When the Cowboys and Steelers of the 1970s became immortalized by the two Super Bowls, the teams were a few years removed from having played each other annually when both teams were members of the NFL. The two teams have faced each other a total of 29 times, and 16 of those games took place during the 1960s.
Two games with the Steelers hold important places in the early history of the Cowboys franchise.
* On September 24, 1960, the Cowboys hosted the Steelers in the first ever regular season game for the Cowboys. Despite two early touchdown passes by quarterback Eddie LeBaron, the Cowboys could not stop quarterback Bobby Layne, and the Steelers won 35-28.
* One year later, on September 17, 1961, the Cowboys again opened a regular season at home against the Steelers. Pittsburgh held a 24-17 lead in the fourth quarter, but LeBaron replaced Don Meredith and led a comeback. Allen Green kicked a field goal in the final minute as Dallas pulled out a 27-24 win. It was the first win in the history of the Cowboys.
Between 1961 and 1966, the Cowboys and Steelers were both members of the Eastern Conference of the NFL, meaning that the teams played one another twice a year. During this period, the teams split twelve games, with Pittsburgh winning five of the first seven and Dallas winning four of the last five.
In the latter half of the 1960s, the Steelers struggled while the Cowboys developed into one of the league’s best. Between 1966 and 1969, the Cowboys won six straight over the Steelers, which declined from five wins in 1966 to one win in 1969.
During the 1967 season, Dallas traveled to Pittsburgh to take on the Steelers at Pitt Stadium. The 1-4 Steelers overcame a 14-7 halftime deficit to take a 21-17 fourth quarter lead, thanks to a touchdown run by quarterback Kent Nix and a TD pass from Nix to J.R. Wilburn.
However, quarterback Craig Morton, who split time with Jerry Rhome that day, hit Lance Rentzel on a long pass late in the game. Rentzel fumbled, but Dan Reeves recovered the ball at the Dallas 6. With 24 seconds left in the game, Morton hit Pettis Norman on a five-yard touchdown pass that gave the Cowboys a 24-21 win.
Here are the highlights of that game:
The Cowboys faced Pittsburgh in December in both 1968 and 1969, and Dallas won both games. The teams faced off in 1972, with Dallas coming away with a 17-13. They did not meet each other again until Super Bowl X, and from that point, a new history began.
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One tidbit about the game shown above: Dallas had to wear its blue jerseys in Pittsburgh in both 1967 and 1969. I am under the impression that the Steelers usually wore their black jerseys at home during those seasons, but they wore white against the Cowboys.
Did you know, incidentally, that there is a Society for Sports Uniforms Research? Yes, a Society for Sports Uniforms Research. That is . . . quite interesting. However, the SSUR’s site did not help me answer the question of why Dallas had to wear blue at Pittsburgh in 1967 and 1969.
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If you missed it, I posted several videos in August featuring a pregame special for Super Bowl X. It shows several Cowboys from the 1970s and is pretty interesting to watch. Here is the link.
