| Tom Landry | |
|---|---|
 Tom Landry (center). |
|
| Date of birth | September 11, 1924 |
| Place of birth | Mission, Texas |
| Date of death | February 12, 2000 (age 75) |
| Position(s) | Head Coach Cornerback |
| College | Texas, Houston |
| NFL Draft | 1947 / Round 20 / Pick 184 (By the New York Giants) |
| Career Highlights | |
| Pro Bowls | 1 |
| Awards | 1975 UPI COY 1966 AP Coach of the Year 1966 Sporting News COY 1966 UPI COY |
| Honors | Dallas Cowboys ROH |
| Records | Dallas Cowboys Career Wins (250) |
| Career Record | 250-162-6 (Regular Season) 20-16 (Postseason) 270-178-6 (Overall) |
| Super Bowl Wins |
1977 Super Bowl XII 1971 Super Bowl VI |
| Championships Won |
1978 NFC Championship 1977 NFC Championship 1975 NFC Championship 1971 NFC Championship 1970 NFC Championship |
| Stats | |
| Playing Stats | Pro Football Reference |
| Playing Stats | DatabaseFootball |
| Coaching Stats | Pro Football Reference |
| Coaching Stats | DatabaseFootball |
| Team(s) as a player | |
| 1949 1950-1955 |
New York Yankees (AAFC) New York Giants |
| Team(s) as a coach/administrator | |
| 1960-1988 | Dallas Cowboys |
| Pro Football Hall of Fame, 1990 | |
Thomas Wade Landry (September 11, 1924 – February 12, 2000) was an American football player and coach. Events 9 - The Battle of the Teutoburg Forest ends 506 - The Bishops of Visigothic Gaul Year 1924 ( MCMXXIV) was a Leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Mission is a city in Hidalgo County, Texas, United States. The population was 45408 at the 2000 census Events 1429 - English Forces under Sir John Fastolf defend a supply convoy carrying rations to the army besieging Orleans from attack by the 2000 ( MM) was a Leap year that started on Saturday of the Common Era, in accordance with the Gregorian calendar. In American football, each team has 11 players on the field at one time A cornerback ( CB) (also referred to as a corner) is a positional role played by a member of the defensive team in American and Canadian This is a List of Athletic Conferences of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA and National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA The University of Houston (often referred to as " U of H," " UH," or " Houston " is a public doctoral/research The NFL Draft is an annual Sports draft in which NFL teams select newly-eligible players for their rosters Year 1947 ( MCMXLVII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1947 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. In professional American football, the Pro Bowl is the All-star game of the National Football League (NFL The National Football League Coach of the Year Award is presented annually by various news and sports organizations to the NFL head coach who has done the most outstanding job The National Football League Coach of the Year Award is presented annually by various news and sports organizations to the NFL head coach who has done the most outstanding job The National Football League Coach of the Year Award is presented annually by various news and sports organizations to the NFL head coach who has done the most outstanding job The National Football League Coach of the Year Award is presented annually by various news and sports organizations to the NFL head coach who has done the most outstanding job The Dallas Cowboys Ring of Honor (RoH is a ring around Texas Stadium in Irving, Texas which honors former players coaches and club officials who made The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team in the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference (NFC in the National In an organised Sports league, a season is the portion of one Year in which regulated Games of the sport are in session professional American football, the Super Bowl is the Championship game of the National Football League (NFL Super Bowl XII was an American football game played on January 15, 1978 at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans Louisiana Super Bowl VI was an American football game played on January 16, 1972, at Tulane Stadium in New Orleans Louisiana to decide The NFC Championship Game is one of the two Semi-final matches of the National Football League the largest professional American football league in the United The NFC Championship Game is one of the two Semi-final matches of the National Football League the largest professional American football league in the United The NFC Championship Game is one of the two Semi-final matches of the National Football League the largest professional American football league in the United The NFC Championship Game is one of the two Semi-final matches of the National Football League the largest professional American football league in the United The NFC Championship Game is one of the two Semi-final matches of the National Football League the largest professional American football league in the United The New York Yankees were a professional American football team that played in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC from 1946 to 1949 The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York City suburb of East Rutherford New Jersey. The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team in the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference (NFC in the National Athletics For an extensive coverage see 1990 in athletics (track and field Marathon International Events 9 - The Battle of the Teutoburg Forest ends 506 - The Bishops of Visigothic Gaul Year 1924 ( MCMXXIV) was a Leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Events 1429 - English Forces under Sir John Fastolf defend a supply convoy carrying rations to the army besieging Orleans from attack by the 2000 ( MM) was a Leap year that started on Saturday of the Common Era, in accordance with the Gregorian calendar. American football, known in the United States and Canada simply as football, is a competitive Team sport known for mixing strategy with He is legendary for his successes as the coach of the Dallas Cowboys. The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team in the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference (NFC in the National He is ranked as one of the greatest and most innovative coaches in NFL history. Under coach Landry The Cowboys went on to the longest consecutive string of winning seasons with 20. A feat not repeated by any sports team.
Contents |
Early life, World War II service, college
Tom Landry was born in Mission, Texas, the son of a mechanic (and volunteer fireman). Mission is a city in Hidalgo County, Texas, United States. The population was 45408 at the 2000 census He attended the University of Texas in Austin as an IE major, but interrupted his education after a semester to serve in the U.S. Army Air Forces during World War II. The United States Army Air Forces ( USAAF) was the military aviation arm of the United States of America during and immediately after World War II. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including Landry earned his wings and a commission as a 2nd lieutenant at Lubbock Army Air Field and was assigned to the 493rd Bomb Group at RAF Debach, England, as a B-17 Flying Fortress bomber co-pilot in the 860th Bomb Squadron. RAF Debach is a former World War II airfield in England. The field is located 10 miles 3 miles NW of Woodbridge Suffolk. England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout From November 1944 to April 1945 he completed a combat tour of 30 missions and survived a crash landing in Belgium after his bomber ran out of fuel. The Kingdom of Belgium is a Country in northwest Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts its headquarters as well as those
Following the war, he returned to the university and played fullback and defensive back on the Texas Longhorns' bowl game winners on New Year's Day of 1948 and 1949. Year 1948 ( MCMXLVIII) was a Leap year starting on Thursday (link will display the 1948 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Year 1949 ( MCMXLIX) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. At UT, he was a member of the Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity. Delta Kappa Epsilon ( ΔΚΕ; also pronounced D-K-E or "Deke" is a Fraternity founded at Yale College in 1844 by 15 men of the sophomore Fraternities and sororities (from the Latin words la frater and la soror, meaning "brother" and "sister" respectively are fraternal He received his bachelor's degree from UT in 1949. A bachelor's degree is usually an Undergraduate Academic degree awarded for a course or major that generally lasts for three four or in some cases and Year 1949 ( MCMXLIX) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Landry also earned a bachelor's of science degree in industrial engineering from the University of Houston in 1952. Industrial engineering is also not good and shit Operations management, Systems engineering, production engineering manufacturing engineering or manufacturing systems The University of Houston (often referred to as " U of H," " UH," or " Houston " is a public doctoral/research Year 1952 ( MCMLII) was a Leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. He was a member of The United Methodist Church. The United Methodist Church is the largest Methodist denomination and the second largest Protestant denomination in the United States.
NFL playing career
Tom Landry became a defensive back in the AAFC in 1949 for the New York Yankees, then moved in 1950 across town to the New York Giants. In American football and Canadian football, defensive backs are the players on the defensive team who take positions somewhat back from the line of scrimmage they The All-America Football Conference (AAFC was a professional American football league that challenged the established National Football League (NFL from 1946 Year 1949 ( MCMXLIX) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The New York Yankees were a professional American football team that played in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC from 1946 to 1949 The 1950 NFL season was the 31st Regular season of the National Football League. The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York City suburb of East Rutherford New Jersey. In 1954 he was selected as an all-pro. The 1954 NFL season was the 35th Regular season of the National Football League. He played through the 1955 season, and acted as a player-assistant coach the last two years, 1954 through 1955. The 1955 NFL season was the 36th Regular season of the National Football League. Landry ended his playing career with 32 interceptions in only 80 games.
NFL coaching career
For the 1956 football season, Landry became the defensive coordinator for the Giants, opposite Vince Lombardi, who was the offensive coordinator. The 1956 NFL season was the 37th Regular season of the National Football League. A defensive coordinator typically refers to a coach on an American football team who is in charge of the defense. Vincent Thomas Lombardi ( June 11, 1913 &ndash September 3, 1970) was an American football coach An offensive coordinator typically refers to the coach on a American football team who is in charge of the offense. Landry led one of the best defensive teams in the league from 1956 to 1959. Year 1956 ( MCMLVI) was a Leap year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The year 1959 ( MCMLIX) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The two coaches created a fanatical loyalty within the unit they coached that drove the Giants to three appearances in the NFL championship game in four years. Throughout its history the National Football League and other leagues have used several different formats to determine their league champion including a period of interleague The Giants beat the Chicago Bears 47-7 in 1956, but lost to the Baltimore Colts in 1958 and 1959. The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. The 1956 NFL season was the 37th Regular season of the National Football League. The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis Indiana. The 1958 NFL season was the 39th Regular season of the National Football League. The 1959 NFL season was the 40th Regular season of the National Football League.
In 1960, he became the first head coach of the Dallas Cowboys and stayed for 29 seasons (1960-88). The 1960 NFL season was the 41st Regular season of the National Football League. The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team in the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference (NFC in the National The Cowboys got off to a rough start, recording an 0-11-1 record during their first season and 5 or less wins in each of their next four. Despite this early futility, in 1964 Landry was given a ten year extension by owner Clint Murchison. It would prove to be a wise move as Landry's hard work and determination paid off, and the Cowboys improved to a 7-7 record in 1965 then in 1966, they surprised the NFL by posting 10 wins and making it all the way to the NFL championship game. Dallas lost the game to Lombardi's Green Bay Packers, but this season was still a display of what lay ahead: A span of 20 winning seasons from 1966 to 1985. The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay Wisconsin.
During this run, he won 2 Super Bowl titles (1972, 1978), 5 NFC titles, 13 Divisional titles, and compiled a 270-178-6 record, the 3rd most wins of all time for an NFL coach. professional American football, the Super Bowl is the Championship game of the National Football League (NFL Super Bowl VI was an American football game played on January 16, 1972, at Tulane Stadium in New Orleans Louisiana to decide Super Bowl XII was an American football game played on January 15, 1978 at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans Louisiana The National Football League ( NFL) is the largest professional American football league. His 20 career playoff victories are the most of any coach in NFL history. He was the NFL Coach of the Year in 1966 and the NFC Coach of the Year in 1975. But one of the most impressive accomplishments is his record for coaching a team to 20 consecutive winning seasons (1966-1985), an NFL record, and one of the longest winning streaks in all of professional sports.
Throughout his tenure, Landry worked closely with the Cowboys general manager, Tex Schramm. Texas Earnest Schramm Jr ( June 2, 1920 - July 15, 2003) was the original president and general manager of the U The two were together during Landry's entire tenure with the team. A third member of the Cowboys brain trust in this time was Gil Brandt. Gil Brandt (born March 3, 1933) was a Vice President of player personnel for the Dallas Cowboys from 1960 to 1988
The 4-3 defense
Tom Landry invented the now-popular "4-3 Defense", while serving as Giants defensive coordinator. A formation in American football refers to the position players line up in before the start of a down. The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York City suburb of East Rutherford New Jersey. [1] It was called "4-3" because it featured four down lineman (two ends and two defensive tackles on either side of the offensive center) and three linebackers — middle, left, and right. The innovation was the middle linebacker. Previously, a lineman was placed over the center. But Landry had this person stand up and move back two yards. The Giants' middle linebacker was the legendary Sam Huff. Robert E Lee Samuel "Sam" Huff (born October 4, 1934 in Edna Gas, West Virginia) is a former American football Linebacker
- "Landry built the 4-3 defense around me. It revolutionized defense and opened the door for all the variations of zones and man-to-man coverage, which are used in conjunction with it today. " - Sam Huff[2]
Landry also invented and popularized the use of keys — analyzing offensive tendencies — to determine what the offense might do.
When Landry was hired by the Dallas Cowboys, he became concerned with then-Green Bay Packers Coach Vince Lombardi's "Run to Daylight" idea, where the running back went to an open space, rather than a specific assigned hole. The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay Wisconsin. Vincent Thomas Lombardi ( June 11, 1913 &ndash September 3, 1970) was an American football coach Landry reasoned that the best counter was to take away daylight.
To do this, he refined the 4-3 defense by moving two of the four linemen off the line of scrimmage one yard and varied which linemen did this based on where the Cowboys thought the offense might run. This change was called "The Flex Defense," because it altered its alignment to counter what the offense might do. Thus, there were three such Flex Defenses — strong, weak, and "tackle" — where both defensive tackles were off the line of scrimmage. The idea with the flexed linemen was to improve pursuit angles to stop the Green Bay Sweep — a popular play of the 1960s. The Flex Defense was also innovative in that it was a kind of zone defense against the run. Each defender was responsible for a given gap area, and was told to stay in that area before they knew where the play was going.
It has been said that, after inventing the Flex Defense, he then invented the offense to score on it, reviving the man-in-motion and the shotgun formation. But Landry's biggest contribution in this area was the use of "pre-shifting" where the offense would shift from one formation to the other before the snap of the ball. While this tactic was not new — it was developed by Coach Amos Alonzo Stagg around the turn of the 20th Century — Landry was the first coach to use the approach on a regular basis. Amos Alonzo Stagg ( August 16 1862 &ndash March 17 1965) was an American collegiate coach in multiple sports primarily The idea was to break the keys the defense used to determine what the offense might do. An unusual feature of this offense was Landry having his offensive linemen get in their squatted pre-stance, stand up while the running backs shifted, and then go back down into their complete "hand down" stance. The purpose of the "up and down" movement was to make it more difficult for the defense to see where the backs were shifting (over the tall offensive linemen) and thus cut down on recognition time. While other NFL teams later employed shifting, few employed this "up and down" technique as much as Landry.
Beyond the NFL
Landry was known as a quiet, religious man, unfazed by the hype that surrounded the Cowboys, then being billed as "America's Team". The term America's Team is a popular nickname in American sports that most often refers the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League. He was in a comic book promoting Christianity in the 1980s. A comic book (often shortened to simply comic and sometimes called a comic paper or comic magazine) is a Magazine or Book of narrative Christianity ( Greek Χριστιανισμός from the word Xριστός ( Christ)is a monotheistic Religion centered on the life and teachings Landry was active in the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. The Fellowship of Christian Athletes is a not-for-profit Christian organization that has been based in Kansas City Missouri since 1956 Landry was a friend of the Reverend Billy Graham, speaking at many of his crusades. In fact, one of the suit coats Landry commonly wore was a gift from Graham.
Landry's departure came shortly after the Cowboys were sold to Jerry Jones before the 1989 season. Jerral "Jerry" Jones (born October 13, 1942, in Los Angeles California) is the owner of the Dallas Cowboys NFL franchise The 1989 NFL season was the 70th Regular season of the National Football League. Jones hired Jimmy Johnson, his former teammate at the University of Arkansas, from a position coaching the University of Miami football team. James William Johnson (born July 16, 1943) is an American football coach and broadcaster The University of Arkansas, often shortened to U of A or just UA, is a public Co-educational Land-grant university The University of Miami Hurricanes football team is a collegiate football program that represents the University of Miami. When Landry met with his players two days later, to tell them how much he would miss them, he began to cry. The players responded with a standing ovation. [1] Landry's unceremonious dismissal by Jones was denounced by football fans and media as totally lacking in class and respect. In the years since, while most fans retain their support for the team, there persists significant levels of derision towards Jones over his mistreatment of Landry.
Landry's success during nearly three decades of coaching was the impetus for his induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1990, less than two years after his last game. The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the Hall of fame of the National Football League (NFL Landry was inducted into the "Ring of Honor" at Texas Stadium in 1993. The Dallas Cowboys Ring of Honor (RoH is a ring around Texas Stadium in Irving, Texas which honors former players coaches and club officials who made Texas Stadium is a football Stadium in Irving Texas, a Suburb of Dallas. Landry had declined several earlier offers by Jones (a one man committee) to enter the Ring of Honor before accepting in 1993.
Landry died in Dallas of leukemia on February 12, 2000. Leukemia or leukaemia (Greek leukos λευκός, "white" aima αίμα, "blood" is a Cancer of the Blood Events 1429 - English Forces under Sir John Fastolf defend a supply convoy carrying rations to the army besieging Orleans from attack by the 2000 ( MM) was a Leap year that started on Saturday of the Common Era, in accordance with the Gregorian calendar. He was interred in the Sparkman-Hillcrest Memorial Park Cemetery in Dallas. Sparkman-Hillcrest Memorial Park Cemetery is located at 7405 W The Cowboys wore a patch on their uniforms during the 2000 season depicting Landry's trademark fedora. A fedora is a soft Felt Hat that is creased lengthwise down the crown and Pinched in the front on both sides
A bronze statue of Landry stands outside of Texas Stadium. Texas Stadium is a football Stadium in Irving Texas, a Suburb of Dallas. The section of Interstate 30 between Dallas and Fort Worth was named the Tom Landry Highway by the Texas Legislature in 2001. Fort Worth is the fifth-largest city in the state of Texas and the seventeenth-largest city in the United States. The Texas Legislature is the state legislature of the US state of Texas. The football stadium in Landry's hometown of Mission, Texas was named Tom Landry Stadium to honor one of the city's most famous former residents
A cenotaph dedicated to Landry, complete with a depiction of his fedora was placed in the official Texas State Cemetery in Austin at the family's request. Mission is a city in Hidalgo County, Texas, United States. The population was 45408 at the 2000 census Mission High School is a secondary school located in Mission Texas. A cenotaph is a tomb or a Monument erected in honour of a person or group of persons whose remains are elsewhere A fedora is a soft Felt Hat that is creased lengthwise down the crown and Pinched in the front on both sides The Texas State Cemetery is a Cemetery located on about 22 Acres (9 Hectares just east of downtown Austin, the Capital of Texas [2]
Tom Landry in popular culture
In Fox's animated sitcom King of the Hill, the local middle school is named after Tom Landry, and Landry is a personal hero of the show's main character Hank Hill. King of the Hill is an American animated series created by Mike Judge and Greg Daniels for the Fox Broadcasting Company Hank Rutherford Hill is a Fictional character in the animated series King of the Hill. He mentions being "mortified" because he went to work on the date of Landry's death.
In an episode of The Simpsons ("You Only Move Twice"), Homer Simpson buys Tom Landry's trademark fedora in an effort to improve his leadership qualities, and is shown in several later episodes wearing the hat. " You Only Move Twice " is the second episode of The Simpsons ' eighth season, which originally aired November 3 1996 Landry was also featured in Season 7 episode ("Marge Be Not Proud") as one of the Christmas carolers introduced by Krusty early in the episode. " Marge Be Not Proud " is the 11th episode of The Simpsons ' seventh season.
The series Friday Night Lights features a character named Landry hinted to be named after Tom Landry, given the town's obsession with football. Friday Night Lights is an Award-winning American serial Drama television series adapted by Peter Berg, Brian Grazer and
In Chunky soup commercials, they list the players as colliding at Halas and Landry. This is also a reference to George Halas, of the Chicago Bears. George Stanley Halas Sr ( February 2 1895 &ndash October 31 1983) nicknamed "Papa Bear" and "Mr
In the Mark Wahlberg movie Invincible Tom Landry is portrayed. Mark Robert Michael Wahlberg (born June 5 1971 is an Academy Award -nominated BAFTA -winning American actor rapper and Producer of
Quotations
- "When you want to win a game, you have to teach. When you lose a game, you have to learn. "
- "Leadership is a matter of having people look at you and gain confidence, seeing how you react. If you're in control, they're in control. "
- "Leadership is getting someone to do what they don't want to do, to achieve what they want to achieve. "
- "If you don't know if your shoes are tied, look at your shoes. "
References
- ^ Building America's Team. Dallas Morning News. Retrieved on 2007-01-29. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Events 904 - Sergius III comes out of retirement to take over the papacy from the deposed Antipope Christopher.
- ^ Describing 'The Innovator'. The Sporting News. Retrieved on 2007-01-29. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Events 904 - Sergius III comes out of retirement to take over the papacy from the deposed Antipope Christopher.
External links
- Pro Football Hall of Fame: Member profile
- The Sporting News archive
- Football card gallery
| Preceded by First coach |
Dallas Cowboys Head Coaches 1960–1988 |
Succeeded by Jimmy Johnson |
| Preceded by Don McCafferty John Madden |
Super Bowl Winning Head Coaches Super Bowl VI, 1972 Super Bowl XII, 1978 |
Succeeded by Don Shula Chuck Noll |
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