The 1964 Season
Record: 5-8-1
5th Place in Eastern Conference
Synopsis
- After the initial optimism in last season, the Cowboys poor performance resulted
in many calling for Tom Landry to resign or to be fired. To everyone's surprise,
Clint Murchinson granted Tom Landry a 10-year contract extension. This was the
longest such contract in pro sports history and gave the stability the team needed
to go to the next level.
- The 1964 draft was a draft which set the stage for the future. In one draft,
the Cowboys drafted future Hall of Famers Mel Renfro in the second round and
Roger Staubach in the tenth. Despite Staubach winning the 1963 Heismann Trophy
while at Navy, his selection was a true gamble: he had four years to serve in
the Navy before he could report to the Dallas Cowboys. In the seventh round of
the draft, Dallas selected Bob Hayes. The draft wasn't without its disappoints
as first round draft pick Scott Appleton signed with the rival AFL and thus was
a wasted pick.
- The Cowboys finished the season with a 5-8-1 record, the first under new starting
quarterback "Dandy" Don Meredith. Don Meredith limped through the season with a
leg injury and the once-powerful offense struggled to score 250 points. The
improvement, though, was on defense. The defense allowed only 289 points.
This improvement can be traced to Landry's invention of "The Flex" Defense.
Notables:
- 10-year extension to Tom Landry's Contract
| Preseason |
|---|
| Week | Date | Opponent | W/L | Score |
|---|
| - | Aug 8 | at Los Angeles | L | 06-17 |
| - | Aug 15 | San Francisco @Portland, OR | W | 34-23 |
| - | Aug 22 | Los Angeles @Portland, OR | L | 16-25 |
| - | Aug 29 | Green Bay | L | 03-35 |
| - | Sept 5 | Chicago @New Orleans, LA | L | 06-21 |
Regular Season
|
|---|
| Week | Date | Opponent | W/L | Score |
|---|
| 1 | Sept 12 (Sat) | St. Louis | L | 06-16 |
| 2 | Sept 20 | Washington | W | 24-18 |
| 3 | Sept 27 | at Pittsburgh | L | 17-23 |
| 4 | Oct 4 | at Cleveland | L | 06-27 |
| 5 | Oct 11 | NY Giants | T | 13-13 |
| 6 | Oct 18 | Clevland | L | 16-20 |
| 7 | Oct 25 | at St. Louis | W | 31-13 |
| 8 | Nov 1 | at Chicago | W | 24-10 |
| 9 | Nov 8 | at NY Giants | W | 31-21 |
| 10 | Nov 15 | Philadelphia | L | 14-17 |
| 11 | Nov 22 | at Washington | L | 16-28 |
| 12 | Nov 29 | Green Bay | L | 21-45 |
| 13 | Dec 6 | at Philadelphia | L | 14-24 |
| 14 | Dec 13 | Pittsburgh | W | 17-14 |
Playoffs
| Week | Date | Opponent | W/L | Score |
|---|
| - | - | none | - | - |
|
|---|
Last Updated: August 10, 2000
jrbeasley@email.msn.com