Dallas Cowboys Ring of Honor

The Dallas Cowboys Ring of Honor (RoH) was a ring around Texas Stadium in Irving, Texas and currently around Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas which honors former players, coaches and club officials who made outstanding contributions to the Dallas Cowboys football organization.

The Ring of Honor at Texas Stadium

The Ring of Honor began on November 23, 1975, which was designated in Dallas as Bob Lilly Day. On that day, at what was considered the first Cowboys Reunion, the team unveiled Lilly's name and jersey number (74) beneath the press box during half time. As the first honoree, Lilly (who had retired from the NFL in July of '75 after 14 years) donned his Cowboy uniform once more and graciously accepted the honor, along with numerous other gifts, which included a car, a gun and a hunting dog. Also present at the historic event were Cowboys owner Clint Murchison, president/general manager Tex Schramm and Head Coach Tom Landry. As the first inductee, Lilly has the added distinction of returning to present each new member in the RoH.^[1] Only nine players received the honor during the first three decades of the Cowboys existence, making the RoH a coveted accolade, true to the dream envisioned by Schramm, its creator. He became only the 12th person selected to the Ring of Honor; the award was given posthumously in October 2003, a few months after he died.

In 2005, an unprecedented three former Cowboys all-stars were simultaneously inducted during half time ceremonies on Monday Night Football. Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith, and Michael Irvin, known as "The Triplets", were part of the 1990s Three-Time Super Bowl Championship Cowboys team.^[2]

Ring of Honor inductees have been chosen by the former president-general manager, Tex Schramm and then by owner Jerry Jones. Schramm set a precedent by placing a high value on the character of the inductees. There was controversy over the selection of Michael Irvin due to his drug charges.^[3]

Inductees

The names of Aikman, Smith and Irvin before being inducted.

Number	Name	Position	Years With Club	Date of Induction
74	Bob Lilly	DT	1961–1974	Nov. 23, 1975
17	Don Meredith	QB	1960–1968	Nov. 7,1976
43	Don Perkins	HB	1961–1968	Nov. 7, 1976
54	Chuck Howley	LB	1961–1973	Oct. 30, 1977
20	Mel Renfro	CB	1964–1977	Oct. 25, 1981
12	Roger Staubach	QB	1969–1979	Oct. 9, 1983
55	Lee Roy Jordan	LB, C	1963–1976	Oct. 29, 1989
	Tom Landry	Head Coach	1960–1988	Nov. 7, 1993
33	Tony Dorsett	RB	1977–1987	Oct. 9, 1994
54	Randy White	DT, LB, DE	1975–1988	Oct. 9, 1994
22	Bob Hayes	WR	1965–1974	Sept. 23, 2001
	Tex Schramm	General Manager	1959–1988	Oct. 12, 2003
43	Cliff Harris	S	1970–1979	Oct. 10, 2004
70	Rayfield Wright	OT	1967–1979	Oct. 10, 2004
8	Troy Aikman	QB	1989–2000	Sept. 19, 2005
88	Michael Irvin	WR	1988–1999	Sept. 19, 2005
22	Emmitt Smith	RB	1990–2002	Sept. 19, 2005
88	Drew Pearson	WR	1973–1983	Nov. 6, 2011
94	Charles Haley	DE	1992–1996	Nov. 6, 2011
73	Larry Allen	OG, OT	1994–2005	Nov. 6, 2011

	Pro Football Hall of Fame finalist [4]
	Inducted or Enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame

References

1. ^ Bob Lilly.com
2. ^ Davis, Brian (2005-09-15). "'Triplets' head into Ring of Honor". The Dallas Morning News. http://cowboysblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2008/09/triplets-head-into-ring-of-honor.html. Retrieved 2008-09-18. ^{[dead link]}
3. ^ Luska, Frank (2000-07*22). "Irvin doesn't meet Ring's standards". The Dallas Morning News. http://www.cowboysplus.com/classic/webspecials/michaelirvin/072200luksa.html. Retrieved 2008-09-18. 
4. ^ Pro Football Hall of Fame finalists by Year