The 1966 Dallas Cowboys season was the seventh for the franchise in the National Football League. The Cowboys, who had never previously finished with a winning record in their history, would improve dramatically. Dallas finished 10-3-1 and won the Eastern Conference title, their first of six consecutive division titles. They hosted the NFL Championship Game at the Cotton Bowl, where they lost to the defending NFL champion Green Bay Packers, thus missing out on the chance to play in the first Super Bowl which the Packers went on to win two weeks later.
| 1966 Dallas Cowboys season | |
|---|---|
| Owner | Clint Murchison, Jr. |
| Head coach | Tom Landry |
| Home field | Cotton Bowl |
| Local radio | KLIF |
| Results | |
| Record | 10–3–1 |
| Division place | 1st NFL Eastern |
| Playoff finish | Lost NFL Championship (vs. Packers) 27–34 |
| Pro Bowlers | 9
|
| AP All-Pros | 4
|
Quarterback Don Meredith had the best season of his career throwing for 2,805 yards, 24 touchdowns (both career highs) and 12 interceptions.
NFL Draft
| 1966 Dallas Cowboys draft | |||||
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | John Niland * | OG | Iowa | |
| 2 | 22 | Willie Townes | DT | Tulsa | |
| 5 | 79 | Walt Garrison * | FB | Oklahoma State | |
| 6 | 86 | Bob Dunlevy | OT | West Virginia | |
| 7 | 100 | Arthur Robinson | WR | Florida A&M | |
| 8 | 116 | Don Kunit | RB | Penn State | |
| 9 | 130 | Darrell Elam | WR | West Virginia Tech | |
| 10 | 146 | Mason Mitchell | RB | Washington | |
| 11 | 160 | Austin Denney | TE | Tennessee | |
| 12 | 173 | Les Shy | DB | Long Beach State | |
| 12 | 176 | Craig Baynham | RB | Georgia Tech | |
| 13 | 190 | Ron Lamb | RB | South Carolina | |
| 14 | 206 | Lewis Turner | RB | Norfolk State | |
| 15 | 220 | Mark Gartung | OT | Oregon State | |
| 16 | 236 | Tom Piggee | RB | San Francisco State | |
| 17 | 250 | George Allen | DT | West Texas State | Signed with the AFL |
| 18 | 266 | Steve Orr | OT | Washington | |
| 19 | 280 | Byron Johnson | OT | Central Washington | |
| 20 | 296 | Lou Hudson | WR | Minnesota | Signed with the NBA |
| Made roster † Pro Football Hall of Fame * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career | |||||
Regular Season
Schedule
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Game Site | Attendance | Recap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bye | ||||||
| 2 | September 18 | New York Giants | W 52–7 | 1–0 | Cotton Bowl | 60,010 | Recap |
| 3 | September 25 | Minnesota Vikings | W 27–17 | 2–0 | Cotton Bowl | 64,116 | Recap |
| 4 | October 2 | at Atlanta Falcons | W 47–14 | 3–0 | Atlanta Stadium | 56,990 | Recap |
| 5 | October 9 | Philadelphia Eagles | W 56–7 | 4–0 | Cotton Bowl | 69,372 | Recap |
| 6 | October 16 | at St. Louis Cardinals | T 10–10 | 4–0–1 | Busch Memorial Stadium | 50,673 | Recap |
| 7 | October 23 | at Cleveland Browns | L 21–30 | 4–1–1 | Cleveland Stadium | 84,721 | Recap |
| 8 | October 30 | Pittsburgh Steelers | W 52–21 | 5–1–1 | Cotton Bowl | 58,453 | Recap |
| 9 | November 6 | at Philadelphia Eagles | L 23–24 | 5–2–1 | Franklin Field | 60,658 | Recap |
| 10 | November 13 | at Washington Redskins | W 31–30 | 6–2–1 | D.C. Stadium | 50,927 | Recap |
| 11 | November 20 | at Pittsburgh Steelers | W 20–7 | 7–2–1 | Pitt Stadium | 42,185 | Recap |
| 12 | November 24 | Cleveland Browns | W 26–14 | 8–2–1 | Cotton Bowl | 80,259 | Recap |
| 13 | December 4 | St. Louis Cardinals | W 31–17 | 9–2–1 | Cotton Bowl | 76,965 | Recap |
| 14 | December 11 | Washington Redskins | L 31–34 | 9–3–1 | Cotton Bowl | 64,198 | Recap |
| 15 | December 18 | at New York Giants | W 17–7 | 10–3–1 | Yankee Stadium | 62,735 | Recap |
Conference opponents are in bold text
- A bye week was necessary in 1966, as the league expanded to an odd-number (15) of teams (Atlanta); one team was idle each week.
- This year was the first time the Dallas Cowboys played on Thanksgiving Day
Game Summaries
Week 2 vs. New York Giants
| Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Giants | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| Cowboys | 7 | 24 | 14 | 7 | 52 |
at Cotton Bowl, Dallas
- Date: September 18
- Game weather: 73 °F (23 °C)
- Box Score
| Game information |
|---|
Week 8 vs Steelers
| Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Steelers | 7 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 21 |
| Cowboys | 0 | 24 | 21 | 7 | 52 |
- Date: October 30
- Game weather: 64 °F (18 °C)
- Game attendance: 58,453
- Box Score
| Game information |
|---|
Week 10 at Redskins
| Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cowboys | 7 | 7 | 7 | 10 | 31 |
| Redskins | 6 | 0 | 17 | 7 | 30 |
at District of Columbia Stadium, Washington, D.C.
- Date: November 13, 1966
- Game weather: 40 °F (4 °C)
- Game attendance: 50,927
- Box Score
Don Meredith played through a broken rib
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cowboys | Passing | Don Meredith | 21/29, 406 Yds, 2 TD, INT |
| Rushing | Dan Reeves | 13 Rush, 59 Yds | |
| Receiving | Bob Hayes | 9 Rec, 246 Yds, 2 TD | |
| Redskins | Passing | Sonny Jurgensen | 26/46, 347 Yds, 3 TD |
| Rushing | A.D. Whitfield | 7 Rush, 17 Yds | |
| Receiving | Charley Taylor | 11 Rec, 199 Yds, 2 TD |
| Scoring summary | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Week 12 vs Browns
| Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Browns | 0 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 14 |
| Cowboys | 6 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 26 |
- Date: November 24
- Game weather: 71 °F (22 °C)
- Game attendance: 80,259
- Box Score
| Game information |
|---|
Week 15 at New York Giants
| Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cowboys | 7 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 17 |
| Giants | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 |
at Yankee Stadium, New York City
- Date: December 18
- Game weather: 50 °F (10 °C)
- Box Score
| Game information |
|---|
Postseason
| Round | Date | Opponent | Result | Game Site | Attendance | Recap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NFL Championship | January 1, 1967 | Green Bay Packers | L 27–34 | Cotton Bowl | 75,504 | Recap |
NFL Championship Game
| Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Packers | 14 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 34 |
| Cowboys | 14 | 3 | 3 | 7 | 27 |
at Cotton Bowl, Dallas, Texas
- Date: Sunday, January 1
- Game attendance: 74,152
- Box Score
| Game information |
|---|
Green Bay took an early 14–0 lead on two first-quarter scores; a 17-yard touchdown pass from Bart Starr to Elijah Pitts and an 18-yard fumble return by Jim Grabowski on the ensuing kickoff. The Cowboys tied the score with two touchdowns towards the end of the quarter.
Starr's third touchdown pass of the game gave the Packers a 34–20 lead with 5:20 left in the game, but the Cowboys responded with a 68-yard touchdown pass from Don Meredith to Frank Clarke. Dallas advanced to the Green Bay 22-yard line on their next drive, when a pass interference penalty gave the Cowboys a first down at the Packer 2-yard line. But Green Bay's Tom Brown intercepted a Meredith pass in the end zone with 28 seconds left to play to preserve the victory for the Packers.
Standings
| NFL Eastern Conference | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | T | PCT | CONF | PF | PA | STK | ||
| Dallas Cowboys | 10 | 3 | 1 | .769 | 9–3–1 | 445 | 239 | W1 | |
| Philadelphia Eagles | 9 | 5 | 0 | .643 | 8–5 | 326 | 340 | W4 | |
| Cleveland Browns | 9 | 5 | 0 | .643 | 9–4 | 403 | 259 | W1 | |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 8 | 5 | 1 | .615 | 7–5–1 | 264 | 265 | L3 | |
| Washington Redskins | 7 | 7 | 0 | .500 | 7–6 | 351 | 355 | L1 | |
| Pittsburgh Steelers | 5 | 8 | 1 | .385 | 4–8–1 | 316 | 347 | W2 | |
| Atlanta Falcons | 3 | 11 | 0 | .214 | 2–5 | 204 | 437 | L1 | |
| New York Giants | 1 | 12 | 1 | .077 | 1–11–1 | 263 | 501 | L8 | |
Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.
Season recap
With the growth in popularity of televised NFL games, the league began looking for a second team in addition to the Detroit Lions, to host an annual Thanksgiving Day game. Every team turned down the offer, except for the Dallas Cowboys. General Manager Tex Schramm recognized this as an opportunity for the franchise to increase its popularity and establish its own Thanksgiving Day game tradition.
In 1966, the Cowboys who had been founded six years earlier, adopted the practice of hosting Thanksgiving games. It is widely rumored that the Cowboys sought a guarantee that they would regularly host Thanksgiving games as a condition of their very first one (since games on days other than Sunday were uncommon at the time and thus high attendance was not a certainty). Since then, the two "traditional" Thanksgiving Day pro football games have been in Detroit and Dallas.
Roster
| Dallas Cowboys 1966 roster | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Quarterbacks
Running backs
Wide receivers
Tight ends
| Offensive linemen
Defensive linemen
| Linebackers
Defensive backs
Special teams
| Reserve lists
Rookies in italics | |||
Statistics
Team leaders
| Category | Player(s) | Value | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Passing yards | Don Meredith | 2,805 | 4th |
| Passing touchdowns | Don Meredith | 24 | 3rd |
| Rushing yards | Dan Reeves | 757 | 6th |
| Rushing touchdowns | Dan Reeves/Don Perkins | 8 | t2nd |
| Receiving yards | Bob Hayes | 1,232 | 2nd |
| Receiving touchdowns | Bob Hayes | 13 | 1st |
| Points | Danny Villanueva | 107 | 2nd |
| Kickoff return yards | Mel Renfro | 487 | 12th |
| Punt return yards | Mel Renfro | 123 | 8th |
| Interceptions | Cornell Green | 4 | t6th |
| Sacks | George Andrie | 18.5 | 1st |
Note that sack totals from 1960 to 1981 are considered unofficial by the NFL.[1]