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.
Quarterback Don Meredith had the best season of his career throwing for 2,805 yards, 24 touchdowns (both career highs) and 12 interceptions.
This season would also start an annual tradition, which the Cowboys would play on Thanksgiving, a holiday they have played every year since.
Offseason NFL draft
Undrafted free agents
+ 1966 undrafted free agents of notePlayerPositionCollegeJim BrownRunning backTexas A&IAlex BowdenQuarterbackAuburnDick DanielsSafetyPacific (CA)Marv KendrickDefensive backUtah State
Roster Dallas Cowboys 1966 roster Quarterbacks Don Meredith Craig Morton Jerry Rhome
Running backs Walt Garrison Don Perkins Dan Reeves Les Shy J. D. Smith
Wide receivers Buddy Dial Pete Gent Bob Hayes
Tight ends Frank Clarke Pettis Norman Offensive linemen Jim Boeke T Mike Connelly C/G Leon Donohue G Tony Liscio T/G Dave Manders C Ralph Neely T John Niland G Malcolm Walker T
Defensive linemen George Andrie DE Jim Colvin DT Bob Lilly DT Jethro Pugh DT Larry Stephens DE Willie Townes DELinebackers Dave Edwards OLB Harold Hays OLB Chuck Howley OLB Lee Roy Jordan MLB Jerry Tubbs MLB
Defensive backs Dick Daniels SS Mike Gaechter SS Cornell Green CB Mike Johnson CB Warren Livingston CB Obert Logan FS Mel Renfro FS
Special teams Danny Villanueva K/PReserve lists Bill Sandeman DT (IR)
Taxi squad Art Robinson TE Dick Smith WR Jim Steffen S John Wilbur G/T
Rookies in italics 40 active, 1 inactive
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 , 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
Week 8 vs Steelers
Week 10 at Redskins
Don Meredith played through a broken rib
Week 12 vs Browns
Week 15 at New York Giants
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
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. 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
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.
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 Hayes1,232 2nd Receiving touchdowns Bob Hayes 13 1st Points Danny Villanueva107 2nd Kickoff return yards Mel Renfro487 12th Punt return yards Mel Renfro 123 8th Interceptions Cornell Green 4 t6thSacksGeorge Andrie18.5 1st Note that sack totals from 1960 to 1981 are considered unofficial by the NFL. Awards and honors Don Meredith, Bert Bell Award
References
External links It Was 1966 . . . 1934 - THE FIRST NFL GAME IS BROADCAST NATIONALLY