| | IRVING, Texas -- Anecdotes about Tom Landry, who died
Saturday, from some of the people who knew him best.
"One time, I came over to him on the sidelines and he was
looking at the hole in the roof of Texas Stadium. I was waiting to
get the play and after a long time he finally gave it to me. I
said, 'I always wondered where you got those plays from.' He didn't even crack a smile. He was so serious on the field and dedicated to winning." -- Roger Staubach, former Dallas quarterback
"In 1976, he had to cut some good players and some good people
because so many rookies had made the team. He came in and was
announcing to the team the players who had been cut and he couldn't finish. He actually stood there and cried. We were all shocked. We'd never seen that side of him. He had to leave the room. We all felt like we wanted to cry because he did. That showed the compassion and care he had for all his players." -- Drew Pearson, former Cowboys receiver
"Regardless of what happened on the football field, we always
felt he could handle it. I remember one time when Tom presented the defensive game plan for that particular week, and Sam Huff asked what if they do something other than you just described, and Tom said, 'Sam, they won't.' Sam persisted, and finally Tom said, 'Sam if that happens, call a time out and we'll figure out how to deal with it.' That's how Tom was. You always had complete confidence he could handle anything, and to my knowledge he always did." -- Wellington Mara, whose family owned the New York Giants when Landry was a player and a player-coach from 1950-59
"A group of us went out to play golf. Coach Landry wasn't
there, it was just a few players. So we're playing a hole and it
had water and some trees on the other side of the water and I hit
just a God-awful shot, but I knew it went over the water. It went
over by the trees. I saw some guys over there and said, 'I'd better
hurry up and get my ball before someone picks it up.' So I started
around there and hollered, Hey, did anybody see a ball come over
there?' And a voice comes back, 'Yeah, I found your ball Ditka, but I threw it in the water.' And I said, 'Well, I'm coming over there and I'm going to throw you in the water.' So coach Landry walks out
and he said, 'Yeah, and I think you're going to like Buffalo a
lot.' " -- Mike Ditka, former Dallas tight end and assistant coach
"He would give us 'The Look.' It was something we all feared.
It was like he was saying, 'What in the world are you doing out
there?' He never screamed or reprimanded us. He just gave us 'The Look.' Believe me, 'The Look' spoke volumes. In this case, the whisper was a lot louder than the roar." -- Charlie Waters, former Cowboys safety
"The thing I remember most about my rookie season was he asked
us players on the first day of training camp what our priorities
were. He said, 'I don't know what your priorities are, but mine are
God, family and the Dallas Cowboys.' That made quite an impression on me, because I thought football was going to be his top priority." -- Obert Logan, former Cowboys safety
"Tom, my grandson and I were deep in conversation and it was
obvious that my grandson's friend was feeling shy and left out.
Suddenly, Tom interrupted the conversation and told my grandson, 'I want to meet your friend.' My grandson's friend was beaming,
grinning from ear to ear. That's just the kind of man Tom Landry
was. He was very thoughtful. The fact of the matter is, you don't
have the room to write all the good things about Tom Landry." --
Don Bentsen Sr., Landry's high school teammate, on attending a Fellowship of Christian Athletes rally where his longtime friend
was keynote speaker
"He loved to dress. Most people don't understand how much he
really enjoyed dressing. I think he just got a kick out of
surprising us with some type of jacket or some different type of
hat or topcoat when it was cold. When we played in the NFC
Championship up there in Philadelphia against the Eagles in 1981,
he came out with a matching coat and hat. He enjoyed that much more than I think people realized. He had a bit of an ego too, but he hid it well. He enjoyed winning. He enjoyed competing." -- Dennis Thurman, former Cowboys defensive back
"I've always been a sprinter. Over 20, 30, 40 yards, I'm faster
than anybody. But when it came to distance running, I didn't like
it. I didn't want to do it. But you did it, because you were a
Dallas Cowboy, and that's what we had to do. So I'm trying to run
this thing, and I'm not doing so good. You know, I'm in last place.
Tom Landry had a knee injury when he played professional football, and he sort of had a gimp. It was pretty funny to see him do it. It was even funnier for a 22-year-old, world-class athlete to be trying to run up that hill two miles, and Tom Landry passing you
and then on the way by says, 'Come on, Thomas. Come on.' All you can do is just sort of watch him gimp limp past you like Chester on 'Gunsmoke.' " -- Thomas "Hollywood" Henderson, former Cowboys linebacker
"I traveled through Europe with him, and I was just amazed by
the amount of people that recognized him and asked for his
autograph. He did a good job in making everybody feel that they
were important, which is a big thing. There are a lot of people if
you ask them for an autograph will ask, 'Why are you bothering me?' Tom was always obliging." -- Gil Brandt, former Dallas player personnel director
"We were playing the Chicago Bears in 1964. They were the
Monsters of the Midway back then. Coach Landry was walking on the field with coach (George) Halas right before the game started.
These big ol' Bears come lumbering out there. They just kind of
jogged over to the sideline. Then, the Cowboys came roaring out of
the tunnel and sprinted to the bench. Coach Halas said, 'Tom, how'd you ever get your guys to do that?' Tom looked at him and said, 'Coach, I just told the squad that the last ones to the bench had to start the game against the Bears.' " -- Former Dallas assistant coach Jim Myers | |
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Former Cowboys coach Landry dead at 75
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