1963 Dallas Cowboys season

The 1963 Dallas Cowboys season was their fourth in the league. The Cowboys became the only professional football team in Dallas, when the Texans of the AFL announced their move to Kansas City. 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.

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

Schedule
Week Date Opponent Result Record Game Site 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

[2]

Week 8
1 234Total
Redskins 0 1037 20
• Cowboys 7 7714 35

[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; wind 18

[4]

Week 14
1 234Total
• Cowboys 0 14014 28
Cardinals 0 14100 24
  • Date: December 15
  • Location: Busch Stadium
  • Game weather: 6°F; wind 11

[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 3 of their first 10 games. The assassination of John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963, stands out as a pivotal moment in the season. Not only was the nation's psyche impacted by this event, but also the image of the city of Dallas was 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 would not say the Dallas Cowboys, they were just the Cowboys. The crowd also vented their frustration and pain at the players during the contest. The Cowboys lost that day 17–27 and would go on to have only one more win in the remaining 3 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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