There are officially 66 days until the toe meets the ball at AT&T Stadium where the Dallas Cowboys will host the New York Giants on NBC’s Sunday Night Football.
Thank God for another Thursday! We’re just 24 hours away from our favorite day Friday, and we’re only 66 days away from Dallas Cowboys Football! What possible way could we celebrate? Well we could officially dub today “RJ Ochoa Day”, you can convince my chef cousin to make me baby back ribs every day of my life, or we could all chip in and buy Mark Cuban a snow cone…he probably needs one after yesterday. I think our best bet is to stick to what we know, and that’s counting down Cowboys. Today we’re going to talk about the Greatest 66 in Dallas Cowboys History.
The following players have all worn 66 for the Dallas Cowboys:
- George Andrie, DE
- Jesse Baker, DE
- Ken Bishop*, DT
- Ben Fricke, C
- Clifton Geathers, DE
- Kevin Gogan, OG
- Ed Husmann, DT
- Tony Hutson, OG
- Tank Johnson, DT
- Burton Lawless, OG
- Jeremy McKinney, OG
- Jay Ratliff, DT
- Brian Schaefering, DT
- Chris Schultz, OT
- Norm Wells, DT
*Active player on the Dallas Cowboys roster
The jersey numbers have all been fun to evaluate, but the 70s and 60s have an extra sense of interest to them. Both offensive and defensive players have worn all twenty of these numbers, as you can see by the list of players to wear 66. Today’s victor came down to one of each, Defensive End George Andrie and Offensive Guard Kevin Gogan.
Kevin Gogan was taken in the 8th round of the 1987 NFL Draft. His drafting came at a time when the Cowboys’ front office was making a shift in terms of what they looked for in an offensive lineman. While a player’s speed and athleticism (think about our Greatest 70 in Dallas Cowboys History, Rayfield Wright) were the key characteristics sought in a lineman, the new trend was all about size and brute force strength. Gogan brought a lot of strength to the table, in fact he played with such a tenacity that he would go on to earn the nickname “Big Nasty” from fellow teammates/opponents.
Gogan was a part of the “Great Wall of Dallas” that boasts the NFL’s All-Time Leading Rusher, Emmitt Smith. He embodied most of the qualities that people thought of when they considered those 90s Cowboys: loud, fierce, and extremely competitive. He helped the Dallas Cowboys win back-to-back Super Bowls in 1992 and 1993 and he has a big place in the History of the Cowboy 66.
The true History of 66 was written long before Kevin Gogan ever put it on though, and it was written by George Andrie. The Godfather of scouting and player personnel, Gil Brandt, had his eye on Andrie and advised the Cowboys to select him. Taken in the 6th round of the 1962 NFL Draft George was looked at to be a defensive force from the very beginning, and he was.
George Andrie was quick in getting to the quarterback, he had the size to play well against the run, and he was tall enough to bat down passes if he couldn’t get to the quarterback himself.
George Andrie Had A Knack For Coming Up Big In Big-Time Games:
- Andrie picked up a Bart Starr fumble and ran it in for a touchdown in the iconic 1967 Ice Bowl.
- In Super Bowl V Andrie chased down Johnny Unitas, tackled him, and knocked him out of the game. Earl Morrall replaced Johnny U after the injury and finished the game for Baltimore.
- During the 1971 NFC Championship Game, George Andrie intercepted a John Brodie pass and returned it to the San Francisco 2-yard line. This set up the game-winning touchdown, scored by Calvin Hill.
Andrie was a stout force on the Cowboy defensive unit during the 60s and early 70s. He spent the majority of his career lining up next to the Greatest 74 in Dallas Cowboys History, Bob Lilly. Andrie and Lilly together helped form the foundation of what would become the famed Doomsday Defense. George Andrie was a terror for opposing quarterbacks, a critical part of the early Cowboys’ success, and he is the Greatest 66 in Dallas Cowboys History.
Check back tomorrow to find out who the Greatest 65 in Dallas Cowboys History is!
