Doomsday Defense
Encyclopedia
The Doomsday Defense was the nickname
given to the famous defense of the Dallas Cowboys
American football
team during the dynasty years of the late 1960s - 1970s. This defense was the backbone of the Cowboys' dynasty, which won two Super Bowls (VI
, XII
) and played in three more (V
, X
and XIII
).
The Doomsday Defense is often recognized as having two different "generations," but there is no universally agreed-upon definition of exactly when those defenses existed or who their members were, which is why different listings of players and time periods exist. The original "Doomsday Defense" can generally be identified as the Cowboys' defenses from 1966 to 1975. "Doomsday II" had its heyday from approximately 1976 to 1982.
The first defensive player to be named Most Valuable Player of the Super Bowl
was linebacker Chuck Howley
(V
). Later linemen Harvey Martin
and Randy White
became the first (and only) teammates (co-MVPs) to win the award (XII
).
Linebackers:
Defensive backs:
Linebackers:
Defensive backs:
Nickname
A nickname is "a usually familiar or humorous but sometimes pointed or cruel name given to a person or place, as a supposedly appropriate replacement for or addition to the proper name.", or a name similar in origin and pronunciation from the original name....
given to the famous defense of the Dallas Cowboys
Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football franchise which plays in the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League . They are headquartered in Valley Ranch in Irving, Texas, a suburb of Dallas...
American football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
team during the dynasty years of the late 1960s - 1970s. This defense was the backbone of the Cowboys' dynasty, which won two Super Bowls (VI
Super Bowl VI
Super Bowl VI was an American football game played on January 16, 1972, at Tulane Stadium in New Orleans, Louisiana to decide the National Football League champion following the 1971 regular season...
, XII
Super Bowl XII
Super Bowl XII was an American football game played on January 15, 1978 at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana to decide the National Football League champion following the 1977 regular season...
) and played in three more (V
Super Bowl V
Super Bowl V was an American football game played on January 17, 1971, at the Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida, to decide the National Football League champion following the 1970 regular season...
, X
Super Bowl X
Super Bowl X was an American football game played on January 18, 1976 at the Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida to decide the National Football League champion following the 1975 regular season....
and XIII
Super Bowl XIII
Super Bowl XIII was an American football game played on January 21, 1979 at the Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida to decide the National Football League champion following the 1978 regular season...
).
The Doomsday Defense is often recognized as having two different "generations," but there is no universally agreed-upon definition of exactly when those defenses existed or who their members were, which is why different listings of players and time periods exist. The original "Doomsday Defense" can generally be identified as the Cowboys' defenses from 1966 to 1975. "Doomsday II" had its heyday from approximately 1976 to 1982.
The first defensive player to be named Most Valuable Player of the Super Bowl
Super Bowl
The Super Bowl is the championship game of the National Football League , the highest level of professional American football in the United States, culminating a season that begins in the late summer of the previous calendar year. The Super Bowl uses Roman numerals to identify each game, rather...
was linebacker Chuck Howley
Chuck Howley
Charles Louis "Chuck" Howley is a former American football linebacker in the National Football League...
(V
Super Bowl V
Super Bowl V was an American football game played on January 17, 1971, at the Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida, to decide the National Football League champion following the 1970 regular season...
). Later linemen Harvey Martin
Harvey Martin
Harvey Banks Martin was an American football defensive end in the National Football League for the Dallas Cowboys from 1973 until 1983. He started playing football in high school, only because he overheard his father tell his mother that he was ashamed that his son did not play like his friends'...
and Randy White
Randy White (American football)
Randall Lee "Randy" White is a former American football defensive lineman and linebacker. He attended the University of Maryland from 1971 to 1974, and played professionally for the Dallas Cowboys from 1975 to 1988. He is a member of the College Football Hall of Fame, the Pro Football Hall of Fame...
became the first (and only) teammates (co-MVPs) to win the award (XII
Super Bowl XII
Super Bowl XII was an American football game played on January 15, 1978 at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana to decide the National Football League champion following the 1977 regular season...
).
"Doomsday"
Defensive line:- #71 - Willie TownesWillie TownesWillie Carroll Townes is a former professional American football defensive end in the National Football League. He was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys in the second round of the 1966 NFL Draft. He played college football at the University of Tulsa.-Early years:Willie Townes was born on July 21, 1943...
/ #63 - Larry ColeLarry ColeLarry Rudolph Cole is a former American football defensive lineman in the National Football League who played his entire professional career with the Dallas Cowboys. He played in five Super Bowls, winning Super Bowl VI and XII... - #75 - Jethro PughJethro PughJethro Pugh, Jr. is a former American football defensive tackle in the National Football League for the Dallas Cowboys.-College career:...
- #74 - Bob "Mr. Cowboy" LillyBob LillyRobert Lewis Lilly is a former American football defensive tackle in the National Football League and photographer. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1980.-College career:...
(NFL 1960s All-Decade TeamNFL 1960s All-Decade TeamThe NFL 1960s All-Decade Team is a list of all NFL players who have had outstanding performances throughout the 1960s and have been compiled in a fantasy group. The team was selected by voters of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.-Offense:-Defense:-Special teams:...
; NFL 1970s All-Decade TeamNFL 1970s All-Decade TeamThis is a list of all NFL players who have had outstanding performances throughout the 1970s and have been compiled onto this fantasy group. The team was selected by voters of the Pro Football Hall of Fame...
; Hall of FamePro Football Hall of FameThe Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame of professional football in the United States with an emphasis on the National Football League . It opened in Canton, Ohio, on September 7, 1963, with 17 charter inductees...
; Ring of HonorDallas Cowboys Ring of HonorThe Dallas Cowboys Ring of Honor was a ring around Texas Stadium in Irving, Texas and currently around Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas which honors former players, coaches and club officials who made outstanding contributions to the Dallas Cowboys football organization. The Ring of Honor began...
) - #66 - George AndrieGeorge AndrieGeorge Joseph Andrie is a former American football defensive end in the National Football League. Andrie prepped at Catholic Central High School.-College career:...
Linebackers:
- #54 - Chuck HowleyChuck HowleyCharles Louis "Chuck" Howley is a former American football linebacker in the National Football League...
(Ring of HonorDallas Cowboys Ring of HonorThe Dallas Cowboys Ring of Honor was a ring around Texas Stadium in Irving, Texas and currently around Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas which honors former players, coaches and club officials who made outstanding contributions to the Dallas Cowboys football organization. The Ring of Honor began...
) - #55 - Lee Roy JordanLee Roy JordanLee Roy Jordan is a retired American football linebacker. After attending the University of Alabama, playing under head coach Paul "Bear" Bryant, he spent 14 years in the National Football League playing for the Dallas Cowboys between 1963–1976...
(Ring of HonorDallas Cowboys Ring of HonorThe Dallas Cowboys Ring of Honor was a ring around Texas Stadium in Irving, Texas and currently around Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas which honors former players, coaches and club officials who made outstanding contributions to the Dallas Cowboys football organization. The Ring of Honor began...
) - #52 - Dave Edwards / #50 - D. D. Lewis
Defensive backs:
- #34 - Cornell Green
- #20 - Mel RenfroMel RenfroMelvin Lacy "Mel" Renfro is a former American football defensive back in the National Football League who spent his entire fourteen-year career with the Dallas Cowboys.-High school:...
(Hall of FamePro Football Hall of FameThe Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame of professional football in the United States with an emphasis on the National Football League . It opened in Canton, Ohio, on September 7, 1963, with 17 charter inductees...
; Ring of HonorDallas Cowboys Ring of HonorThe Dallas Cowboys Ring of Honor was a ring around Texas Stadium in Irving, Texas and currently around Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas which honors former players, coaches and club officials who made outstanding contributions to the Dallas Cowboys football organization. The Ring of Honor began...
) - #27 - Mike GaechterMike GaechterMichael Theodore Gaechter is a former American football safety in the National Football League who spent his entire career with the Dallas Cowboys...
/ #41 - Charlie WatersCharlie WatersCharlie Tutan Waters is a former American football safety for the Dallas Cowboys from 1970-1981 in the National Football League... - #26 - Herb AdderleyHerb AdderleyHerbert Allen Adderley is a former American football cornerback who played for the Green Bay Packers and the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League....
(NFL 1960s All-Decade TeamNFL 1960s All-Decade TeamThe NFL 1960s All-Decade Team is a list of all NFL players who have had outstanding performances throughout the 1960s and have been compiled in a fantasy group. The team was selected by voters of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.-Offense:-Defense:-Special teams:...
) / #43 - Cliff HarrisCliff HarrisClifford Allen Harris is a former professional American football safety who played for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League for ten seasons.-Professional career:...
(Ring of HonorDallas Cowboys Ring of HonorThe Dallas Cowboys Ring of Honor was a ring around Texas Stadium in Irving, Texas and currently around Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas which honors former players, coaches and club officials who made outstanding contributions to the Dallas Cowboys football organization. The Ring of Honor began...
)
"Doomsday II"
Defensive line:- #79 - Harvey MartinHarvey MartinHarvey Banks Martin was an American football defensive end in the National Football League for the Dallas Cowboys from 1973 until 1983. He started playing football in high school, only because he overheard his father tell his mother that he was ashamed that his son did not play like his friends'...
(NFL 1970s All-Decade TeamNFL 1970s All-Decade TeamThis is a list of all NFL players who have had outstanding performances throughout the 1970s and have been compiled onto this fantasy group. The team was selected by voters of the Pro Football Hall of Fame...
; 1977 NFL Defensive Player of the Year) - #63 - Larry ColeLarry ColeLarry Rudolph Cole is a former American football defensive lineman in the National Football League who played his entire professional career with the Dallas Cowboys. He played in five Super Bowls, winning Super Bowl VI and XII...
/ #78 - John DuttonJohn Dutton (defensive lineman)John Owen Dutton is a former professional football player, a defensive lineman in the NFL with the Baltimore Colts and Dallas Cowboys... - #54 - Randy "The Manster" WhiteRandy White (American football)Randall Lee "Randy" White is a former American football defensive lineman and linebacker. He attended the University of Maryland from 1971 to 1974, and played professionally for the Dallas Cowboys from 1975 to 1988. He is a member of the College Football Hall of Fame, the Pro Football Hall of Fame...
(Hall of FamePro Football Hall of FameThe Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame of professional football in the United States with an emphasis on the National Football League . It opened in Canton, Ohio, on September 7, 1963, with 17 charter inductees...
; Ring of HonorDallas Cowboys Ring of HonorThe Dallas Cowboys Ring of Honor was a ring around Texas Stadium in Irving, Texas and currently around Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas which honors former players, coaches and club officials who made outstanding contributions to the Dallas Cowboys football organization. The Ring of Honor began...
) - #72 - Ed "Too Tall" Jones
Linebackers:
- #58 - Mike HegmanMike HegmanMichael William Hegman is a former American football linebacker in the National Football League who played for the Dallas Cowboys. He played college football at Tennessee State University....
/ #56 - Thomas "Hollywood" Henderson - #53 - Bob BreunigBob BreunigRobert Paul Breunig is a former American football linebacker for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League from 1975 to 1984...
- #50 - D. D. Lewis
Defensive backs:
- #31 - Benny BarnesBenny BarnesBenny Jewell Barnes is a former American Football cornerback who played eleven seasons in the National Football League for the Dallas Cowboys...
- #43 - Cliff HarrisCliff HarrisClifford Allen Harris is a former professional American football safety who played for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League for ten seasons.-Professional career:...
(NFL 1970s All-Decade TeamNFL 1970s All-Decade TeamThis is a list of all NFL players who have had outstanding performances throughout the 1970s and have been compiled onto this fantasy group. The team was selected by voters of the Pro Football Hall of Fame...
; Ring of HonorDallas Cowboys Ring of HonorThe Dallas Cowboys Ring of Honor was a ring around Texas Stadium in Irving, Texas and currently around Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas which honors former players, coaches and club officials who made outstanding contributions to the Dallas Cowboys football organization. The Ring of Honor began...
) / #26 - Michael DownsMichael DownsMichael Lynn Downs is a former American football safety in the NFL, having played for the Dallas Cowboys and the Phoenix Cardinals . He is a 1977 graduate of South Oak Cliff High School in Dallas.... - #41 - Charlie WatersCharlie WatersCharlie Tutan Waters is a former American football safety for the Dallas Cowboys from 1970-1981 in the National Football League...
- #24 - Everson WallsEverson WallsEverson Collins Walls is a former American football cornerback in the NFL, having played for the Dallas Cowboys, the New York Giants, and the Cleveland Browns. During his 14 seasons, he was a four-time Pro Bowl selection. He was also a 3-time All-Pro selection...
/ #25 - Aaron KyleAaron KyleAaron Douglas Kyle is a former American Football cornerback in the National Football League for the Dallas Cowboys and the Denver Broncos. He played at the prestigious Cass Technical High School graduating in 1974. He played college football at the University of Wyoming and was drafted in the...