DCDallas Cowboys

Franchise history

The Dallas Cowboys joined the NFL as an expansion franchise on January 28, 1960, founded by oil-and-insurance magnate Clint Murchison Jr. with general manager Tex Schramm and, from 1960 to 1989, head coach Tom Landry. The club adopted the Cowboys name to evoke Texas identity, along with a navy-and-silver ("Cowboys blue") color scheme built around its iconic star emblem. Early seasons were rough — the winless 1960 debut prompted the self-deprecating label "next year's champions" — but Landry's innovative defenses (the "Doomsday Defense") and offenses turned Dallas into a perennial contender by the late 1960s.

The Cowboys played at the Cotton Bowl through 1971, then moved to Texas Stadium in Irving, famous for its partially open roof, until 2008; since 2009 they have played at AT&T Stadium in Arlington. Dallas won its first Super Bowl (VI) after the 1971 season and added a second (XII) after 1977, establishing a rivalry with Washington, Philadelphia, and San Francisco along the way. A 1978 NFL Films highlight reel dubbed them "America's Team," a nickname that stuck.

Jerry Jones bought the franchise in 1989 and controversially fired Landry, but under coach Jimmy Johnson (later Barry Switzer) and the "Triplets" — Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith, and Michael Irvin — Dallas won three Super Bowls in four years (XXVII, XXVIII, XXX) in the early-to-mid 1990s. Despite remaining one of the league's most valuable and popular franchises, the Cowboys have not reached a Super Bowl since that 1995 championship, enduring a three-decade title drought punctuated by numerous playoff near-misses.

Sources

• Pro Football Reference
• Wikipedia - Dallas Cowboys
• Pro Football Hall of Fame - Cowboys Team History

Super Bowl Champions won (5)

• Super Bowl VI - 1971
• Super Bowl XII - 1977
• Super Bowl XXVII - 1992
• Super Bowl XXVIII - 1993
• Super Bowl XXX - 1995

Runner-up finishes (3)

• Super Bowl V - 1970
• Super Bowl X - 1975
• Super Bowl XIII - 1978

See the full super bowl champions list for the winner each of these years.