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• http://www.texasburgerstops.com James

  You got this one right on.

  Harris should be a Hall-Of-Famer except for the Cowboy bias the selection committee has.

• http://www.knowyourdallascowboys.com kickholder

  Thanks, James. And great website, by the way. If I could mention the best hole-in-the-wall burger joint in central Texas– Rocket Cafe in Robinson.

• http://www.cowboycards.com cowboycards

  My vote went to Don Perkins mainly because I feel he is probably the most forgotten Cowboy. No doubt Captain Crash is the best safety the Cowboys have ever had and deserves to be in the Hall of Fame (someday) but most Cowboy fans simply don’t know who Don Perkins is and I wanted to take this chance to tell them who he was.

  Don Perkins was the first Cowboy. Yep, he was the first! Lilly was the first draft pick, Meredith was the first big name player but Don Perkins was the first Cowboy. He was signed to a personal services contract before the 1960 NFL expansion draft and later he was drafted by the Colts in the NFL draft. The Cowboys had to compensate with a draft pick in ’61 but it was worth the risk because Perkins became an All Pro RB for the worst team in the league. After an injury kept him out of action in 1960, Don was named the NFL rookie of the Year in 1961 with 815 yards rushing. He made his first Pro Bowl in 1962 with 945 yards rushing. Don was named to the Pro Bowl 6 times and was the Cowboys career leading rusher with over 6,000 yards when he retired before the 1969 season. Don is 3rd on the Cowboys all time list for 100 yard games (I don’t have to tell you who the first 2 spots belong to) and is tied for 2nd for leading the team in rushing for 4 consecutive seasons.

  Don retired after the 1968 season, still in his prime. Had he played 5 more years, he would have racked up a Super Bowl ring, a few more yards and TDs and likely a trip to Canton but for his own reasons, he choose to hang ‘em up. Don quitely retired back to his home in New Mexico and besides his induction into the RING of HONOR has been relatively forgotten in Cowboys history but I’m here to tell you, he was great. he was really great!

• Fred Goodwin

  This was really hard for me.

  I finally went with Harris, but Perkins is my all-time favorite Dallas Cowboy, for many of the reasons Marty mentions. He was a FB with RB speed, he often caught passes out of the backfield, and he could pick up blitzing LBs.

  Its amazing how durable Perkins was, save for the ankle injury (suffered in practice for the 1960 College All Star Game) that kept him on the sidelines during his rookie season.

  Although Jim Doran was the Cowboys first Pro Bowler in 1960, Perkins was the first Cowboy elected to start in the Pro Bowl in his “rookie” season of 1961.

  Tom Landry is known to have chewed out players in film sessions (see this article:

  http://espn.go.com/page2/s/toomay/020212.html

  for an example) but I don’t recall ever reading about Landry chewing out Perkins for being out of position or not properly executing a play.

• http://www.knowyourdallascowboys.com kickholder

  Thanks to both Fred and Marty. I’ve spent quite a bit of time reading up on the 1960s Cowboys and watching whatever I can get my hands on. Thus, even as a relatively younger fan (born in 1971), I do appreciate what Perkins meant to the team.

• Tim Truemper

  I’m late to the discussion on this as I have been away from the computer. I thoroughly enjoyed the contributions of Marty and Fred on Don Perkins. He is unheralded in terms of Cowboy fan memory. He was one of the best backs of the 1960′s and could have been a 100o yard rusher if given more carries. If you look at Pro Football Reference, you will see year to year he was near the top in rushing statistics. And, as Marty said, if he had played 5 more years, he could have had Jim Taylor like stats and been in the HOF.

  If the highlights were available, seeing Don Perkins in the 1966 NFL championship game is an eye opener about his ability. Against a great defense, he ran great. The only thing that helped make his premature retirement bearable was that Walt Garrison took his place.

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• Coach G

  I like #43, Elvis Patterson, talk about speed, one of the most under rated backs in the league. my vote for best jersey # is 34, 43. the ghost….

• Faye

  I found a note that was given to me while working at a bank off of McAuthur Blvd. in Irving Tx. He signed it “The Ghost Emitt #43 Cowboys. That was in 1991 while I was working in that area. I had forgot about it and I can’t remember him. I know he came in with Barry Switcher and they all went back to their lock boxes to get their rings.
  Could you give me any iformation you may have on him. The card says” To Faye, Keep the Wonderful Smile” The Ghost and the name looks like Emitt # 43 and he drew a ghost-Cowboys. Thank if you can help me. Faye Talley