with the team. Landry's game strategies and single-mindedness during these seasons left him open to public criticism.[16]

Landry signed a three-year contract in the summer of 1987. However, general manager Tex Schramm brought in Paul Hackett as a new offensive coach in 1986, and in 1987, he hired offensive line coach Jim Erkenbeck and special-teams coach Mike Solari. Some[who?] suggested that Schramm's moves divided the coaching staff, a plan to first undermine and then dismiss Landry. Bright, who usually stayed behind the scenes, publicly criticized Landry after a home loss to the Atlanta Falcons in 1987, saying that he was "horrified" at the play-calling and complaining, "It doesn't seem like we've got anybody in charge who knows what he's doing, other than Tex."[17] Bright's belief that former first-round draft picks Danny Noonan and Herschel Walker were not being used enough further put him at odds with the coaching staff.[18] On the day after the Cowboys lost to the Detroit Lions, a team that had entered the game tied for the worst record in the NFL, Schramm said on his radio show, "There's an old saying, 'If the teacher doesn't teach, the student doesn't learn.'"[17] Nonetheless, Bright maintained his hands-off approach on the team while Schramm retained his confidence in Landry.[17]

Landry's Cowboys finished the 1988 season 3–13, the worst record in the league. His record as head coach fell to 270–178–6. It was the Cowboys' third consecutive losing season and the fourth time in five years that they had missed the playoffs. Nonetheless, Landry felt confident he could correct the mistakes he had been making in recent years.[9] In February 1989, before the start of the 1989 season, as he dismissed or reassigned his assistants, he remained determined to coach into the 1990s "unless I get fired." Landry had one year left on his contract, which paid $1 million per season.[16][19]

Meanwhile, Bright had suffered major losses in his banking, real estate, and oil businesses;[19] during the savings and loan crisis, Bright's Savings and Loan was taken over by the FSLIC. With most of the rest of his fortune tied up in the Cowboys, Bright was forced to put the team up for sale. Bright ultimately sold the team to Jerry Jones, who fired Landry on February 25, 1989, one day after closing on the purchase. Jones hired Jimmy Johnson, his former teammate at the University of Arkansas, who had been serving as head coach at the University of Miami.[19] Schramm was in tears at the press conference that announced the coaching change;[19] he was forced out as general manager shortly afterwards. Schramm and Landry had been together for 29 years, each being the only person to serve in their respective position since the Cowboys' inception in 1960. When Landry met with his players two days later to tell them how much he would miss them, he began to cry, and the players responded with a standing ovation.[16][19][20] He had spent 40 consecutive years at field level in the AAFC and NFL: five as a player (1949–53), two as a player-assistant coach (1954–55), four as an assistant coach (1956–59), and 29 as a head coach.

Jones received immediate backlash for his decision to fire Landry, while the former coach received an outpouring of public support.[21][22][23] Despite Landry's recent poor performance, Cowboys fans felt disillusioned that the only coach in the team's history had been removed so unceremoniously.[21] NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle compared the firing to the death of former Green Bay Packers coach Vince Lombardi.[19] President George H.W. Bush, who had previously represented Texas in the House of Representatives, called Landry "an inspiration to all who ever watched or played the game of football."[23]

Jones stated he never considered retaining Landry and that he would not have purchased the team unless he could hire Johnson as coach.[19] In 1990, Bright said that he regretted the backlash that Jones had faced for firing Landry. Bright recounted that he had been willing to fire Landry himself as early as 1987, but that Schramm had told him that there was no suitable replacement who was ready to assume the job.[20] By 1993, relations between Jones and Landry had improved, and Landry was inducted into the Ring of Honor at Texas Stadium.[24]

Landry's last work in professional football was as a limited partner of the San Antonio Riders of the World League of American Football in 1992.

Head coaching record

[edit]
Team Year Regular season Postseason
Won Lost Ties Win % Finish Won Lost Win % Result
DAL 1960 0 11 1 .042 7th in NFL West — — — —
DAL 1961 4 9 1 .321 6th in NFL East — — — —
DAL 1962 5 8 1 .393 5th in NFL East — — — —
DAL 1963 4 10 0 .286 5th in NFL East — — — —
DAL 1964 5 8 1 .393 5th in NFL East — — — —
DAL 1965 7 7 0 .500 2nd in NFL East — — — —
DAL 1966 10 3 1 .750 1st in NFL East 0 1 .000 Lost to Green Bay Packers in NFL Championship Game
DAL 1967 9 5 0 .643 1st in NFL Capitol 1 1 .500 Lost to Green Bay Packers in NFL Championship Game
DAL 1968 12 2 0 .857 1st in NFL Capitol 0 1 .000 Lost to Cleveland Browns in Eastern Conference Championship Game
DAL 1969 11 2 1 .821 1st in NFL Capitol 0 1 .000 Lost to Cleveland Browns in Eastern Conference Championship Game
DAL 1970 10 4 0 .714 1st in NFC East 2 1 .667 Lost to Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl V
DAL 1971 11 3 0 .786 1st in NFC East 3 0 1.000 Super Bowl VI champions
DAL 1972 10 4 0 .714 2nd in NFC East 1 1 .500 Lost to Washington Redskins in NFC Championship Game
DAL 1973 10 4 0 .714 1st in NFC East 1 1 .500 Lost to Minnesota Vikings in NFC Championship Game
DAL 1974 8 6 0 .571 3rd in NFC East — — — —
DAL 1975 10 4 0 .714 2nd in NFC East 2 1 .667 Lost to Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl X
DAL 1976 11 3 0 .786 1st in NFC East 0 1 .000 Lost to Los Angeles Rams in NFC Divisional Game
DAL 1977 12 2 0 .857 1st in NFC East 3 0 1.000 Super Bowl XII champions
DAL 1978 12 4 0 .750 1st in NFC East 2 1 .667 Lost to Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl XIII
DAL 1979 11 5 0 .688 1st in NFC East 0 1 .000 Lost to Los Angeles Rams in NFC Divisional Game
DAL 1980 12 4 0 .750 2nd in NFC East 2 1 .667 Lost to Philadelphia Eagles in NFC Championship Game
DAL 1981 12 4 0 .750 1st in NFC East 1 1 .500 Lost to San Francisco 49ers in NFC Championship Game
DAL 1982 6 3 0 .667 2nd in NFC 2 1 .667 Lost to Washington Redskins in NFC Championship Game
DAL 1983 12 4 0 .750 2nd in NFC East 0 1 .000 Lost to Los Angeles Rams in NFC Wild Card Game
DAL 1984 9 7 0 .563 4th in NFC East — — — —
DAL 1985 10 6 0 .667 1st in NFC East 0 1 .000 Lost to Los Angeles Rams in NFC Divisional Game
DAL 1986 7 9 0 .438 3rd in NFC East — — — —
DAL 1987 7 8 0 .467 2nd in NFC East — — — —
DAL 1988 3 13 0 .188 5th in NFC East — — — —
Total 250 162 6 .605 20 16 .556
[edit]
  • On December 24, 1959, while defensive coach of the Giants, Landry pretended to be Catholic missionary Father William A. Lightning on the panel game To Tell The Truth.[25]
  • The Machiavellian coach in Peter Gent's novel North Dallas Forty is based on Tom Landry. G.D. Spradlin played the role in the film of the same name.
  • In the animated sitcom King of the Hill, the middle school in Arlen is named "Tom Landry Middle School", and Landry is a personal hero of the show's main character Hank Hill. He mentions being "mortified" because he went to work on the date of Landry's death after his cousin Dusty (guest star Dusty Hill of ZZ Top) had previously tricked him into thinking Landry had died, and he thought it was a repeat of that prank. Hank also has a Tom Landry ceramic plate that he sometimes consults in times of need, on one occasion saying, "Where did I go wrong, Tom?" Landry also occasionally appears to Hank in dream sequences to counsel him in times of need, such as during Hank's varnish-induced hallucination in the episode "Hillennium" and in "Trans-Fascism", when he tells Hank the consequences of breaking the law.
  • In an episode of The Simpsons ("You Only Move Twice"), Homer Simpson buys Tom Landry's trademark fedora in an effort to improve his leadership qualities, and is shown in several later episodes wearing the hat. Landry is also featured in the season 7 episode "Marge Be Not Proud" as one of the Christmas carolers introduced by Krusty the Clown early in the episode.
  • In a Campbell's Chunky Soup commercial, the game takes place in a fictional Reginald H. White Memorial Park, on the corner of Landry Road and Halas Drive.[26]

Awards and honors

[edit]

Personal life

[edit]

Landry married Alicia Wiggs on January 28, 1949. They had a son and two daughters.[32] He was a Christian.[33] On January 22, 2021, the Dallas Cowboys announced that Alicia had died the previous day at the age of 91.[34]

When coaching on the sidelines Landry always wore a suit and tie with his trademark fedora.[35]

Death

[edit]
Landry's grave at Texas State Cemetery

Landry died on February 12, 2000, after battling leukemia. Landry's funeral service was held at Highland Park United Methodist Church, where he was an active and committed member for 43 years. He was interred in the Sparkman-Hillcrest Memorial Park Cemetery in Dallas. A cenotaph dedicated to Landry, complete with a depiction of his fedora, was placed in the official Texas State Cemetery in Austin at the family's request.[36]

The Cowboys wore a patch on their uniforms during the 2000 season depicting Landry's trademark fedora. A bronze statue of Landry stood outside of Texas Stadium, and now stands in front of AT&T Stadium since the Cowboys relocated in 2009. The section of Interstate 30 between Dallas and Fort Worth was named the Tom Landry Highway by the Texas Legislature in 2001. The football stadium in Landry's hometown of Mission, Texas, was named Tom Landry Stadium to honor one of the city's most famous former residents.[37] Similarly, Trinity Christian Academy's stadium in Addison, Texas, is named Tom Landry Stadium in honor of Landry's extensive involvement and support of the school.[38][39] An elementary school in the Carrollton-Farmers Branch Independent School district, very near the Cowboys former training facility in Valley Ranch, is also named in honor of Landry.[40] The Tom Landry Welcome Center at Dallas Baptist University, where he was a frequent chapel speaker and award recipient, was posthumously dedicated to him in 2002.[41]

In 2013, a major new biography of Landry was published, entitled The Last Cowboy.[42]

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ George Halas served as head coach of the Chicago Bears for a total of 40 years in four different stints of ten years each.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Bill Belichick vs Tom Landry: Sideline Comparison". NFL.com. Retrieved February 20, 2023.
  2. ^ Barron, By David (January 31, 2017). "Super coaches: Title winners Landry, Johnson, Kubiak share Texas ties". Houston Chronicle.
  3. ^ a b St. John, Bob (September 20, 2000). "At Mission High, A Star is Unleashed". The Dallas Morning News.
  4. ^ "Mission, Texas, remembers Tom Landry". ESPN. February 13, 2000. Retrieved December 26, 2019.
  5. ^ a b c d Tom Landry:An AutoBiography ISBN 0-310-52910-7
  6. ^ "Tom Landry, Saint, 'Plastic Man' or Neither – Memories Incorporated, a Texas 501c3".
  7. ^ a b Cavanaugh, 2008 pg. 27
  8. ^ Cavanaugh, 2008 pg. 26
  9. ^ a b c Tom Landry: an Autobiography ISBN 0-310-52910-7
  10. ^ "Building America's Team". The Dallas Morning News. Archived from the original on August 23, 2004. Retrieved January 29, 2007.
  11. ^ "Describing 'The Innovator'". The Sporting News. Archived from the original on December 1, 2005. Retrieved January 29, 2007.
  12. ^ Randy Harvey (February 15, 2000). "Landry Definitely Marched to Beat of His Own Drum". Los Angeles Times.
  13. ^ Skip Hollandsworth (August 1987). "Is There Any WayTo Explain Football's Most Confusing, Convoluted, Intellectually Taxing, Perhaps-No-Longer-So-Great Defense?". D Magazine.
  14. ^ "Tom Landry: Producer's Notes Part 2". NFL Films. November 2, 2011. Archived from the original on January 16, 2020. Retrieved January 16, 2020.
  15. ^ "Bob Hayes bio". Dallas Cowboys Fan Club.com. Archived from the original on October 19, 2010. Retrieved January 4, 2011.
  16. ^ a b c "1989 Review: Jerry Jones Fires Tom Landry – Know Your Dallas Cowboys – Know Your Dallas Cowboys". Archived from the original on June 17, 2013. Retrieved July 9, 2016.
  17. ^ a b c Zimmerman, Paul (December 21, 1987). "Assault On Mount Landry". Sports Illustrated.
  18. ^ "Landry feeling the heat in Dallas". The Spokesman-Review. Retrieved July 9, 2016 – via Google News Archive Search.
  19. ^ a b c d e f g Myers, Gary. "Jones buys Cowboys, fires Landry". The Dallas Morning News. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved July 30, 2023.
  20. ^ a b "Ex-Cowboys Owner Bright Almost Fired Landry in '87". Los Angeles Times. Associated Press. February 26, 1990. Retrieved July 14, 2011.
  21. ^ a b Weingarten, Paul (March 1, 1989). "Landry Firing Represents Final Blow to 'Old Dallas'". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved August 13, 2023.
  22. ^ "Tom Landry has lost his job but not the respect of fans". UPI. March 3, 1989. Retrieved August 13, 2023.
  23. ^ a b Weingarten, Paul (April 23, 1989). "Landry 'Choked Up' By Massive Dallas Tribute". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved August 13, 2023.
  24. ^ Richardson, Steve (July 21, 1993). "Landry to Join Cowboys Ring of Honor - Jones, Ex-Coach Put an End to Reports of Feud". The Dallas Morning News. Retrieved August 13, 2023.
  25. ^ "To Tell the Truth Primetime Episode Guide 1956–67". "To Tell the Truth" on the Web. Retrieved June 16, 2016.
  26. ^ "Local Football Star Demarcus Ware to be 'Mama's Boy' in Campbell's Soup Ad" Archived July 18, 2011, at the Wayback Machine, WSFA.
  27. ^ "Golden Plate Awardees of the American Academy of Achievement". achievement.org. American Academy of Achievement.
  28. ^ "Our History Photo: Academy guests of honor: Legends of Sport: Tom Landry, Dallas Cowboys head coach and member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, presents the American Academy of Achievement's Golden Plate Award to Mother Antonia Brenner, the "Prison Angel," at the 1983 Summit in San Diego". American Academy of Achievement.
  29. ^ "Flashback: Tom Landry, Dallas part ways with parade, adulation". The Dallas Morning News. April 23, 1989.
  30. ^ "Pro Football Hall of Fame "God's Coach" Tom Landry". Pro Football Hall of Fame.
  31. ^ "Ring of Honor: Tom Landry". Dallas Cowboys.
  32. ^ "Tom Landry Dallas Cowboys Head Coach 1960-1988". dallascowboysfanclub.com. Archived from the original on February 11, 2010.
  33. ^ Kinsolving, Carey (May 9, 1992). "Faith on the Field". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved November 23, 2021.
  34. ^ "'They were a perfect match': Alicia Landry, the woman behind Tom's fedora, dies at 91". Dallas News. January 23, 2021. Retrieved January 23, 2021.
  35. ^ "Tom Landry's Fedora". June 10, 2014.
  36. ^ Texas State Cemetery page Archived November 20, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  37. ^ Tom Landry Stadium at TexasBob.com
  38. ^ Addison's Tom Landry Stadium at TexasBob.com
  39. ^ "Texas High School Helmet Project". Archived from the original on July 29, 2016. Retrieved July 9, 2016.
  40. ^ "Tom Landry Elementary School". Archived from the original on October 9, 2014. Retrieved July 9, 2016.
  41. ^ "Tom and Alicia Landry Welcome Report" (PDF). Dallas Baptist University Report. Dallas, TX: Dallas University. 2002. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 30, 2020. Retrieved January 13, 2021.
  42. ^ The Last Cowboy: A Life of Tom Landry in Publishers Weekly

Bibliography

[edit]

Further reading

[edit]
  • Summerall, Pat, and Michael Levin (2010). Giants: What I Learned About Life from Vince Lombardi and Tom Landry. Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley and Sons. ISBN 978-0-470-90908-9.
[edit]
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