Dallas Cowboys First Quarterback

 

      

 The most recognized team in the National Football League is the Dallas Cowboys.. America's Team !   I have been a Cowboy fan since 1959 when the announcement was made that Dallas would be awarded a franchise in the NFL. There was even a contest to name the new team from Dallas; I submitted Dallas Wrangler's but obviously did not win. Actually, Dallas and Minnesota both were awarded franchises at the same time, but Minnesota decided to wait for the 1960 College Draft and begin play in 1961. Dallas elected to take the castoffs of existing teams and begin play in 1960.. BUT who was the first quarterback of the Dallas Cowboys?

    Some very knowledgeable fans will maintain that Eddie LeBaron was first, .. close, but no cigar.

   

  Don Heinrich was quarterback for the University of Washington and led the nation in passing in 1950 and 1952. A broken bone in his leg caused him to miss most of the 1951 season. He was the third round pick of the New York Giants in the NFL College Draft. He would carry a clipboard and learn under Giant quarterbacks Charlie Connerly and Y.A. Tittle.

  The Korean War was going on at this time and Heinrich was called into the Army in late 1953 and all of 1954. He spent his time playing football for the team at Fort Ord in California. In 1955 Heinrich rejoined the Giants at training camp and was part of the team when the Giants won the NFL Championships in 1956, 1958, and 1959.

      In the 1960 expansion draft each team could protect all but the bottom three players on their roster. Dallas picked Heinrich off the roster of the Giants, and he was reunited with one of his former assistant coaches at New York. Tom Landry was the defensive backfield coach of the Giants and he had been picked to be Head Coach of the new team from North Texas. 

   At Dallas, Heinrich would be among three quarterbacks on the roster as Eddie LeBaron came from the Washington Redskins and rookie Don Meredith had been signed by Dallas owner Clint Murchison before the franchise had been officially granted to him. Coach Landry did not know that much about the other two, so it was Heinrich who would start for Dallas' first game...which they lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers 35-28.

   In 1962 the contract of Heinrich was purchased outright by the Oakland Raiders of the American Football League when their starting quarterback, Tom Flores, broke his leg in a game. The following year would see Heinrich join the Los Angeles Rams as a player/backfield coach. He became first assistant to the offensive coordinator for the Pittsburgh Steelers, where he also called all offensive plays. From 1969 to 1970 he was on the staff of Tom Flores at the New Orleans Saints. 1971 thru 1975 Heinrich was the passing and receiving coach for the San Francisco 49's under former Cowboy Assistant Coach Dick Nolan.

      1976 would begin a new phase in the life of Don Heinrich as he started his broadcasting career. He was the booth analyst for the Seattle Seahawks of the NFL. This would last until 1983 when he became a color commentator for ESPN and ABC Sports in their coverage of the United States Football League. That would last just one more year as the USFL folded in 1984. From 1985 through 1991 he published "Don Heinrich's College Football Magazine" and another magazine that covered Pro Football.

    Don Heinrich died in 1991 after a lengthy battle with pancreatic cancer. He was 61 years of age. He had a long and fruitful life around his love of football.

   So the next time the water cooler conversation centers around 'the Dallas Cowboys first quarterback'... You will be able to go to the head of the class.

Nolan Ryan,...the Best Ever.

 

Just how good was Super Tex?

Nolan Ryan had five no-hitters broken up in the 9th inning (MLB record).

Combine that with his 7 no-no's and you get 12 times that he entered the 9th with O hits allowed.

He also has the most 1 hitters, 2 hitters, 3 hitters & 4 hitters in MLB history.
His 5,714 strikeouts is another MLB record.
Nolan Ryan had a 2-2 record with an ERA of 3.07, 63 strikeouts and 1 save in 9 appearances in the postseason in his career.

Nolan commanded and dominated the pitching mound.
MLB has recognized 322 no-hitters thrown since 1876, 24 of which were perfect games.

Two no-hitters have been thrown on the same day twice: Ted Breitenstein and Jim Hughes on April 22, 1898; and Dave Stewart and Fernando Valenzuela on June 29, 1990.

Nine no-hitters were thrown in the 2021 season

Nolan is responsible for 7 of 322 no-hitters, nobody else is even close. Three Major League Teams have retired his number 34.. No one will ever wear that number for the California Angels, the Houston Astros, or the Texas Rangers.

Denison, Texas... A city of murals

 

   Denison is a pretty old Texas city, having been founded by the Kansas, Missouri, and Tennessee Railroad. It would later become the Katy Railroad and the City of Denison would become its hub for the southwest. The city is actually named after one of the directors of the railroad. There were so many railroad workers in Denison in the 1870's and 1880's that the city became the prostitution capitol of Texas for a while.

   Probably the most famous of Denison's sons is Dwight David Eisenhower, the 34th President of the United States, having served from 1953 to 1961.

      This thirty foot bust of Eisenhower is at exit 67 of U.S. Highway 75 and is impossible to miss if you are traveling through Denison. Ike was also a five star general in World War II and Supreme Commander of all Allied Forces in Europe. He was instrumental in preparing the D-Day Invasion.

    Another famous son came to the world's attention on January 15, 2009. A flock of birds played a major part in his story.

     Chesley Sullenberger was born and raised in Denison before attending the Air Force Academy and beginning his career as a commercial pilot. That fateful day in January he had just taken off from LaGuardia Airport in Manhatten when a flock of birds congested both engines of his plane. Sully didn't have enough altitude to make it back to LaGuardia or to nearby New Jersey, so into the Hudson River he settled his plane in textbook fashion. All 155 passengers and crew were rescued by boats in what is now known as the 'Miricle on the Hudson.'

   Another military hero that went unknown for many years also calls Denison home.

   Major Jewel Butler was one of the original Tuskegee Airmen of World War II fame. The Tuskegee Airmen became the first black pilots in U.S. Military history. In a test program the 322nd Training Squadron was formed in 1940 with a white commanding officer. They trained in Tuskegee, Alabama in barracks and hangers that later became Tuskegee Institute. In 1942 they were deployed to North Africa and Captain Benjamin O. Davis would become their commander. The squadron flew P-40's, P-47's, and finally P-51's. All of the planes were painted with red tails so everyone would know who they were.

   Another Denisonian of note is John Munson. All he did was save the French Wine Industry..

          Not once, but twice... An insect invasion destroyed the vineyards of France and Northern Spain in the 1870's and 1880's. Munson used clippings from his own vineyard in Denison and sent them to France to restart their crops.. In 1917-1918 most of the battles of World War I were fought in the fields of France. Again after the war Munson came to the rescue with enough clippings to save France.. In response the City of Cognac, France has requested the City of Denison become her Sister City.

      Denison is full of murals on the walls of businesses throughout the city. U.S. Highway 69 runs right through the heart of the city, and just some of the sights vying for your attention...

     One of the more recent murals to be added was to the railroad underpass on East Crawford Street.. I was surprised when I took the shortcut this week.. It takes something to dress up a railroad underpass..

     This railroad underpass is just about 100 yards from the house that Eisenhower was born in. Speaking of Ike, I found one more that might be of interest while we are on the subject..

     Couldn't have said it better myself, Mister President...

2023 Denison Yellow Jackets Schedule

           

Scrimmage

August 17      Argyle High School

                             Regular Season

August 25         Sherman          0

                        Denison        42       (1-0)

Sept   1           #7 Frisco Reedy  34

                           Denison           7    (1-1)

Sept 8             Denison      21       (2-1)

                       Kennedale   13

Sept 15         Greenville    31

                     Denison        59       (3-1)

Sept 22        Denison      7         (3-2)

                    Lovejoy      47

Sept 29        Bye Week   (No Game)

Oct 6           Terrell        28

                   Denison      21     (3-3)

Oct 13         Melissa      40

                   Denison     14       (3-4)

Oct 20         Denison      48     (4-4)

                   Princeton     24

Oct 27         Crandall     22

                   Denison      48     (5-4)

Nov 2        Denison      47      (6-4)

                 Mesquite Poteet 16

           

           Bi-District Round of Playoffs

           Denison           20        (6-5)

           Marshall          28

         End of Season

  

 

Dallas Cowboys 2023 Schedule

 

Pre-Season Games:

   August 12

    Jacksonville     28 

    Dallas              23                0 - 1

August 19

     Dallas           14 

   Seattle    22            0-2

   

         

    August 26

         Las Vegas      16

     Dallas     31              1-2

Regular Season Games:

  Sept 10

    Dallas       40        (1-0)                 New York Giants   0

Sept 17

      New York Jets  10

     Dallas Cowboys 30   (2-0)

Sept 24

        Dallas      16           (2-1)

       Arizona     28

Oct 1

     New England    3

     Dallas              38      (3-1)

Oct 10

      Dallas              10      (3-2)

      San Francisco  42

Oct 16

     Dallas             20     (4-2)

     LA Chargers   17

October 22      Bye Week//No Game

Oct 29

        L.A. Rams     20

       Dallas             43      (5-2)

Nov 5

      Dallas      23        (5-3)                    Philadelphia 28

Nov 12

     New York Giants   17

     Dallas             49   (6-3)

Nov 19

        Dallas      33       (7-3)

        Carolina  10

Nov 23

       Washington   10

       Dallas            45     (8-3)

Nov 30

       Seattle      35

       Dallas      41         (9-3)

Dec 10

       Philadelphia    13

      Dallas               33    (10-3)

Dec 17

       Dallas      10     (10-4)

       Buffalo    31

Dec 24

       Dallas      20     (10-5)

      Miami       22

Dec 30

        Detroit      19

        Dallas       20         (11-5)

January 7

        Dallas      38        (12-5)                 Washington 10

P l a y o f f s:

    Wildcard Round:

January 14:

    Green Bay  48

    Dallas         32

E N D   O F   S E A S O N

             (Again)

The Fast Lane

 

       I went to Sunset High School in Dallas, a school that was built in 1925 and has a proud history down through the years. Jerry Mays played for the Kansas City Chiefs, but his days at Sunset were before my time and I never met him. Jerry Rhome played for the Dallas Cowboys and he was two years ahead of me and we knew each other just passing in the hallways..

     I grew up in the Dallas suburb of Oak Cliff and the boys in my neighborhood would all get together to play baseball, football, or basketball as each season rolled around. One of my pals was Billy Foster and we played sports together all the way back to the fourth grade. I knew Foster was special by the time we reached junior high school. He was just faster than everyone else. Billy could run the bases like a pro, he was always out front on the fastbreak, and was always open as a wide receiver.

   By the time we got to Sunset coaches were frothing over Foster. He won 4 state championships as a high schooler. In 1960 he brought home the gold in the long jump as a junior, but the following year he captured the trifecta by winning the 100 yard dash with a run of 9.5 seconds, a blazing run in the 220 yard dash in 20.94 seconds, and a new record in the long jump of 24 feet 4 inches..  After high school Foster decided on SMU for his college career..

 As a Mustang, Foster played football as well as ran track. He was part of the SMU team that defeated Roger Staubach and his Navy team in the Cotton Bowl..  On the cinder track Foster set five Southwest Conference records and tied a World Record in the 60 yard dash. At an indoor track meet in Lubbock in 1964 Billy the Bullet tied the World Record in the 60 yard dash in a run of 6 seconds flat.. 

    Foster was also instrumental in my meeting of another legend of Sunset High School.. He told me he was training with a former Bison who was now at the University of Texas.. When he said the name Eddie Southern I was all in.

     Southern was a 1955 graduate of Sunset and all he did was win four individual state records and one national record. Southern ran a 20.7 in the 220 yard dash, a best ever by a high schooler at the time. In 1956 was invited to the Olympic Games in Melbourne, Australia. He came home with the Silver Medal in the 400 meter hurdles event with a time of 50.1 seconds.

      At the University of Texas Southern set a new national record in the 220 yard dash at 20.7 seconds..  Running the anchor leg of the 440 and 880 relays he led the Horns to the Southwest Conference Championship in 1957, 1958, and 1959. Southern died earlier this year at the age of 85 and was a super polite gentleman to the very end.

   And that brings us to my days at Sunset..

      In 1962 my friend Henry Allen was the City of Dallas Champion in the low hurdles..As you can see by the above photo, he was almost perfect going over the hurdles...I lost contact with Henry after our high school days, but surely he belongs in this post... He ran with fast company...

2023 Dallas Cowboys NFL Draft

 

                 

                    

         The Dallas Cowboys finished the 2022 season with a record of 12-5... Good for some teams, but substandard for America's Team. Defense was the top item on the menu and the Cowboys went shopping at Ann Arbor, Michigan.. They had the 26th overall pick in the first round, and went for help on the defensive line..

     Mazi Smith is 6 foot 3 inches tall and weighs in at 357 pounds..He was the captain of the Michigan team in 2022 and their vocal team leader. He anchored the defensive front for the Wolverines and coaches say he loved the contact..

     Smith can learn from veterans on the team and also get in on some of action. He was a first team selection on the Big 10 All-Conference team. At the NFL Combine Smith vertically jumped 29 and a half inches and recorded a broad jump of eight feet eleven inches. His hands are said to be nine and three-quarter inches wide.

    As long as the Cowboys were in Ann Arbor, they stuck around for their second round pick..

    Needing a tight end, the Cowboys picked up Luke Schoonmaker, a six foot five inch monster tipping the scales at 251 pounds. Didn't start the 2022 season as the top tight end for Michigan but worked his way into the starting line-up. 

   Schoonmaker ran a 4.63 forty yard dash at the NFL Combine and posted a 33 and a half inch vertical jump, and that was 5th overall among all tight ends. Also at the top of the charts for overall athletic scores when he recorded a 9.86 out of 10.

    In the 3rd round Dallas returned to the Lone Star State when they picked up DeMarvion Overshown of the University of Texas..

      Overshown was the 90th overall pick in the draft, and he stands six foot four inches tall and weighs 240 pounds. His hometown is Arp, Texas, so he will be staying home for his professional career. Overshown's nickname among teammates is 'Agent Zero', referring to his jersey number.. but he won't be able to keep it with Dallas. Cowboy safety Jayron Kearse has already claimed the zero number. 

 Overshown was a 1st Team All Big-12 selection, and among his 96 tackles for the Horns this year, 10 went for negative yardage. He also had 4 quarterback sacks.. He played safety for Texas his first two years with the team before moving to linebacker. At the NFL Combine he posted a 4.6 forty yard dash. He also was a semi-finalist for the Butkus Award, that goes to the top college linebacker.. Zero started 33 of 50 games for the Longhorns..

    In the 4th round Dallas moved to the west coast for more help on the defensive line... Viliami Fehoko of San Jose State University.

Fehoko is 6 foot 4 and 267 pounds.. The 129th overall pick had a nickname of 'Backfield Bully' since he was in opponents backfield so often.  Conference Defensive Player of the Year in 2022 and named to the All-Conference Team.  Actually, it was the second year in a row Fehoko has been All-Conference. He led the team in tackles behind the line of scrimmage, sacks, and forced fumbles. Coaches say he is full-speed on every play and always around the ball. 

     In the 5th round the Cowboys went cross country to find some help for the offensive line...

   Asim Richards of the University of North Carolina stands six foot four inches tall and tips the scales at 307 pounds.. He by-passes his senior year to come out a year early..  He is young, but coaches call his play solid with great footwork..

     At the NFL Combine, coaches were impressed with Richards' command of his position, but needs to work on his hands.. He possesses a good first punch, but fails to maintain his control of defensive players.. Also could gain some aggression in his play, as coaches say he is just a good guy.. 

    When Round 6 rolled around the Cowboys used a future pick to move up in the draft to the 178th overall spot.. and they used the pick to select Eric Scott, Jr of Southern Mississippi University..

     Scott is a cornerback and is six foot two and 202 pounds...He is big and physical... In three years at Hattiesburg he recorded 60 tackles, 5 interceptions, 16 passes batted away, and two fumbles recovered.. Two of those interceptions were returned for touchdowns. Great athletic traits and a nose for the ball, but sometimes takes bad angles to the ball carrier. His coaches say he will fight for a spot on the Dallas roster..

    Dallas also had its regular pick in the 6th round (212 overall) and with it they tugged in the heart strings of Cowboys fans across the country...

   

 

     The Cowboys picked running back Deuce Vaughn of Kansas State University.. His father is a member of the coaching staff of Dallas and got to call his son with the good news... Deuce is five foot five and weighs 179 pounds.. His quickness and ability to turn on a dime has given him the nickname of Houdini...

       Deuce is a two-time First Team All-American and to call him quick is a gross understatement. He ran and caught passes for 1,936 yards in 2022,. 1558 yards rushing alone to finish 8th in the country..As a junior, he scored 22 touchdowns for the Jayhawks.

     The 7th round had the Cowboys with the 244 overall pick and they selected another wide receiver in the person of Jalen Brooks of the University of South Carolina..

      Brooks is six foot one and weighs in at 201 pounds.. He is an aggressive player but had a very poor showing at the NFL Combine.. His 4.69 in the 40 yard dash was the worst among wide receivers..

    He had 33 receptions for 504 yards in 2022, scoring one touchdown via the pass and one rushing the ball.  Over three years with the Gamecocks, Brooks had 110 catches for 1,833 yards and 12 touchdowns.. He is the 5th member of South Carolina to be drafted into the NFL this weekend.

     That rounds out the drafted players for this draft.. Now it will be up to the coaching staff to fan out and seek undrafted players to become free agent acquisitions. That is the route that Tony Romo and Drew Pearson traveled to become All=Pro members of the Dallas Cowboys...