1963 Dallas Cowboys season

Last updated

1963 Dallas Cowboys season
Owner Clint Murchison, Jr.
Head coach Tom Landry
Home field Cotton Bowl
Results
Record4–10
Division place5th NFL Eastern
Playoff finishDid not qualify

The 1963 Dallas Cowboys season was their fourth in the league, and also the first where the Cowboys were the only professional football team in Dallas, as the AFL's Texans relocated to Kansas City (and were rebranded as the Chiefs) during the offseason.

Contents

The team failed to improve on their previous output of 5–8–1, winning only four games. [1] The Cowboys also missed the playoffs for the fourth consecutive season.

Schedule

WeekDateOpponentResultRecordVenueAttendanceRecap
1September 14 St. Louis Cardinals L 7–340–1 Cotton Bowl 36,432 Recap
2September 22 Cleveland Browns L 24–410–2Cotton Bowl28,710 Recap
3September 29at Washington Redskins L 17–210–3 D.C. Stadium 40,101 Recap
4October 6at Philadelphia Eagles L 21–240–4 Franklin Field 60,671 Recap
5 October 13 Detroit Lions W 17–141–4Cotton Bowl27,264 Recap
6October 20at New York Giants L 21–371–5 Yankee Stadium 62,889 Recap
7October 27at Pittsburgh Steelers L 21–271–6 Forbes Field 19,047 Recap
8 November 3 Washington Redskins W 35–202–6Cotton Bowl18,838 Recap
9November 10at San Francisco 49ers L 24–312–7 Kezar Stadium 29,563 Recap
10 November 17 Philadelphia Eagles W 27–203–7Cotton Bowl23,694 Recap
11November 24at Cleveland Browns L 17–273–8 Cleveland Stadium 55,096 Recap
12December 1 New York Giants L 27–343–9Cotton Bowl29,653 Recap
13December 8 Pittsburgh Steelers L 19–343–10Cotton Bowl24,136 Recap
14 December 15at St. Louis Cardinals W 28–244–10 Busch Stadium 12,695 Recap

Conference opponents are in bold text

Game summaries

Week 5

1234Total
Lions0001414
Cowboys0701017

[2]

Week 8

1234Total
Redskins0103720
Cowboys7771435

[3]

Week 10

1234Total
Eagles607720
Cowboys7107327
  • Date: November 17
  • Location: Cotton Bowl
  • Game attendance: 23,694
  • Game weather: 72 °F (22 °C); wind 18 mph

[4]

Week 14

1234Total
Cowboys01401428
Cardinals01410024
  • Date: December 15
  • Location: Busch Stadium
  • Game weather: 6 °F (−14 °C); wind 11 mph

[5]

Standings

NFL Eastern Conference
WLTPCTCONFPFPASTK
New York Giants 1130.7869–3448280W3
Cleveland Browns 1040.7149–3343262W1
St. Louis Cardinals 950.6438–4341283L1
Pittsburgh Steelers 743.6367–3–2321295L1
Dallas Cowboys 4100.2863–9305378W1
Washington Redskins 3110.2142–10279398L3
Philadelphia Eagles 2102.1672–8–2242381L2
Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.

Season recap

The Cowboys were expecting to turn their fortunes around and have a good year, but won only three of their first ten games.

The assassination of John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963, stands out as an infamous moment in the season: not only was the nation's psyche impacted by this event, but the image of the city of Dallas was seriously tarnished. On November 24 - just two days after this historic event - the NFL decided to play its normal schedule of games, with the Cowboys traveling to face the Cleveland Browns.

On game day, when the team was introduced, the public address announcer referred to the team as simply the Cowboys, while the crowd also vented their frustration and pain at Cowboys players and officials during the game. The Cowboys lost 17–27, and would go on to have only one more win in the remaining three games.

On September 29, 1963, Billy Howton became the NFL's all-time receiving leader, breaking Don Hutson's record for career receptions and receiving yards. He retired at the end of the year, after playing in 12 seasons with 503 catches, 8,459 yards and 61 touchdowns.

NFL Draft

1963 Dallas Cowboys draft
RoundPickPlayerPositionCollegeNotes
16 Lee Roy Jordan  *  LB Alabama
334 Jim Price   LB Louisville
448 Whaley Hall   OT Mississippi
790Marv Clothier  OG Kansas
10132Rod Scheyer  OT Washington
11146 Ray Schoenke   OG SMU
12160 Bill Perkins   RB Iowa
13174Paul Wicker  OT Fresno State
14188Lou Cioci  LB Boston College
15202 Jerry Overton   S Utah
16216 Dennis Golden   OT Holy Cross
17230Ernie Parks  OG McMurry
18244 Bill Frank   OT Colorado Played in the CFL in 1963
19258 Jim Stiger   RB Washington
20272Tommy Lucas  E Texas
      Made roster        Pro Football Hall of Fame     *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

Roster

Dallas Cowboys 1963 roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

Reserve lists

Rookies in italics
40 active, 1 inactive

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References

  1. "1963 Dallas Cowboys". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved September 12, 2019.
  2. "Detroit Lions at Dallas Cowboys - October 13th, 1963". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved September 12, 2019.
  3. "Washington Redskins at Dallas Cowboys - November 3rd, 1963". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved September 12, 2019.
  4. "Philadelphia Eagles at Dallas Cowboys - November 17th, 1963". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved September 12, 2019.
  5. "Dallas Cowboys at St. Louis Cardinals - December 15th, 1963". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved September 12, 2019.