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1975 Dallas Cowboys Season
The 1975 Dallas Cowboys season was the team's sixteenth season in the National Football League (NFL), all under head coach Tom Landry. The Cowboys finished second in the National Football Conference (NFC) East division with a 10–4 regular season record and advanced through the playoffs to Super Bowl X, where they were defeated by the Pittsburgh Steelers. They were also the first wild card team to reach the Super Bowl. For the first time in a decade, the Cowboys did not play on Thanksgiving, replaced by the St. Louis Cardinals. Offseason The Cowboys were coming off a disappointing 1974 season, after finishing with a record of 8–6, effectively ending an eight-year run of making the playoffs. Accompanied with the retirement or loss of key players like Bob Lilly, Bob Hayes, Cornell Green, Walt Garrison, Dave Manders, John Niland, and Calvin Hill, there was speculation in the media that the franchise was in decline. For all of the accolades that the Cowboys' scouting depart ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
NFC East
The National Football Conference – Eastern Division or NFC East is one of the four Division (sport), divisions of the National Football Conference (NFC) in the National Football League (NFL). It currently has four members: the Dallas Cowboys (based in Arlington, Texas), New York Giants (based in East Rutherford, New Jersey), Philadelphia Eagles (based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania), and the Washington Commanders (based in Landover, Maryland). The division was formed in 1967 as the National Football League Capitol Division and acquired its current name in 1970 when the NFL AFL-NFL merger, merged with the American Football League. The NFC East is currently the only division in the league in which all four current teams have won at least one Super Bowl. With 13 Super Bowl titles, the NFC East is currently the most successful division in the NFL during the Super Bowl era, with the AFC East second with nine titles. History The division's original name derived from it being centere ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bob Lilly
Robert Lewis Lilly (born July 26, 1939), nicknamed "Mr. Cowboy", is an American former professional football player who was a defensive tackle. After playing college football for the TCU Horned Frogs, he played for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL) for fourteen seasons. Lilly was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1980 and the College Football Hall of Fame in 1981. Early life Born in Olney, Texas, Lilly grew up in Throckmorton, the son of John and Margaret (Redwine) Lilly. Lilly's father and grandfather were both involved in farming and ranching, but the severe 1950s Texas drought forced his family to move at the end of his junior year at Throckmorton High School, where he received All-District honors in football. In basketball, he was named All-District and Honorable-mention All-state. In 1956, Lilly and his family relocated to northeastern Oregon to Pendleton—where his mother had family and jobs were available—for his senior year. At ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Undrafted Free Agent
In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is allowed to solicit offers from other teams. In some circumstances, the free agent's options are limited by league rules. Types Terms Unrestricted free agent Unrestricted free agents are players without a team. They have either been released from their club, had the term of their contract expire without a renewal, or were not chosen in a league's draft of amateur players. These people, generally speaking, are free to entertain offers from all other teams in the player's most recent league and elsewhere and to decide with whom to sign a contract. Players who have been bought out of league standard contracts may have restrictions within that league, such as not being able to sign with the buy-out club for a period of time in the NHL, b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1976 NFL Season
The 1976 NFL season was the 57th regular season of the National Football League. The league expanded to 28 teams with the addition of Seattle Seahawks and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. This fulfilled one of the conditions agreed to in 1966 for the 1970 AFL–NFL merger, which called for the league to expand to 28 teams by 1970 or soon thereafter. For this season only, the Seahawks played in the NFC West while the Buccaneers played in the AFC West. The Seahawks would return to the NFC West with the realignment prior to the 2002 season. The Buccaneers became the first NFL team to finish a season 0–14. The Buccaneers lost their first 26 games as they also lost their first 12 games in 1977. The season ended with Super Bowl XI when the Oakland Raiders defeated the Minnesota Vikings 32–14 at the Rose Bowl. The Raiders were the first original AFL team to appear and win a Super Bowl in the post-merger era. Player movement Draft The 1976 NFL Draft was held from April 8 to 9, 1976 a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mike Hegman
Michael William Hegman (born January 17, 1953) is a former American football linebacker who played professionally in the National Football League (NFL) for the Dallas Cowboys. He played college football at Tennessee State University. Early years Hegman did not start playing football until his senior year at Northside High School in Memphis, Tennessee. He began his college career at Alabama A&M University and then transferred to Tennessee State University, where he walked on to the Tennessee State Tigers football team. He was a teammate of Ed "Too Tall" Jones, and the starting middle linebacker on the school's 10–0 team, that won the black college football national championship in 1973. The next year, he finished with a school record 158 tackles. At the end of his junior season, it was incorrectly believed that Hegman still had a year of eligibility. The Dallas Cowboys were thought to be one of the only NFL teams that knew he was eligible for the draft, and drafted him in wha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Linebacker
Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, playing closer to the line of scrimmage than the defensive backs (secondary), but farther back than the defensive linemen. As such, linebackers play a hybrid role and are often the most versatile players on the defensive side of the ball; they can be asked to play roles similar to either a defensive lineman (such as stopping the runner on a running play) or a defensive back (such as dropping back into pass coverage). How a linebacker plays their position depends on the defensive alignment, the philosophy of the coaching staff, and the particular play the offense may call. Linebackers are divided into middle linebackers, sometimes called inside linebackers, and outside linebackers. The middle linebacker, often called "Mike", is frequently ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dirty Dozen (American Football)
The Dirty Dozen were the rookies that made the Dallas Cowboys team in 1975. These players were credited with helping the Cowboys advance to Super Bowl X and were a key foundation of the team's success during the latter half of the 1970s going into the early 1980s, as by 1979 many of these players would have replaced many of the Cowboys' aging starters of the 1960s. The rookies came up with the nickname inspired by the film of the same name, and spent half of the season without shaving. List of the rookies * Randy White, a Hall of Fame defensive tackle (originally middle linebacker). He was named to nine consecutive All-Pro and Pro Bowl teams along with being named to the NFL 1980s All-Decade Team. * Thomas "Hollywood" Henderson, an outside linebacker who replaced Dave Edwards after Super Bowl X. He was a one-time Pro Bowler * Bob Breunig, middle linebacker who succeeded Lee Roy Jordan at the position following Jordan's retirement in 1976. He was a four-time All-Pro and a th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1975 NFL Draft
The 1975 National Football League draft was held January 28–29, 1975, at the New York Hilton at Rockefeller Center in New York City, New York. With the first overall pick of the draft, the Atlanta Falcons selected quarterback Steve Bartkowski. Player selections Round one Round two Round three Round four Round five Round six Round seven Round eight Round nine Round ten Round eleven Round twelve Round thirteen Round fourteen Round fifteen Round sixteen Round seventeen Hall of Famers * Walter Payton, running back from Jackson State, taken 1st round 4th overall by Chicago Bears :Inducted: Professional Football Hall of Fame class of 1993.List of 1990s Hall of Fame Inductee's at profootballhof.com * Randy White, defensive tackle from Maryland, taken 1st round 2nd overall by Dallas Cowboys :Inducted: Professional Football Hall of Fame class of 1994. * Fred Dean, defensive end from Louisiana Tech, taken 2nd round 33rd overal ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
NFL Draft
The National Football League Draft, also called the NFL Draft or (officially) the Player Selection Meeting, is an annual event which serves as the league's most common source of player recruitment. Each team is given a position in the drafting order in reverse order relative to its record in the previous year, which means that the last place team is positioned first and the Super Bowl champion is last. From this position, the team can either select a player or trade its position to another team for other draft positions, a player or players, or any combination thereof. The round is complete when each team has either selected a player or traded its position in the draft. The first draft was held in 1936, and has been held every year since. Certain aspects of the draft, including team positioning and the number of rounds in the draft, have been revised since its creation in 1936, but the fundamental method has remained the same. Currently, the draft consists of seven rounds. The or ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Calvin Hill
Calvin G. Hill (born January 2, 1947) is a retired American football player. He played running back in the National Football League (NFL) for twelve seasons. Hill played for the Dallas Cowboys, Washington Redskins, and Cleveland Browns. He also played a season with The Hawaiians of the World Football League (WFL) in 1975. Hill was named to the Pro Bowl four times (1969, 1972, 1973, and 1974). In 1972, he became the first Cowboy running back to have a 1,000-yard rushing season (with 1,036 yards rushing); he repeated the feat in the following season with 1,142 yards rushing. Yale University conferred Hill with an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree at its 2016 commencement. "You are a Yale legend" is the opening sentence of the citation honoring Hill. Early years Hill was born on January 2, 1947, in Baltimore, Maryland. He was awarded a scholarship to attend the Riverdale Country School in The Bronx, New York before attending ninth grade. At Riverdale, he was an accom ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Niland (American Football)
John Hugh Niland (born February 29, 1944) is a former American football offensive guard in the National Football League (NFL) for the Dallas Cowboys and Philadelphia Eagles. He was a six-time Pro Bowler and a three-time All-Pro. He played college football at the University of Iowa. In 2021, the Professional Football Researchers Association named Niland to the PFRA Hall of Very Good Class of 2021 Early years Niland was raised by his adopted family and attended Amityville Memorial High School, where he was an All-State fullback. He accepted a football scholarship from the University of Iowa, where he started out as a fullback, before being converted into an offensive tackle and becoming a starter at right tackle as a sophomore. He was moved to offensive guard as a junior. Niland was an All-American selection his senior year in (1965) and also a second-team All-America selection in 1964 by the Newspaper Enterprise Association. In 1989, he was named to the Iowa All-time Foo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dave Manders
David Francis Manders (born February 20, 1941) is a retired American football center in the National Football League from 1964 through 1974. He played college football at Michigan State University. He graduated from Kingsford High School and played in two Super Bowls with the Dallas Cowboys, winning one. Early years Dave Manders played football at Kingsford High School, where he was named all-state and lineman of the year as a senior. He also set an Upper Peninsula of Michigan shot put record. His number 51 is only one of three numbers retired by the school, along with Dick Berlinski, who also played football at Michigan State, and Tim Kearney. In 1980, he was inducted into the Upper Peninsula Sports Hall of Fame. College career Manders went on to play at Michigan State University in 1959, where he was a two-way player, playing center on offense and linebacker on defense. During his college career, he was among the team leaders in tackles, even though he experienced leg inj ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
