I miss ...

[beenutt]

Tom Landry.

Football hasn't been the same since he left the sidelines. He is the main reason why I became a Cowboys fan back in the early '70s. He was the first to prove that you didn't have to yell and scream to coach a team (like Tony Dungy). He didn't have to make great speeches to motivate championship teams. He assembled a team full of self-motivators (the key to building a team). He led by example in the way he lived his life. The way he handled himself when he was fired was unbelievable.

beenutt

I didn't really grow up during the Ton Landry era. But honestly, I miss Jimmy Johnson. I remember when I was in High School and the Cowboys always seemed to be rolling right over their opponents. Jimmy Johnson working the sidelines with his championship swaggar.

[Mike710]

Hi Bee,
Funny you mentioned that. During my lunch break from workthese past couple of weeks, I've been going to a bookstore. There is a book about him that I read every time I'm there. Brings back some great memories when every win and loss had so much more meaning. My cowboys will always be the late 70's and 80's.

[Rock Solid]

NFL playing career

Tom Landry became a defensive back in the AAFC in 1949 for the New York Yankees, then moved in 1950 across town to the New York Giants. 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. Landry ended his playing career with 32 interceptions in only 80 games.NFL coaching career

For the 1956 football season, Landry became the defensive coordinator for the Giants, opposite Vince Lombardi, who was the offensive coordinator. Landry led one of the best defensive teams in the league from 1956 to 1959. The two coaches created a fanatical loyalty within the unit they coached that drove the Giants to three appearances in the NFL championship game in four years. The Giants beat the 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 and stayed for 29 seasons (1960-88).

[DANDY DON]

Just think,now Coach Landry's fedora would have to have a Reebok logo on it!
I still have the Dallas Morning News from the day he passed....Front page says Goodbye Coach...
One of my favorite stories is Roger Staubach practicing a goal line bootleg and Coach Landry kept telling him he was doing it wrong...Finally Landry gets under center himself and runs the play and tells Staubach to do it exactly like he just did it. Staubach gets under center takes the snap and (copying Landry's limp from bad knees) runs the play just like ol coach! Some players said that was one of the few occasions Landry ever chuckled...

[beenutt]

Dandy Don,

That is a great story. I would have loved to see Staubach imitate Landry. Those were the good ole days.

beenutt

[Silverhorse 228]

Tom Landry...say the name and people immediately think of two things...Class and Heart. This may sound strange to everyone, but true Cowboy fans, but every morning when I turn on my computer I take a moment and look at my photo of Roger and Tom. It gives me inspiration and reminds me that no matter what the tasks I have to do today...I am going to do them right and with class and with respect for those around me. That is what Tom Landry taught me. I met him only once when I was 12 on a Boyscout day at Texas Stadium, when we lived in Texas in 1981...he was simply awesome. He had a presence about him...a gentleness of a grandparent, but the attitude of a marine. He spoke to our group for about 10 minutes and I have never forgotten what he said. He told us to be true to ourselves, to make the most of scouting and to love our parents. He also gave us some advice that I live with to this day...everything is worth fighting for, if it makes the world a better place for those around you. I actually wrote that down in my notebook at the time. I was sad the day he passed away, but I was happy that God gave him to us on this earth. We need more Tom Landry's today...we need more heros like him. The NFL has never been the same for me since he left football...sure I still cheer for the Cowboys, but I wonder if Tom Landry would have put up with T.O....I can tell you he probably would have just cut him and move on...because talented players are one thing...Tom Landry was a "pure coach"...he could take anyone and mold them into a NFL player...that is what makes him so great.

My two cents...sorry for such a long response...but I was compelled to tell my story....

Matthew Culp
Tom Landry fan forever!!

I miss all the great coaches & players from my childhood. I was in high school in the '70s, & it seems the players & coaches are etched into my memory. Tom Landry, George Allen, Bud Grant, Chuck Knox, Don Shula, & all the teams.
That's why I love to watch the old NFL films. It's not the same now.

[wolverine]

i miss BO...hes not been gone long and alrady i miss him....i miss his throing the head set on the ground......yelling at the ref that if he had one more eye he would be an cyclops....i miss him dominating ohio state and michigan state...i dont miss all those bowl losses....i miss the fire in his eyes when the big ten tried to hose michigan....i miss the days of beating teams like ilinoiis and indiania and wiscision 49 to 0....iknowing that the ONLY game we had to worry about was ohio state and the bowl game (circa 1970 t0 1975)...i miss his firebrand speeches....but most of all i miss BO...god bless you BO and see if you can teach a little football to woody up there