Tom Landry
| Tom Landry | |
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Positions: Head Coach Cornerback |
Jersey number (s): 49 |
| born September 11, 1924 in Mission , Texas | |
| died on February 12, 2000 in Dallas , Texas | |
| Career information | |
| Active : 1949 - 1988 | |
| NFL Draft : 1947 / Round: 20 / Pick: 184 | |
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College : University of Texas at Austin University of Houston |
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| Teams | |
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Player career
Coaching career
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| Career statistics | |
| Victory-defeat | 250-162-6 |
| Wins in percent | 60.7% |
| Games | 418 |
| Stats at NFL.com | |
| Coaching stats at pro-football-reference.com | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
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| Pro Football Hall of Fame | |
Thomas Wade Landry (* 11. September 1924 in Mission , Texas ; † 12. February 2000 in Dallas ) was an American American football poker players and - coach . He was also a pilot in the United States Army Air Forces .
youth
Landry was born the son of auto mechanic and firefighter Ray Landry. His mother Ruth was a housewife. Landry came from a humble background and had to share a room in his parents' house with his older brothers, both twins. His brother, Robert, died as a bomber pilot in World War II . As a child he was involved in a serious traffic accident where he was critically injured and found it difficult to recover.
player
High school
Landry already played American football in high school . His original position was that of quarterback . Last year in high school, he was named his team's MVP . His team won the regional championship. Even at school he was taught by his coaches that success can only be achieved through performance. He stayed true to this principle throughout his career.
College / military career
Due to his achievements in high school, Landry received an economics and football scholarship from the University of Texas at Austin , which he was able to complete with a business degree. Since his original position as quarterback with the Texas Longhorns was already occupied, he usually played as fullback and defensive backfield .
After a year he dropped out to join the United States Army Air Forces . He was trained as a bomber pilot, promoted to lieutenant and took part in the Second World War, where he flew a total of 30 missions over Germany with a Boeing B-17 and survived a crash landing in Belgium due to lack of fuel on his plane . In November 1945 he was discharged from military service as a first lieutenant and returned to the Longhorns in 1947. With Bobby Layne played with the Longhorns a later member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame as quarterback, Landry was therefore used as defensive back and running back. With his team he won the Sugar Bowl in 1948 with 27: 7 against the University of Alabama and in 1949 the Orange Bowl against the University of Georgia with 41:28. He achieved a space gain of 117 yards . During the 1948/49 vacation he worked as a helper and contact person for children on a vacation ranch in Kerrville , Texas. Promoting youth was a concern of his until his death. Landry married Alicia Wiggs on January 28, 1949, with whom he remained married for the rest of his life.
Professional career
In 1949, Landry was hired by the New York Yankees to join the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) for a salary of $ 6,000 and a hand money of $ 500. Previously, he was drawn in the 20th round in 184th place in the AAFC Draft by the Yankees. For the team from New York he played in various positions. He ran as a halfback , cornerback and as a punt and kickoff return, but received most of the time as a punter . After the AAFC closed its doors after the 1949 season due to financial problems, the universally applicable Landry, like other top Yankees players, including Arnie Weinmeister and Otto Schnellbacher , joined the New York Giants trained by Steve Owen in the NFL and came there too in various positions, but mainly as a cornerback as a partner of Emlen Tunnell . Steve Owen became a promoter of Landry and gave him the freedom to make the game of Giants Defense effective. In 1955, after he had scored a total of 4 touchdowns and caught 32 interceptions , he ended his playing career.
Trainer
New York's Giants
Landry became defense coordinator for the Giants during his playing career . In the same coaching staff also worked Vince Lombardi , who was responsible for the attack area and whom he would meet several times in the course of his career. Landry made the Giants defense one of the best defenses in the league. He himself had an analytical mind and was able to adjust his defense precisely to the opposing attacking teams. Landry developed the 4-3 Defense , in which four defensive line players and three linebackers are set up. The specialty was that the opposing center was faced with a much more agile linebacker at a distance of two meters instead of a nose tackle . This defensive formation is still a common game practice in football today.
In 1956 the Giants won the NFL Championship Game against the Chicago Bears with 47: 7, but had to admit defeat to the Baltimore Colts with their quarterback Johnny Unitas with 32:17 and 31:16 in the following two years .
The successor of Owen as coach at the Giants Jim Lee Howell recognized like Owen himself the coaching talent of his assistant and described him as the best football coach in the league at the moment. He should not stay with the Giants as an assistant coach.
Dallas Cowboys
In response to the founding of the American Football League (AFL), those in charge of the NFL made the decision to expand in 1959. In January 1960, two Dallas businessmen acquired an NFL franchise . The Dallas Cowboys were newly formed and were in direct competition with the Dallas Texans , an AFL team that moved to Kansas City in 1963 . Landry, of an offer from Wellington Mara had to coach the Giants not adopted, in 1960, the first head coach of the Cowboys and remained so until 1988. Committed was he of Tex Schramm before, the short time by the owners of the Cowboys as general manager contract had been tied to the cowboys. The two men were supposed to stay connected until Landry's retirement and together steer the fortunes of the team.
The 1960 season was disappointing for the Cowboys, no game was won. Only in the following season could the Cowboys win their first game - the Pittsburgh Steelers had to admit defeat with 27:24. However, more games were lost than could be won in the next four years. Landry was given enough time to develop the team. The patience of the team owners and the general manager should pay off. In 1964, von Schramm extended Landry's contract for 10 years. Landry and Schramm made the "Americas Team" out of the Cowboys , with the fact that their quarterback Don Meredith always knew how to lead the team to top performance, was an advantage.
In 1966, Landry and Schramm made another commitment that would prove positive for the development of the cowboys. With Ernie Stautner , a former Pro Bowl player was hired, who from then on took over the defense of the team. Born in Bavaria , Stautner had made a name for himself as a player and assistant coach with the Pittsburgh Steelers and helped strengthen the defense of the cowboys. With the help of Stautner, defenders like Chuck Howley , Bob Lilly , Mel Renfro and Lee Roy Jordan were able to demonstrate their full potential. The defense of the cowboys became a part of the team feared by the opposing teams and was nicknamed "Doomsday Defense".
1966 Landry was able to qualify for the play-offs for the first time . Both in that year and in 1967 the entry into the NFL Championship Game succeeded. There Landry's team had to admit defeat to the Green Bay Packers with quarterback Bart Starr with 34:27 and 21:17 (in the so-called Ice Bowl ) . The Packers, led by their former companion Landrys Vince Lombardi, simply couldn't be defeated by the cowboys. In contrast to Lombardi, who was notorious for a choleric, Landry was not a shining light and was therefore much less popular. Landry was an analyst, statistician and at the same time pedantic and perfectionist, which led his quarterback Meredith to say: "If he were married to Raquel Welch , he would assume that she would cook him food" .
In 1968 Meredith ended his career. He was first replaced by Craig Morton and in 1971 by the legendary quarterback Roger Staubach . Staubach, in turn, like his trainer Landry a calm analyst, was his extended arm on the field. In 1971 Landry traveled to Europe looking for a kicker . During his search he came across the Austrian soccer player Toni Fritsch , who was then under contract with the Cowboys as a kicker for the next few years. In the following years a total of five NFC Championship Games were won. By 1982 they failed in five other championship games and missed entry into the Superbowl. Landry led the Cowboys to the Super Bowl five times and was able to win two of them - Super Bowl VI against the Miami Dolphins with 24: 3 and Super Bowl XII against the Denver Broncos with 27:10.
The first successes
The Cowboys were also able to convince in 1968 and 1969, but failed in the play-offs at the Cleveland Browns in both years . In 1970 he signed running back Duane Thomas , who was to become an important part of Landry's offense over the next two years. However, Thomas was also considered grumpy and moody, which Landry was soon to feel. Thomas Landry and his team celebrated their first major success in 1970. After a regular season with ten wins and four defeats, the team was able to win the NFC Championship Game against the San Francisco 49ers with 17:10. The new signing Duane Thomas should contribute significantly to the outcome of the game with his performance. With 27 runs he gained 147 yards and also scored a touchdown. The victory in the NFC Championship Game was contrasted with a 16:13 defeat against the Baltimore Colts trained by Don McCafferty in Super Bowl V , but Thomas was able to score another touchdown. The relationship between Landry and his top performer Thomas became increasingly difficult after the season. Thomas called him a "plastic man" and asked the cowboys to increase his income. After this was rejected, the Cowboys gave their player to the New England Patriots , but had to take him back after Thomas got himself into trouble with his new team. Although Thomas did not have a positive relationship with Landry, he was convinced of his abilities and immediately built him back into the team.
On the way to Super Bowl VI
The 1971 season was initially not as successful for the Cowboys as one had hoped. By the seventh game day, Landry's team had only won four of their seven games. In the following games, Staubach was able to prevail as a starter and push Morton from his regular place. Staubach was able to win all of the following seven games. He threw 15 touchdown passes in the entire season, his four interceptions were the top value in the league, the qualification for the play-offs were the positive consequence.
There the Minnesota Vikings were first defeated with 20:12. Although the Vikings with 311 yards clearly surpassed the space gained by the cowboys in the game with 183 yards, the cowboys took advantage of their few chances and left the field as winners. 13 out of 20 points were due to the Vikings losing the ball. Staubach also played flawlessly, with ten of his only 14 passes being caught and Bob Hayes being able to use one of the passes for a touchdown. In the NFC Championship Game , Landry's team then beat the San Francisco 49ers 14: 3 . This time, Landry's 4-3 defense was the game-changer. The defenders were able to intercept three passes from the opposing quarterback, and the 49ers gained only 61 yards of space through running play. In addition, the "problem child" of Landry Duane Thomas showed a good performance in both games and scored a touchdown. The move into Super Bowl VI was the result for the team from Dallas.
Super Bowl VI
Opponents in this game were the Miami Dolphins trained by Don Shula . The Dolphins won 10 of their 14 games during the regular season. In the Super Bowl they still had no chance. While the Cowboys' offense gained 352 yards of space, the team's 4-3 defense was able to keep the Dolphins at 185 yards. Chuck Howley intercepted a pass from quarterback Bob Griese and was then able to carry the ball over a distance of 41 yards in the direction of the opposing end zone. Staubach, who had a quarterback rating of 101.8 in the regular season and was the best quarterback in the league, scored two touchdowns with passes to Lance Alworth and Mike Ditka and was voted Most Valuable Player of the game. Thomas was able to carry a ball into the opposing end zone. Landry and the Cowboys, who were said again and again before the game, that they could not win any important games, had now proven to the contrary with the team's 24: 3 victory.
Between Super Bowl VI and Super Bowl XII
In the next few years Landry was able to establish his team in the top field of the NFL. During the preparation for the season, the already difficult relationship between him and his player Thomas had deteriorated so much that he had to be handed over to the San Diego Chargers . In 1972, Landry's team won ten out of 14 games. Staubach suffered a serious shoulder injury during the season and had to be replaced by Morton. Only in the play-off game against the San Francisco 49ers could he intervene again in the game. In the 30:28 win of the Cowboys he immediately showed an outstanding performance. He threw two touchdown passes and gained 174 yards. In the subsequent NFC Championship Game, the Washington Redskins were the better team and won with 26: 3. In 1973 ten out of 14 games were won again. After a 27:16 play-off victory over the Los Angeles Rams , however, a 27:10 loss to the Vikings in the NFC final followed.
After a weaker game year 1974, the team could not move into the play-offs, followed a good game year 1975. Landry and Tex Schramm had succeeded in previous years to strengthen the defense of the cowboys with Ed "Too Tall" Jones and Harvey Martin again , Randy White , who would later become a top performer, joined the team before the season . After another season with ten wins from 14 games and a 17:14 win in the divisional play-off over the Vikings, they faced the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC Championship Game. The 118 yards of space gained by the Rams were offset by 441 yards by the cowboys. Landry's defense intercepted three passes, Staubach threw four touchdown passes himself - the Rams had no chance in their 37: 7 defeat. Opponents in Super Bowl X were the Pittsburgh Steelers trained by Chuck Noll . The game was only decided in the last quarter. The quarterback of the Steelers Terry Bradshaw managed a touchdown pass to Lynn Swann , who was able to gain 161 yards of space in the game with four pass catches. Swann became the game's Most Valuable Player and the Cowboys left the field 21:17.
However, the narrow defeat in Super Bowl X did not change the status of the Dallas Cowboys. Tom Landry's team remained a top team and won eleven of 14 games in the 1976 season, but narrowly failed in the divisional play-off game at the Rams with 14:12.
On the way to Super Bowl XII
The 1977 round of the Cowboys started confidently for the team. The first eight games were all won. In November 1977 Landry's team suffered a performance break and had to give up two games. All other four games could be made victorious again. As the first in the Eastern Division, they moved into the play-offs, where the Chicago Bears and later the Minnesota Vikings had no chance. In both games the defensive genius Landry prevailed again. With their 37: 7 defeat, the Bears were only able to gain 224 yards of space with seven losses of their own (Cowboys 365 yards). The Vikings were no better in their 23: 6 defeat in the NFC Championship Game. They had a gain in space of 214 to 328 yards. They lost the ball four times, but Staubach also threw an interception and a cowboys fumble was lost.
Super Bowl XII
Although the Denver Broncos had also won 12 of their 14 games in the regular season under their coach Red Miller , they had no chance in the final. Four passes by their quarterback Craig Morton, who has played in Denver since 1977 , could be intercepted by the cowboys, while they captured four more fumbles, while the Dallas team had only two ball losses. Landry's 4-3 defense was clearly superior again, the Broncos stuck at 156 yards of space gain, while the Cowboys were able to achieve 325 yards by passing and running play. Landry celebrated his second Super Bowl triumph with the 27:10 success.
The last success
As usual, the 1978 regular season was successful for Landry. However, the season started difficult. Only six of the first ten games could be won, but Landry's team did not lose any of the next six games. After an arduous 27:20 win against the Atlanta Falcons in the NFC Divisional Play-Off game, the NFC Championship Game was a safe success against the Los Angeles Rams. The 7-0 lead that running back Tony Dorsett achieved with a run in the first quarter should not give Landry's team until the end of the game. His team won 28-0. The Super Bowl XIII should then be a tight game again. Again the cowboys had to compete against the Pittsburgh Steelers and again the team from Pittsburgh could prevail. The Landry defense found no means to assert themselves against the two wide receivers of the Steelers Lynn Swann and John Stallworth . Stallworth was able to utilize two passes from Terry Bradshaw to touchdowns and achieved a space gain of 115 yards with three passes, Swann caught seven passes to a space gain of 124 yards and a touchdown. Seven minutes before the end of the game, the Steelers looked to be the sure winner with a score of 35:17, but Landry's team was able to score two touchdowns through passes from Staubach, which however did not change the 35:31 defeat.
Significance for football sport
Landry, who had a very distant relationship with his players because he assumed that this was the only way to maintain his objectivity, continued to develop his 4-3 defense with the Cowboys and made this defense scheme more flexible. He adapted the defense of the opposing attacking team by sending exactly those players onto the pitch who he believed could stop the opposing team. His defense developed into a bulwark and was extremely feared by the opposing teams. Landry was also innovative in the offense and reintroduced the long-forgotten shotgun formation , an attack formation in which the quarterback is a few steps behind the offensive line . The Cowboys won more games than they lost in each season from 1966 to 1985 under his leadership. In 1973 the team from Dallas had won their 100 game, followed by their 200 victory in 1982. During his head coach career, the Cowboys won a total of 270 out of 354 games in the regular season and in the play-offs. Landry, who always wore a hat as a special trademark, has the third most wins of all previous NFL head coaches. Many of his assistant coaches, such as former Cowboys players Mike Ditka and Dan Reeves , were able to gain a foothold as coaches in the NFL. Ditka won in 1985 with the Chicago Bears to the Super Bowl XX . Reeves, who also played as running back for the Cowboys, moved into the Super Bowl four times with various teams, but could not win any of the games. Stautner won the World Bowl as head coach with the Frankfurt Galaxy 1995 . Numerous Landry players, such as Roger Staubach, Tony Dorsett and Rayfield Wright , are members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame .
End of career
In 1985 the Cowboys had won 10 of their 16 games, but were eliminated early in the play-offs. Landry, who had signed a new three-year contract the year before, was pressured by the Dallas press and a poll asked for his dismissal. The cowboys stuck to him, but after 1985 slipped more and more into the no man's land of the table. Landry did not manage to stop this "decline". In 1989 the Cowboys were bought by Jerry Jones , who replaced Landry with Jimmy Johnson . Tex Schramm angrily announced his resignation after his companion's dismissal. Landry never entirely got over the sudden expulsion. For years he refused to accept the honors Jones wanted to give him. The decision to fire Landry was not very popular with many fans of the Cowboys. The excitement died down after Johnson proved he could turn the worst team in the league into a Super Bowl winner. Under his leadership, the Cowboys became the leading football team of the 1990s.
Honors
As a player
1954 Landry was elected to the Pro Bowl , the selection game of the best players of the season. In the same year he was named All-Pro . In 1955 he was able to qualify again as an all-pro for the second team.
As a trainer
In 1966 and 1975 he was named Coach of the Year by the American press . He is a member of the Texas Sports Hall of Fame and has been a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame since 1990. Due to his sudden dismissal from the Cowboys, he was not favored by Jerry Jones and only accepted an award from the Cowboys in 1993 after several offers - he has been a member of the Dallas Cowboys Ring of Honor since then . In Irving , the hometown of the Dallas Cowboys, a school named after him. Mission, his hometown, named a street and stadium after him. A fitness center in Dallas and a stretch of highway between Dallas and Fort Worth also bear his name. His bronze statue was in front of Texas Stadium , the home of the cowboys. It was taken when the cowboys moved to the AT&T Stadium and set up there.
Away from sport
Landry died of leukemia and was buried at Sparkman Hillcrest Memorial Park in Dallas. He had been married since 1949 and had three children and six grandchildren. One of his daughters died of liver cancer in 1995. Even after his military service, flying was a great passion for him. He owned his own aircraft and was a member of the American Aircraft Owners Safety Commission. In 1995 he and his wife survived an emergency landing in a Cessna .
Web links
- Player stats from Tom Landry
- Coach statistics
- Brief biography of Landry
- Landry's Strategies, Tactics, and Achievements
- Tom Landry at the Dallas Cowboys
- History of the Dallas Cowboys from 1960 to 2003
- Tom Landry's grave
- Tom Landry in the Texas Sports Hall of Fame
- Tom Landry biography at Texas State Historical Association
literature
- Jens Plassmann: NFL - American Football. The game, the stars, the stories (= Rororo 9445 rororo Sport ). Rowohlt, Reinbek near Hamburg 1995, ISBN 3-499-19445-7 .
- Jürgen Kalwa: American Football. Copress Sport, Munich 1995, ISBN 3-7679-0462-4 .
- Ron St Angelo, Norm Hitzges: Greatest Team Ever. The Dallas Cowboys Dynasty of the 1990s. Thomas Nelson, Nashville TN 2007, ISBN 978-1-4016-0340-3 (English).
Individual evidence
- ^ Website of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes
- ↑ Defense schemes in American football ( Memento from March 28, 2010 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Football term, explanation (English)
- ↑ 1956 game year of the Giants
- ↑ Statistics of the endgame
- ↑ Founding History of the Dallas Cowboys
- ↑ The year of play 1960 for the Cowboys
- ^ History of the nickname
- ↑ Description / history of the Doomsday Defense
- ↑ The 1966 game year of the Cowboys
- ↑ The year 1967 of the Cowboys
- Jump up ↑ 1970, when the Cowboys played
- ↑ Statistics NFC Championship Game 1970
- ↑ Statistics Super Bowl V
- ↑ Tom Landry's assessment of Duane Thomas ( Memento from February 24, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Statistics Divisional Play Off 1971
- ↑ Statistics NFC Championship Game 1971
- ↑ Statistics Super Bowl VI
- ↑ The Cowboys' game year 1972
- ↑ Statistics play-off game San Francisco 49ers vs. Dallas Cowboys 1972
- ↑ Statistics NFC endgame 1972
- Jump up ↑ 1973 for the Cowboys
- ↑ Statistics NFC final 1973
- ↑ The year 1975 for the Cowboys
- ↑ Statistics NFC Championship Game 1975
- ↑ Statistics Super Bowl X
- ↑ Play year 1976 of the Cowboys
- Jump up ↑ 1977 the Cowboys
- ↑ Statistics divisional play-off 1977
- ↑ Statistics NFC Championship Game 1977
- ↑ Statistics Super Bowl XII
- ↑ The year 1978 for the Cowboys
- ↑ Statistics NFC Championship Game 1978
- ↑ Statistics Super Bowl XIII
- ↑ The year 1985 of the Cowboys
- ↑ 1988 year of play for the Cowboys
- ↑ Shot of Jimmy Johnson, newspaper article
- ↑ Tom Landry Fitness Center ( Memento from January 17, 2010 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Tom Landry Highway ( Memento June 5, 2015 in the Internet Archive )
- ^ Farewell to Texas Stadium ( Memento from April 15, 2010 in the Internet Archive )
- ^ Statue of Tom Landry in front of the AT&T Stadium
- ↑ Obituary
- ^ Obituary in the New York Times New York Times
- ↑ Tom Landry's Tomb in the Find a Grave database
- Jump up ↑ Landry's emergency landing in Texas
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Landry, Tom |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Landry, Thomas Wade |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American football player and coach, pilot |
| DATE OF BIRTH | September 11, 1924 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Mission , Texas |
| DATE OF DEATH | February 12, 2000 |
| Place of death | Dallas |