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Archive for the ‘Trivia’ Category

This is the last of my lists of 100-yard receiving games. This one shows the total number of 100-yard receiving games that each player has had in team history, along with the team’s record in those games. As was the case with 100-yard games in a season, Michael Irvin dominates this category with a total of 47 games in which he passed the century mark.

A total of 41 players have achieved this accomplishment in team history. This includes six tight ends (Lee Folkins, Doug Cosbie, Jay Novacek, Billy Joe Dupree, and Jason Witten, as well as Frank Clarke, who played both tight end and flanker) and fight running backs (Dan Reeves, Herschel Walker, Tony Dorsett, Emmitt Smith, and Ron Springs). No real surprises, though you might note that Clarke and Lance Rentzel are pretty high on the list.

Technorati Tags: Dallas Cowboys, receivers, trivia, statistics

Thirty-four players in the history of the Dallas Cowboys have had at least three 100-yard games in one season. Two of these individuals include Terrell Owens (three times in 2006) and Terry Glenn (four times in 2005). While the likes of Ray Alexander may surprise a few, most of these names are well known.

In this category, nobody comes close to Michael Irvin. In 1995, “The Playmaker” not only set a team record, but also set an NFL record, with 11 100-yard games in the Cowboys’ last Super Bowl season.

Technorati Tags: Dallas Cowboys, Terrell Owens, Terry Glenn, Michael Irvin

Technorati Tags: Dallas Cowboys, Trivia

After completely messing up two questions on the last quiz, I’m a little bit nervous about this one. But here it goes. This one focuses on jersey numbers worn by ten former players. This one is a little bit easier than some of the quizzes in the past– perhaps a sign of things to come…?

arghh!!!!…Note: Already messed something up, but at least it wasn’t a question! The background was not supposed to be purple, but somewhere between the program and the upload, the background reverted to the default.

Make your own Quiz!

Only seven players in the history of the Dallas Cowboys have gained more than 200 yards in a single game. The last man to do it was Kevin Williams in the regular season finale against Arizona in 1995. Bob Hayes set the team record for most receiving yards in a game with 246 in 1966, in one of the games in which Don Meredith surpassed 400 passing yards.

The list below includes each player who had more than 150 yards receiving in a game. The only current member of the team to make this list is Terry Glenn, who has twice topped that mark.

Although Julius Jones has not quite measured up to the performances of Emmitt Smith and Tony Dorsett thus far, two of his single-game performances rank among the top four in team history. Here is a list of the best single-game rushing performances in team history (regular season only), including those who rushed for more than 170 yards in a game.

Haven’t seen much real news out of training camp (or least nothing unexpected), so here is a short quiz about some of the key figures for the Cowboys:

This week, the Cowboys return their training camp to the Alamodome in San Antonio, after spending the last three training camps at River Ridge Sports Complex in Oxnard, California. In keeping with the trivia and nearly useless information theme of this site, here are some tidbits about training camp sites:

1960: Pacific University, Forest Grove, Oregon

From Landry’s Boys by Peter Golenbock:

The Cowboys’ first training camp was at the University of the Pacific in Forest Grove, Oregon. It was in the middle of nowhere, a haul from the nearest big city, Portland. [Tom] Landry intended to run a boot camp, and Forest Grove was the perfect place to conduct it away from any distractions. The town had one movie theatre and one bar. Nearby was a maraschino cherry factory. The sweet, syrupy aroma permeated the place as the players sweated under blue skies.

1961: St. Olaf College, Northfield, Minnesota

From Golenbock, quoting Bob Lilly, who was a rookie in 1961:

“I went to St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota, for training camp. That was a beautiful campus, except you had to walk down 386 steps– I counted them– to get from the dorm to the playing field, plus I was on the third floor of the dorm.”

–Bob Lilly

1962: Northern Michigan College, Marquette, Michigan

Any tidbits here? I can’t even find trivia on this!

1963-1989: California Lutheran College, Thousand Oaks, California

Most of us who are older than 30 or so remember that the Cowboys trained for years at the campus of California Lutheran College (now University) in Thousand Oaks, California. Here is a clip from Wikipedia:

. . . California Lutheran University served as the training camp location for the Dallas Cowboys. The CLU football practice field used by the Cowboys as well as the CLU Kingsmen football team was replaced by a large sports complex in 2006. The Cowboys Clubhouse in Thousand Oaks still stands across from the complex, and is currently a family residence.

1990-1997: St. Edward’s University, Austin, Texas

This is from NFL.com:

Before Johnson’s arrival, the Cowboys spent 27 years training at California Lutheran College in Thousand Oaks, Calif. Johnson held camp there his first season (Aikman’s rookie year), but he and owner Jerry Jones moved the operation to Austin, Texas, in 1990. Jones wanted to move camp closer to the team’s regional fan base. Aikman says Johnson supported the move because he wanted his players to experience the Texas heat, a weather condition he considered ideal to train a football team.

“Jimmy believed in a lot of contact, being physical and practicing in the heat. It was about 100 degrees [in Austin], the humidity was 90 percent,” Aikman said. “We were a young football team, and I think that maybe at that time, it was good for us. You certainly can’t argue with the results we got.

“But as the team got older and we continually practiced in that kind of heat, I think it had diminishing returns. It probably wasn’t until we made the playoffs in 1991 and achieved a pretty good level of success that Jimmy didn’t keep the foot down on the guys as much as he had in previous years. Early on, when he was trying to put the team together, it was really, really tough.”

1998-2002: Midwestern State University, Wichita Falls, Texas

Apparently, there was once a site known as CowboysCamp.com, which had this to say about the Cowboys’ camp location in 1999:

As part of the team’s commitment to keeping their training camp in Texas, the Cowboys selected Midwestern State as the home of the Cowboys preseason preparations in 1999. This will mark the 10th year the Cowboys have held camp in Texas.

The new surroundings proved to be a success in 1998 as new head coach Chan Gailey helped lead the Cowboys to a 10-6 finish and the NFC Eastern Division title. Since making the move to a Texas-based training camp, the Cowboys have had just two non-playoff seasons.

In retrospect, however, the move to Wichita Falls wasn’t particularly positive:

For the last four years, the Cowboys trained in Wichita Falls. At first, people swarmed onto the campus of Midwestern State University. By 2001, however, attendance was way down.

Nick Gholson, sports editor at the Wichita Falls Times Record News, says 100-degree temperatures helped chase off the crowds, as did the fact that the Cowboys tumbled to last place in their division.

Also, fan expectations didn’t mesh with training-camp reality.

“A lot of people thought they were going to games, but they’d go there and see (the players) stretch for 30 minutes and realize they were watching a practice,” Gholson said. “And there is not much more boring than watching a football practice.”

Having the team in Wichita Falls brought about $16 million into the local economy over four years, and having the camp raised the North Texas city’s visibility.

In appreciation, a team photo was put on the cover of the 1999 Wichita Falls phone book.

Townspeople in Wichita Falls never got ho-hum about having the Cowboys, Gholson said, but they also stopped swooning when they ran into a player at the shopping mall.

2002-2003: The Alamodome, San Antonio, Texas.

The Cowboys moved south to San Antonio in 2002.

For the players, the differences between Wichita Falls and San Antonio will be noticeable.

The dorms at Midwestern State will be replaced by rooms in a luxury hotel on the bustling Riverwalk. And where the limited nightlife of Wichita Falls tempered opportunities for preseason mischief, San Antonio will present more than a few temptations.

The two towns do have one thing in common, and that’s heat.

August days in San Antonio average upward of 95 degrees. When the sun is high in the sky, however, the plan is for the Cowboys to practice inside the Alamodome on an artificial surface.

2004-2006: River Ridge Sports Complex, Oxnard, California

The Cowboys moved their camp back to California for three seasons, though the team hardly had the same success as it did for many of the years when camp was held in Thousand Oaks. Scheduling conflicts forced the Cowboys to move from San Antonio in 2004.

2007- : The Alamodome, San Antonio, Texas

The Cowboys signed a five-year contract in May 2006 to return to San Antonio. Here is a clip from that press release:

Remember the Alamodome? The Cowboys do.

Jerry Jones confirmed here Thursday the team will be making San Antonio its training camp home once again, the Cowboys’ owner and general manager announcing a five-year year contract has been struck with the city to return camp to the Alamodome starting in 2007.

“It’s great to be home,” Jones said in a joint announcement with San Antonio mayor Phil Hardberger inside the San Antonio City Council chambers. “We have a phrase in football that we like a player in a game to completely empty his bucket with his effort and emotions. When he’s done that, we’re satisfied that he’s given the Cowboys and our fans all he can do.

“That’s what we will represent to (San Antonio).”

Julius Jones gained more than 100 yards on the ground four times last season, which was the best in his young career. He’ll need quite a few more before he can compete in this category with the likes of Emmitt Smith and Tony Dorsett. Then again, only six rushers in team history have ever rushed for 100 yards in at least four games in a single season, so he at least fits in to some degree with the elite backs in team history.

Table: The list below includes those Dallas Cowboy running backs who have gained 100 yards in at least four games in a single season (regular season only).

Year - Player, No.
1995 - Emmitt Smith, 11
1981 - Tony Dorsett, 9
1991 - Emmitt Smith, 8
1999 - Emmitt Smith, 8
1992 - Emmitt Smith, 7
1994 - Emmitt Smith, 7
1998 - Emmitt Smith, 7
2000 - Emmitt Smith, 7
1978 - Tony Dorsett, 6
1979 - Tony Dorsett, 6
1993 - Emmitt Smith, 6
1983 - Tony Dorsett, 5
1980 - Tony Dorsett, 4
1972 - Calvin Hill, 4
1973 - Calvin Hill, 4
2006 - Julius Jones, 4
1996 - Emmitt Smith, 4
2001 - Emmitt Smith, 4
1970 - Duane Thomas, 4
1988 - Herschel Walker, 4

As you can see from the list below, Emmitt Smith had the most 100-yard games (regular season) in the history of the Dallas Cowboys with 76. The Cowboys won 75 percent of those games. He broke the record of 43 that was set by Tony Dorsett.

One number that may surprise a few is the Cowboys’ record when Calvin Hill rushed for 100 yards in a game. Between 1969 and 1974, Hill gained 100 yards 19 times, and the Cowboys won 18 of those games.

Julius Jones has eight 100-yard games in his short career. If he can manage three more this season, he will rank fourth on the team’s all-time list.

During the 1980s, you might recall hearing about the Cowboys’ record when Tony Dorsett rushed for at least 100 yards in a game. The record is indeed impressive:

* The Cowboys won the first 16 games in which Dorsett gained at least 100 yards.
* After his initial streak was broken on November 9, 1980, in a 38-35 loss to the New York Giants, the Cowboys won 13 more games in a row when Dorsett topped this mark. The second streak ended, ironically, in the game in which Dorsett scored on his record-breaking 99-yard run against Minnesota on January 3, 1983.
* The Cowboys lost two of the last three games where Dorsett gained 100 yards.
* During his career, Dorsett had 43 total 100-yard games. The Cowboys went 39-4 in those games.

Here is a complete list of Dorsett’s 100-yard games:

One of the oldest records in team history is most yards passing in a single game. Don Meredith established the mark with 460 yards in a 31-24 loss to San Francisco in 1963.

Here is a clip of the story from that game:

Don Meredith had one of the greatest afternoons in National Football League history and that was not enough to defeat the San Francisco 49ers.

Meredith threw 48 passes. That’s a team record. He completed 30, another record. The total distance was 460 yards, which not only breaks the Cowboy team record by 112 yards, but approaches Norm Van Brocklin’s NFL record of 554.

Only three quarterbacks in league history have pitched more productively in a single afternoon: Van Brocklin, Y. A. Tittle (505) and Johnny Lujack (468).

Had the Dallas defense contributed anything but awkwardness and stupidity, Meredith would have surpassed Lujack and probably scared the keepers off Van Brocklin’s treasured moment.

But the defense was pitiful against the pitiful 49ers.

And when they counted all the chips San Francisco had won its second game of the season. 31-24.

All-pro halfback Don Perkins was normally violent, punishing he 49ers when it was necessary. Frank Clarke (eight catches for 190 yards and two touchdowns), Bill Howton (eight for 107 and one score) and Lee Folkins (seven for 112) caught brilliantly and ran like wild boars.

But these heroics were insufficient, vastly insufficient.

Troy Aikman came close to breaking the record with a 455-yard performance that also occurred in a loss (46-36 to Minnesota on Thanksgiving Day in 1998). Meredith also had the only other 400-yard game in team history, in a 31-30 win over Washington in 1966.

Below is the list of games in which a Dallas quarterback has had at least 350 yards passing in one game.

Table: Most Passing Yards in a Game (Regular Season)

Among the many records that Troy Aikman set in his career was the most number of games in which he passed for at least 300 yards (regular season only). Aikman accomplished this 13 times in his career, breaking the old mark of 10 that was set by Danny White.

Table: 300-Yard Passing Games, Career (Regular Season)

Though he only started barely over half of the 2006 season, Tony Romo tied a team record with three 300-yard games in one season. The impressive part of this is that the record is shared by the likes of Don Meredith, Roger Staubach, and Danny White. Even more impressive is that even though he had the most 300-yard games in team history for his career, Troy Aikman never had more than two 300-yard games in a season.

What is slightly less impressive is that Vinny Testaverde (2004) and Drew Bledsoe (2005) also share this record.

Here is the list of total number of 300-yard passing games in a single season (regular season only):

Year - Player, No.
1966 - Meredith, Don, 3
1979 - Staubach, Roger, 3
2004 - Testaverde, Vinny, 3
2005 - Bledsoe, Drew, 3
2006 - Romo, Tony, 3
1983 - White, Danny, 3
1963 - Meredith, Don, 2
1975 - Staubach, Roger, 2
1984 - Hogeboom, Gary, 2
1985 - White, Danny, 2
1986 - Pelleur, Steve, 2
1987 - White, Danny, 2
1988 - Pelleur, Steve, 2
1997 - Aikman, Troy, 2

Technorati Tags: Dallas Cowboys, Tony Romo, Bill Parcells, Trivia

Taking a short break from the arcane trivia of 35 years ago, here is a quiz focusing on the 2006 season:

Make your own Quiz!

A few days ago, I asked this trivia question:

In which game (year and opponent) did the Cowboys first have a 300-yard passer, a 100-yard rusher, and a 100-yard receiver?

The answer:

Dallas had several games with multiple 100-yard receivers but did not have the trifecta until the 52-10 win over Houston on Dec. 20, 1970.

Craig Morton went 13 of 17 for 349 yards and 5 touchdowns. Bob Hayes caught six passes for 187 yards. Duane Thomas had 115 yards rushing.

The Triplets– Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith, and Michael Irvin– accomplished this feat twice during the ten years they were together. Here are those two games:

October 8, 1995: Dallas 34, Green Bay 24

Smith: 106 rushing yards; Irvin: 150 receiving yards; Aikman: 316 passing yards.

September 22, 1999: Dallas 41, Washington 35

Smith: 109 rushing yards; Irvin: 122 receiving yards; Aikman: 362 passing yards.

Rocket Ismail, who caught the game-winning touchdown in overtime, also had 149 yards receiving.

————

The closest these three came to this accomplishment in the playoffs was in Super Bowl XXVII following the 1992 season. In that game, Smith had 108 yards on 22 carries, while Irvin had 114 yards on six receptions. Aikman, however, did not reach 300 yards, as he finished with 273 after completing 22 of 30 passes.

A poster named coinsmr posted a clip of Tony Dorsett’s 99-yard run against the Minnesota Vikings in the Cowboys’ regular season finale in 1982. This has been posted on other blogs, but here it is for anyone who may not have seen it.

Some other interesting tidbits about this game, as well as the run:

* Dorsett’s run helped the Cowboys to overcome a 24-13 fourth quarter deficit, only to see the Vikings score the winning touchdown with less than two minutes remaining in the game.
* Had the Cowboys won, they would have played Minnesota again the following week, this time at Texas Stadium. Instead, the Cowboys faced the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, whom the Cowboys defeated 30-17.
* This loss resulted in the Cowboys losing back-to-back games to end the season. That had not happened since 1962.
* Dorsett finished with 745 rushing yards in the strike-shortened 1982 season, enough to give him the title as NFC rushing champion. Though it was the first time he had not gained 1,000 yards in a season during his career, it was the only time that he had won a rushing title.
* Dorsett’s run from scrimmage broke the previous record of 97 yards, set by Bob Gage of Pittsburgh in 1949 and Andy Uram of Green Bay in 1939.

Here are some multiple-choice trivia regarding the Cowboys’ 1972 season:

Make your own Quiz!

Technorati Tags: Dallas Cowboys trivia

Technorati Tags: Dallas Cowboys, Danny White, Trivia

Melonball made a good point in the comments to yesterday’s post, noting that Danny White is “incredibly underrated and underappreciated by Cowboys fans.” I agree entirely. Here is what I wrote a few weeks ago about White:

I don’t think any player in team history has been under more pressure to perform than White. Few players are more underappreciated. Meredith had to survive criticism, but he wound up in the Ring of Honor, and most of the negativity surrounding him has long since vanished. White is still criticized for not taking the team to the Super Bowl, even though White’s accomplishments compare quite favorably to Meredith’s (not to take anything away from what Meredith did, mind you).

Consider White’s record as a starter– in five full seasons as a starter, White led the team to the playoffs five times and to the NFC Championship Game three times. Prior to his injury in 1986, his record as a full-time starter beginning in 1980 was 62-24 (the team went 5-6 in games that he did not start during that time period). The team’s record for the remainder of the decade after he suffered his injury was 11-36, with no winning seasons. There were, of course, other factors involved, but the sharp contrast of the team before his injury compared to what happened afterward shows his value.

————

Here are some trivia questions for today:

1. In 1991, the Cowboys beat Washington 24-21 in a game that sparked a five-game winning streak and sent the Cowboys to the playoffs with an 11-5 record. Some questions: (1) During that game, Michael Irvin made a juggling catch on a pass from Steve Beuerlein and got past Darrell Green for a 23-yard touchdown. What was the score at the time that Irvin scored? (2) What milestones did Irvin and Emmitt Smith accomplish for the first time in this game? (3) Which skill player on offense missed this game due to an injury?

2. In which game (year and opponent) did the Cowboys first have a 300-yard passer, a 100-yard rusher, and a 100-yard receiver?

3. Which player was the first in team history to gain more than 100 rushing and 100 yards receiving in a single game? What year? Who was the opponent?

Troy Aikman holds virtually every career passing record in the history of the Dallas Cowboys. It helps, of course, that he played not only during a pass-friendly era, but he also played in a system that took advantage of his amazing accuracy.

As you might expect, Roger Staubach takes second in several of these catagories, although some may be surprised how high Danny White appears on these lists.

These lists are limited to the top five in each category, with the exception of passer rating.

Career Passing Attempts

1. Troy Aikman, 4715
2. Roger Staubach, 2958
3. Danny White, 2950
4. Don Meredith, 2308
5. Craig Morton, 1306

Career Passing Completions

1. Troy Aikman, 2898
2. Danny White, 1761
3. Roger Staubach, 1685
4. Don Meredith, 1170
5. Craig Morton, 683

Career Completion Percentage (min. 500 career attempts)

1. Troy Aikman, 61.46%
2. Danny White, 59.69%
3. Drew Bledsoe, 58.38%
4. Roger Staubach, 56.96%
5. Steve Pelleur, 56.40%

Career Passing Yards

1. Troy Aikman, 32942
2. Roger Staubach, 22700
3. Danny White, 21959
4. Don Meredith, 17199
5. Craig Morton, 10267

Career Yards/Att. (min. 500 career attempts)

1. Craig Morton, 7.86
2. Eddie LeBaron, 7.70
3. Roger Staubach, 7.67
4. Don Meredith, 7.45
5. Danny White, 7.44

Career Touchdown Passes

1. Troy Aikman, 165
2. Danny White, 155
3. Roger Staubach, 153
4. Don Meredith, 135
5. Craig Morton, 80

Career TD% (min. 500 career attempts)

1. Eddie LeBaron, 6.50%
2. Craig Morton, 6.13%
3. Don Meredith, 5.85%
4. Danny White, 5.25%
5. Roger Staubach, 5.17%

Most Interceptions in a Career

1. Troy Aikman, 141
2. Danny White, 132
3. Don Meredith, 111
4. Roger Staubach, 109
5. Craig Morton, 73

Lowest Int. % in a Career (min. 500 career attempts)

1. Troy Aikman, 2.99%
2. Roger Staubach, 3.68%
3. Drew Bledsoe, 3.75%
4. Quincy Carter, 3.99%
5. Steve Pelleur, 4.12%

Career Passer Rating (min. 500 career attempts)

1. Roger Staubach, 83.4
2. Danny White, 81.7
3. Troy Aikman, 81.6
4. Drew Bledsoe, 80.1
5. Craig Morton, 75.5
6. Don Meredith, 74.8
7. Steve Pelleur, 71.7
8. Quincy Carter, 70.0
9. Eddie LeBaron, 67.2
10. Gary Hogeboom, 65.4

Technorati Tags: Dallas Cowboys, Trivia

Here are some great classic trivia questions posted on the Dallas Cowboys Fan Zone today. If you want a real challenge, try to get a question past the guys on that board!

1. Which player recovered the onside kick that set up the Cowbys’ game winning drive in the miracle 1972 playoff game at San Francisco?

2. In the same game against the 49ers, Ron Sellers caught the game-winning touchdown. Who caught the touchdown pass to cut the lead to 28-23, which led to the onside kick?

3. In the 1980 divisional playoff game against Atlanta, which Dallas won 30-27, Danny White hit Drew Pearson on two touchdowns to overcome a 10-point deficit in the fourth quarter. Who scored the other two of the Dallas touchdowns?

4. In what playoff game did the Cowboys have to go against the Flex defense?

5. Which defensive lineman, the brother of another All-Pro player, started in place of Larry Cole at the beginning of the 1972 season?

6. Who said, “I killed many a quarterback, I felt like I scored when I took their head off”?

7. What long time sports writer resigned from the Hall of Fame Selection Committee in 2004 to protest the denial of Bob Hayes’ entry?

8. Prior to the 1973 season, the Cowboys lost four assistant coaches to other positions. They also lost four players to retirement. Name these coaches and players.

9. With which rookie did Tom Landry try to replace Bob Hayes before the 1973 season?

10. In 1974, the Cowboys missed the playoffs for the first time since 1965. Which team won the NFC East title that season?