Playing his college ball at Marquette, George Andrie played his entire 11-year career with the Dallas Cowboys.
Ralph Neely was drafted by the Houston Oilers of the American Football League and the Baltimore Colts of the NFL, and he secretly agreed to play for the Oilers (it was kept secret so he could play for the University of Oklahoma in the Gator Bowl).
Neely was ready to be an Oiler, but the Colts traded his rights to the Dallas Cowboys, a team he would rather play for, and "Big D" would land the Offensive Tackle.
The AFL was clearly the place for Neely, as he would play there from 1965 to 1977, which was his entire professional NFL career. He was at his best in the late '60s, when he was a First Team All-Pro three years in a row (1966-68) and earned All-Decade Team honors. The tackle helped them win two Super Bowls (VI & XII). His career seemed to be tailor-made for Dallas.
There are a lot of improbable runs to getting a Super Bowl Ring, but you might be hard-pressed to find a more unlikely one than Cornell Green.
Green was a star at Utah State, but it was in basketball. He never even played college football, and the Chicago Zephyrs of the NBA drafted him. The Dallas Cowboys would, however, express interest after hearing great things about his overall athletic ability from the Aggies Head Coach, and he was offered a spot in training camp. Green thought it was just a chance to earn $1,000 for participating, but he not only made the team; he also started cornerback in his third game and went on to the All-Rookie Team.
Green was a natural football player. In 1965, he went to what would be his first of five Pro Bowls, and a First Team All-Pro selection came his way on three occasions. A member of the Cowboys’ first Super Bowl win (Super Bowl VI), Green would ball hawk on 34 times, including a pair of seven-pick campaigns. While he doesn’t receive Hall of Fame consideration in most circles, would an induction conclude one of the more improbable careers gridiron ever?
It would have to be!
Before the Dallas Cowboys truly became “America’s Team”, they had to establish themselves as a true force in the National Football League. A big part of that emergence was their defense, in which linebacker Lee Roy Jordan played a key role.
Lee Roy Jordan was an elite linebacker and a tackling machine. Playing his entire fourteen-year career with the Cowboys, Jordan was a hard-hitting defender who always seemed to know how to strip opponents of the ball. For a Linebacker, he had many interceptions and had multiple fumble recoveries in his career. He was a serious contender for the Defensive Player of the Year Award in 1973 and reached the Pro Bowl five times.
Jordan was a Hall of Fame finalist in 1988, but that was as close as he ever got. He is only eligible as a senior candidate now, but it appears the Dallas Cowboys Ring of Honor recipient will make the leap to Canton.