1963 Dallas Cowboys season
OwnerClint Murchison, Jr.
Head coachTom Landry
Home fieldCotton Bowl
Results
Record4–10
Division place5th NFL Eastern
Playoff finishDid not qualify

The 1963 Dallas Cowboys season was their fourth in the league, and also the first where the Cowboys were the only professional football team in Dallas, as the AFL's Texans relocated to Kansas City (and were rebranded as the Chiefs) during the offseason.

The team failed to improve on their previous output of 5–8–1, winning only four games.[1] The Cowboys also missed the playoffs for the fourth consecutive season.

Schedule

Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance Recap
1 September 14 St. Louis Cardinals L 7–34 0–1 Cotton Bowl 36,432 Recap
2 September 22 Cleveland Browns L 24–41 0–2 Cotton Bowl 28,710 Recap
3 September 29 at Washington Redskins L 17–21 0–3 D.C. Stadium 40,101 Recap
4 October 6 at Philadelphia Eagles L 21–24 0–4 Franklin Field 60,671 Recap
5 October 13 Detroit Lions W 17–14 1–4 Cotton Bowl 27,264 Recap
6 October 20 at New York Giants L 21–37 1–5 Yankee Stadium 62,889 Recap
7 October 27 at Pittsburgh Steelers L 21–27 1–6 Forbes Field 19,047 Recap
8 November 3 Washington Redskins W 35–20 2–6 Cotton Bowl 18,838 Recap
9 November 10 at San Francisco 49ers L 24–31 2–7 Kezar Stadium 29,563 Recap
10 November 17 Philadelphia Eagles W 27–20 3–7 Cotton Bowl 23,694 Recap
11 November 24 at Cleveland Browns L 17–27 3–8 Cleveland Stadium 55,096 Recap
12 December 1 New York Giants L 27–34 3–9 Cotton Bowl 29,653 Recap
13 December 8 Pittsburgh Steelers L 19–34 3–10 Cotton Bowl 24,136 Recap
14 December 15 at St. Louis Cardinals W 28–24 4–10 Busch Stadium 12,695 Recap

Conference opponents are in bold text

Game summaries

Week 5

1 234Total
Lions 0 0014 14
• Cowboys 0 7010 17
Scoring summary
Q2DALClarke 11 yard pass from Meredith (Baker kick)DAL 7–0
Q4DALBaker 13 yard field goalDAL 10–0
Q4DETCogdill 30 yard pass from Morrall (Walker kick)DAL 10–7
Q4DALMarsh 41 yard run (Baker kick)DAL 17–7
Q4DETCogdill 70 yard pass from Morrall (Walker kick)DAL 17–14

[2]

Week 8

1 234Total
Redskins 0 1037 20
• Cowboys 7 7714 35
Scoring summary
Q1DALFolkins 1 yard pass from Meredith (Baker kick)DAL 7–0
Q2WSHDugan 41 yard pass from Snead (Khayat kick)Tie 7–7
Q2WSHKhayat 12 yard field goalWSH 10–7
Q2DALClarke 13 yard pass from Meredith (Baker kick)DAL 14–10
Q3WSHKhayat 49 yard field goalDAL 14–13
Q3DALFolkins 1 yard pass from Meredith (Baker kick)DAL 21–13
Q4WSHDugan 19 yard pass from Snead (Khayat kick)DAL 21–20
Q4DALStiger 7 yard run (Baker kick)DAL 28–20
Q4DALClarke 12 yard pass from Meredith (Baker kick)DAL 35–20

[3]

Week 10

1 234Total
Eagles 6 077 20
• Cowboys 7 1073 27
  • Date: November 17
  • Location: Cotton Bowl
  • Game attendance: 23,694
  • Game weather: 72 °F (22 °C); wind 18 mph
Scoring summary
Q1DALNorman 1 yard pass from Meredith (Baker kick)DAL 7–0
Q1PHIMcDonald 26 yard pass from Hill (kick failed)DAL 7–6
Q2DALPerkins 2 yard run (Baker kick)DAL 14–6
Q2DALBaker 33 yard field goalDAL 17–6
Q3DALClarke 14 yard pass from Meredith (Baker kick)DAL 24–6
Q3PHIBrown 24 yard pass from Hill (Clark kick)DAL 24–13
Q4DALBaker 27 yard field goalDAL 27–13
Q4PHIRetzlaff 16 yard pass from Hill (Clark kick)DAL 27–20

[4]

Week 14

1 234Total
• Cowboys 0 14014 28
Cardinals 0 14100 24
  • Date: December 15
  • Location: Busch Stadium
  • Game weather: 6 °F (−14 °C); wind 11 mph
Scoring summary
Q2DALMeredith 1 yard run (Baker kick)DAL 7–0
Q2STLRandle 62 yard pass from Johnson (Bakken kick)Tie 7–7
Q2STLTriplett 16 yard pass from Johnson (Bakken kick)STL 14–7
Q2DALLilly 42 yard fumble return (Baker kick)Tie 14–14
Q3STLWilson 35 yard run (Bakken kick)STL 21–14
Q3STLBakken 11 yard field goalSTL 24–14
Q4DALNorman 12 yard pass from Meredith (Baker kick)STL 24–21
Q4DALClarke 25 yard pass from Meredith (Baker kick)DAL 28–24

[5]

Standings

NFL Eastern Conference
W L T PCT CONF PF PA STK
New York Giants 11 3 0 .786 9–3 448 280 W3
Cleveland Browns 10 4 0 .714 9–3 343 262 W1
St. Louis Cardinals 9 5 0 .643 8–4 341 283 L1
Pittsburgh Steelers 7 4 3 .636 7–3–2 321 295 L1
Dallas Cowboys 4 10 0 .286 3–9 305 378 W1
Washington Redskins 3 11 0 .214 2–10 279 398 L3
Philadelphia Eagles 2 10 2 .167 2–8–2 242 381 L2
Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.

Season recap

The Cowboys were expecting to turn their fortunes around and have a good year, but won only three of their first ten games.

The assassination of John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963, stands out as an infamous moment in the season: not only was the nation's psyche impacted by this event, but the image of the city of Dallas was seriously tarnished. On November 24 - just two days after this historic event - the NFL decided to play its normal schedule of games, with the Cowboys traveling to face the Cleveland Browns.

On game day, when the team was introduced, the public address announcer referred to the team as simply the Cowboys, while the crowd also vented their frustration and pain at Cowboys players and officials during the game. The Cowboys lost 17–27, and would go on to have only one more win in the remaining three games.

On September 29, 1963, Billy Howton became the NFL's all-time receiving leader, breaking Don Hutson's record for career receptions and receiving yards. He retired at the end of the year, after playing in 12 seasons with 503 catches, 8,459 yards and 61 touchdowns.

NFL Draft

Main article: 1963 NFL draft
1963 Dallas Cowboys draft
Round Pick Player Position College Notes
1 6 Lee Roy Jordan *  LB Alabama
3 34 Jim Price  LB Louisville
4 48 Whaley Hall  OT Mississippi
7 90 Marv Clothier  OG Kansas
10 132 Rod Scheyer  OT Washington
11 146 Ray Schoenke  OG SMU
12 160 Bill Perkins  RB Iowa
13 174 Paul Wicker  OT Fresno State
14 188 Lou Cioci  LB Boston College
15 202 Jerry Overton  S Utah
16 216 Dennis Golden  OT Holy Cross
17 230 Ernie Parks  OG McMurry
18 244 Bill Frank  OT Colorado Played in the CFL in 1963
19 258 Jim Stiger  RB Washington
20 272 Tommy Lucas  E Texas
      Made roster    †   Pro Football Hall of Fame    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

Roster

Dallas Cowboys 1963 roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

Reserve lists

Rookies in italics
40 active, 1 inactive

References

  1. ^ "1963 Dallas Cowboys". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved September 12, 2019.
  2. ^ "Detroit Lions at Dallas Cowboys - October 13th, 1963". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved September 12, 2019.
  3. ^ "Washington Redskins at Dallas Cowboys - November 3rd, 1963". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved September 12, 2019.
  4. ^ "Philadelphia Eagles at Dallas Cowboys - November 17th, 1963". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved September 12, 2019.
  5. ^ "Dallas Cowboys at St. Louis Cardinals - December 15th, 1963". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved September 12, 2019.
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