NFL Countdown: America's Team marches in to establish Dallas on the global scene

Nineteen-sixty brought the arrival of the Dallas Cowboys, but the league did not make it easy. The NFL had no plans for an expansion, and the idea of adding a 13th or 14th team was just out of the question.

Despite repeated attempts to start a Dallas franchise, the overtures of Lamar Hunt and Clint Murchison Jr. were rebuffed by Chicago Bears coach and owner George Halas, the most powerful man in the NFL at the time.

Hunt, the son of an oil millionaire, got tired of asking. He decided to start his own league, and this saw the birth of the American Football League. Suddenly, expansion was all the rage, and Murchison, alongside partner Bedford Wynne, was offered the opportunity to launch their franchise.

But there was a stumbling block. All twelve owners had to agree. While eleven did, the notorious Redskins owner George Preston Marshall objected. The south was Redskins country until fate intervened.

The Redskins took the field to the "Hail to the Redskins" fight song, which had been written by Marshall's wife. Murchison, somehow, managed to acquire the rights to the song, much to Marshall's disgust. After some haggling, the song rights were returned to the Redskins owner, who then dropped his opposition to the new franchise, and the Dallas Rangers were born.

The 1961 Dallas Cowboys

Building the 1961 team

The formation of the Dallas Rangers led to the first ever NFL expansion draft in 1960. The rules of the draft were simple, but certainly not conducive to building a competitive team. Each of the twelve franchises made eight players from their thirty-eight-man roster available.

The Rangers, then, had the opportunity to draft three players from each team. The established teams had no desire to give up any one they deemed important, so they only made players from the bottom of their rosters available for selection.

Unfortunately, Dallas was admitted too late for that year’s college draft, so they had to make do with their expansion draft players and some free agent signings. They did, however, have a future Hall of Famer in Tom Landry calling the plays as their new head coach.

Despite this, hopes were not high as the start of their inaugural season approached. Having entered the expansion draft as the Dallas Rangers, on March 19, 1960, the organization announced that it would now be known as the Cowboys. This was to avoid confusion with the Dallas Rangers in minor league baseball.

Their first two games against the Pittsburgh Steelers and Philadelphia Eagles were close affairs, which the Cowboys led before succumbing late on. The season took a nosedive after this, as the newly formed team racked up some heavy defeats. The only bright spot came in Week 11 against the New York Giants, as they earned a 31-31 tie at Yankee Stadium.

The Cowboys finished the season at the bottom of the Western Conference with a 0-11-1 record. The 1961 Cowboys are considered one of the worst NFL teams of all-time. They finished bottom in most offensive and defensive catergories, giving up five yards a carry and 2,242 yards rushing.

Cowboys quarterbacks threw a league-high 33 interceptions. The offensive line play was non-existent at times. This badly affected the run game, as the Cowboys averaged just 3.4 yards per carry.

Of the twenty-two players that made the roster, only eleven would return for the 1961 season. There were a couple of players who managed to stand out, in what was a difficult season.

Tom Franckhauser was a defensive back who was originally selected by the LA Rams in the second round of the 1959 draft. Dallas picked up Franckhauser via the expansion draft. He went on to record 45 tackles, 13 passes defended, three interceptions, and 25 kickoff returns for an average of 19.8 yards and three punt returns in 1960.

Franckhauser was the first Dallas Cowboys player in history to carry the football after he returned the initial kick-off against the Pittsburgh Steelers. His time in Dallas lasted only one more season before he went on to join the Cleveland Browns. His career was tragically cut short by a devastating brain injury suffered during a scrimmage.

Despite failing to win a game all season, Dallas did manage to produce one Pro Bowler. Jim Doran was a nine-year veteran wide receiver who had spent his entire career at the Detroit Lions. Dallas selected Doran in the expansion draft and immediately switched him to tight end. He had a career season with 31 catches for 554 yards and three touchdowns.

Like Franckhauser, he would only spend one more season with the Cowboys before retiring after the 1961 season. His Pro Bowl invite in 1960 was his only appearance in the game.

Since their inception, the Cowboys have gone on to become the most famous NFL team in the world. They are known as "America's team." They have claimed the Super Bowl five times, including a '90s dynasty under the stewardship of Jimmy Johnson.

But those glory days seem like distant memories. It has now been 26 years since their last triumph. Perhaps 2022 with be the Cowboys year?