1964 Draft
By Matt Cordon (kh). Filed in Historic Drafts |
Grade: A
The Cowboys landed two Hall of Fame players, plus another in the Ring of Honor, in the 1964 draft, making it one of the finest in the team’s early history. Among those selected were Mel Renfro, Bob Hayes, and this quarterback named Roger Staubach.
Dallas took Renfro with its second pick. Renfro arrived as a highly touted running back, but he was immediately converted to defensive back. He spent 14 years with the club, hauling in 52 career interceptions, a team record. He was named to the Ring of Honor in 1981 and to the Hall of Fame in 1996.
Hayes won two gold medals at the Tokyo olympics in 1964. Dallas took him in the
seventh round, and when he joined the club for the 1965 season, he immediately had an impact. He gained more than 1000 yards in each of his first two seasons and gained more than 7000 yards during his 10-year career with the club. He finished his career with San Francisco in 1975. He was named to the Ring of Honon in 2001, one year before his death.
As most Cowboys’ fans know, Staubach, the team’s tenth round pick, was unable to join the team for five years due to his commitments to the Navy. He joined the club in 1969 and became the full-time starter midway through the 1971 season. He led Dallas to four Super Bowl apperances and two titles. The team inducted him to the Ring of Honor in 1983, and he was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1985.
The team’s other picks were mostly misses. The Cowboys’ selected defensive tackle Scott Appleton from the University of Texas in the first round. Appleton chose instead to play with the Houston Oilers of the AFL. He later played with the San Diego Chargers. The New York Times ran a short obituary when he died at the age of 50 in 1992.
Perry Lee Dunn, the fourth-round pick from Mississippi, came to the Cowboys as a defensive back, but head coach Tom Landry immediately converted him to a fullback. He played two years in Dallas before moving on to Atlanta. He finished his career in Baltimore. The Natchez (MS) Democrat ran a couple of where are they now features on Dunn in 2006, which are here and here.
Punter Billy Lothridge, a sixth round pick, played one year in Dallas before moving on to Los Angeles in 1965. He finished his nine-year career, during which he had a 41.0 yard average, with Miami in 1972. Guard Jack Kupp, selected in the ninth round, played two years in Dallas. He enjoyed a 12-year career, later playing in Washington, Atlanta, and New Orleans.
Quarterback Jerry Rhome, the 13th-round pick, saw limited action with Dallas from 
1965 to 1968. He later played for Cleveland, Houston, and Los Angeles before retiring in 1971. He rejoined the team many years later as quarterbacks coach under Jimmy Johnson in 1989. He made news more recently when he served as a tutor for Vince Young, the former star at the University of Texas who joined the Tennessee Titans in 2006.
Technorati Tags: Blogs, Football, NFL, Dallas Cowboys, Mel Renfro, Roger Staubach, Vince Young
Tuesday, February 5th 2008 at 5:54 pm
I have a story about Scott Appleton:
I ran into him at a McDonald’s in Austin sometime during the 80s (I can’t remember what I was doing at the time so I can’t place the date). He was managing the McDonald’s at Dobie Mall, which is near the UT campus. I didn’t recognize his face, but I immediately recognized his name tag, and I asked him if he was THE Scott Appleton, and he said yes.
A few years later, I ran into him again at a diner near the First Baptist Church in San Antonio. I think he was doing volunteer work for the diner, which operated as a ministry of the FBC.
He was a really nice guy — he was big and looked like he could still suit up!
Tuesday, February 5th 2008 at 5:57 pm
Another note, this time about Rhome: he’s an author; see his book at Amazon, “How to Grow a Winning Quarterback” (2003).
I have a copy and will be posting a review to Amazon as soon as I finish reading it.
Tuesday, February 5th 2008 at 5:58 pm
One more note: your link for the ‘65 draft points back to this ‘64 page.