Welcome to another Hump Day here at Inside The Star!
The Cowboys will square off for the Governor’s Cup tomorrow against the Houston Texans in the preseason finale, but as it stands we are currently 11 days away from putting the shoulder pads on and going out there for real!
To keep in rhythm with the beat of the Countdown To Kickoff series that we’ve been playing for the last few months, we are going to commemorate that with the Greatest 11 in Dallas Cowboys History.
Dancing is encouraged.
The Following Players Have All Worn 11 For The Dallas Cowboys:
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*Active player on the Dallas Cowboys Roster
+Active player on the Dallas Cowboys Staff
There is something about multi-tools that speaks to the general public. The ability to manage multiple things with an object is a point of convenience that we all like in our lives. The “Swiss army knife” of life is what we’re all looking for, isn’t it?
Dual-threats are such a popular thing in the NFL nowadays. Running backs are coveted because they can run hard AND catch passes out of the backfield. If you’ve kept up with the Houston Texans this preseason they’re using a defensive back at the running back position. Two positions! That’s crazy!
One of the more famous dual-position players for the Dallas Cowboys has been Deion Sanders. Primetime played corner and dabbled a little bit at receiver. As great as he was, there is another dual-position player in Dallas Cowboys History that trumps him.
After a failed third down conversion most quarterbacks trot back to the bench, dejected with their inability to move the chains. The Greatest 11 in Dallas Cowboys History stayed out on the field, booming punts after his quarterback duties were finished for that series.
Danny White
Wilford Daniel White wasn’t too impressive of a quarterback prospect in high school, but man could he play some baseball. Frank Kush, head football coach at Arizona State University, convinced the school’s baseball coach, Bobby Winkles, to offer White a baseball scholarship and allow him to play punter on the football team. Punter, seriously?
The foot of Danny White was spectacular, but his arm wasn’t a fluke. White managed to earn the starting gig for the Sun Devils in the middle of his sophomore season. He was one of the finer quarterbacks AND punters in ASU history.
The Dallas Cowboys
Danny White was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys in the 1974 draft, but Tom Landry and Co. were primarily interested in his services as a punter. Wanting to play quarterback, White signed with the Memphis Southmen of the World Football League.
In 1976 the WFL folded and Danny White still wanted to play some pigskin… whether he had to throw it or punt it. He joined the Dallas Cowboys to back up star quarterback Roger Staubach and boom punts downfield when need be.
QB1: Danny White
When the Greatest 12/Cowboy in Dallas Cowboys History, Roger Staubach, retired after the 1979 season fans were wondering how the franchise could possible move on. Tom Landry knew how.
White took over for Captain America as the quarterback of the Dallas Cowboys when the 1980 season kicked off, and he made the overall transition pretty seamless. Danny Boy threw for over 3,000 yards in his first season and also averaged over 40 yards per punt! How cool is that?
Danny White quarterbacked the Dallas Cowboys to high levels of success in each of his first three seasons under center. He took America’s Team to three straight NFC Championship Games from 1980-1982, but unfortunately lost all three times.
The thing that is particularly incredible about Danny White is that he did all of this with an enormous amount of pressure on him. Besides managing double duties with quarterbacking and punting through 1984, Danny White was following a legend at the position. While the San Francisco 49ers are rightfully regarded as the dynasty of the 1980s, Danny White kept the Cowboys highly competitive in the National Football League for the early part of the decade, which is highly impressive.
#11: Danny White
Danny earned a trip to the Pro Bowl in 1982, but his finest statistical season came in 1983 when he posted 3,980 yards and 29 touchdowns. Keep in mind you kids who are into fantasy football, at this point in NFL History 4,000 yards was very difficult to achieve.
Danny White’s career statistics are pretty impressive within Dallas Cowboys History:
- 166 Games Played (1st among quarterbacks)
- 62 wins (4th among quarterbacks behind Troy Aikman, Roger Staubach, and Tony Romo)
- 1,761 completions (3rd in Dallas Cowboys History)
- 21,959 yards (4th in Dallas Cowboys History behind Tony Romo, Troy Aikman, and Roger Staubach)
- 155 passing touchdowns (3rd in Dallas Cowboys History behind Tony Romo and Troy Aikman)
- 610 punts (1st in Dallas Cowboys History)
- 24,509 career punt yards (2nd in Dallas Cowboys History behind Mike Saxon)
The career of Danny White is one of the more undervalued ones in Dallas Cowboys History. What he accomplished in his time as the quarterback of the Dallas Cowboys is nothing short of spectacular.
Danny White is undoubtedly the Greatest 11 in Dallas Cowboys History.
Check back tomorrow to find out who the Greatest 10 in Dallas Cowboys History is!
Want to share your opinions on who should be featured on our Countdown To Kickoff? Email me at rjochoa@insidethestar.com or Tweet @rjochoa.
Danny White was very underrated. People forget he was having a big year in 1986 as well when he got his wrist broken and was never the same after that. The biggest mistake Tom Landy ever made was benching him for half the season in 1984 for Gary Hogeboom. White was really good and could have been a borderline Hall of Famer.