The Cowboys may be getting ready for a new chapter with the opening of their stadium in Arlington, but this also marks the 50th anniversary season for the club.
With the help of a nine-person panel, DallasCowboys.com decided to compile a list of the Top 50 players in team history. The panel included Brad Sham, the play-by-play radio voice of the Cowboys for 32 years, Dallascowboys.com columnist Mickey Spagnola, and website beat writers Nick Eatman, Rob Phillips and Josh Ellis. Also on the panel were Bill Jones, a Dallas-area broadcaster for more than 25 years, along with Cowboys TV and radio producers Jon Ingham, Bill Carruthers and Douglas Barricklow.
Each day we'll count down from 50, providing a quick look back and highlighting another key player that has helped build the Cowboys to America's Team status.
41. Mark Tuinei Position: Offensive tackle Cowboys Career: 1983-97 Honors: Made two straight Pro Bowls (1995-95) in his 12th and 13th NFL seasons. Highest Ranking From Panel: 34
Sometimes the true success stories don't include happy endings.
Back in 1983, this little-known defensive end from Hawaii somehow made the Cowboys' roster as a true project player with upside. As it turned out, the scouts were only half right about him.
He did have upside, just not as a defensive end. He switched to offense and it wasn't long before Mark Tuinei was a fixture at left tackle on the Cowboys' offensive line. As was the case with many other players, Tuinei's individual success didn't come until the team exploded onto the scene in the 1990s.
As the left tackle on Super Bowl winning teams, Tuinei finally started getting noticed. After 11 years of being just a "solid" player, he made the Pro Bowl in 1994, and then went back again in 1995.
The combination of age and injuries eventually led to his retirement in 1997.
But after battling pass-rushing greats like Reggie White, Lawrence Taylor and Bruce Smith for years, Tuinei finally met an opponent that he couldn't beat. In 1999, Tuinei was found unconscious in his car and pronounced dead when police arrived on the scene. Published police reports indicate that Tuinei's death was accidental, but caused by a lethal combination of heroin, "ecstasy" and alcohol. The former lineman was expected to return to Hawaii as a high school football coach.
The irony of Tuinei's death was that it was easily more exposure than he ever had in his 15 years as a player. The quiet, reserved lineman was often called a "Gentle Giant."
But on the field, while never the loudest or flashiest, Mark Tuinei was simply one of the best left tackles in Cowboys history.
42. Leon Lett Position: Defensive tackle Cowboys Career: 1991-2000 Honors: Two-time Pro Bowl selection (1994, 98) Highest Ranking From Panel: 24
Unfortunately for Leon Lett, he's remembered nationally for three things that are all rather negative.
Still, aside from his substance abuse problems that led to three separate suspensions, and the two infamous plays for which he'll always be known, Leon Lett developed into a dominating force in the middle of the Cowboys defense.
Playing 10 years with the Cowboys, one more with Denver, Lett had a rare combination of enormous size with a quick first step. Nicknamed the "Big Cat," Lett helped the Cowboys win three Super Bowls in a four-year span.
He earned a Pro Bowl selection in 1994 and another in 1998. In between those four years, Lett served a four-game suspension in the middle of the 1995 season, and then a full 16-game suspension at the end of 1996 and the first 13 games of 1997. Lett later served an eight-game suspension to begin the 2000 season. All of the suspensions were a result of Lett violating the NFL's substance abuse policy.
But his problems weren't just off the field. Lett had a couple of memorable highlights that occurred on the big stage.
At the end of Super Bowl XXVII, Lett scooped up a fumble by the Bills and was on his way for another Cowboys touchdown, which would've given the club a Super Bowl record for most points in a game. Instead, Lett showboated too early, leaving the ball out to his side and allowing Bills receiver Don Bebe to swipe it away just before they crossed the goal line. The play resulted in a touchback, although the Cowboys won the game convincingly, 52-17.
The next year, amidst a rare snowstorm at Texas Stadium on Thanksgiving Day, the Cowboys had a victory against Miami snatched away in the final seconds. After the Cowboys blocked the Dolphins' last-second field goal attempt, Lett decided to pick up the ball. Instead, he slipped on the turf and inadvertently kicked the ball, which was recovered by Miami. The Dolphins were awarded one final play and promptly kicked the game-winning field goal for a 16-14 win.
However, later that season, Lett finally got on the other end of a big play. With the Cowboys trailing 13-6 in the third quarter of Super Bowl XXVIII, Lett made the play that turned the game around, stripping Thurman Thomas of the ball, which led to a game-tying fumble return by James Washington. The Cowboys would later cruise to a 30-13 win.
This past May, nearly 10 years after retiring from football, Lett graduated with a degree in university studies, with a concentration in sociology and history from the University of Nevada Las Vegas.
43. Flozell Adams Position: Offensive tackle Cowboys Career: 1998-present Honors: All-Pro in 2007; Selected to five Pro Bowls in a six-year span. Highest Ranking From Panel: 31
After finishing the 2002 season, his fifth as a pro, Flozell Adams' days with the Cowboys appeared to be over. He had yet to become a consistent player and hadn't reached his potential as a high second-round pick that was supposed to develop into a dominating left tackle. Now his contract had expired and Flozell seemed to be on his way out.
Then Bill Parcells arrived on the scene in 2003, and when he made re-signing Adams his No. 1 priority, everything changed. Not just the perceptions of Adams, but his performance as well.
Adams eventually became a perennial Pro Bowler, earning five out of six selections. His only absence from the Pro Bowl over that period came in 2005 when a knee injury forced him to miss the final 10 games.
Adams' best season likely came in 2007, when he was one of six Cowboys on The Associated Press All-Pro first-team.
Although he's often criticized for penalties, mostly illegal procedures, the job of a left tackle is to keep his quarterback off the ground and face opponents' top pass-rushers. Adams has been able to handle both jobs in his career and when it's over, he'll likely go down as one of the top two left tackles in club history.
Adams' five Pro Bowls are the second-most by a Cowboys offensive tackle, behind only the six selections of Rayfield Wright.
44. Pat Donovan Position: Offensive tackle Cowboys Career: 1975-83 Honors: Made four consecutive Pro Bowls from 1979-82. Highest Ranking From Panel: 33
Just like he did on this Top 50 list, Pat Donovan followed Ralph Neely on the football field, giving the Cowboys continued stellar play at the left tackle position.
Donovan, a fourth-round pick in 1975, was a part of the "Dirty Dozen" of 12 rookie picks that made the roster that season. Along with Randy White, Thomas Henderson and Bob Breunig, Donovan was not just one of the best from that draft, but a top offensive tackle in Cowboys history.
He took over for Neely at left tackle, and one season later he was in the Pro Bowl for four straight years.
But for a career that took a while to get off the ground - including a backup role for two years before starting at right tackle in 1977 and then at left tackle for six more seasons beginning in 1978 - it all ended rather quickly.
Donovan hadn't suffered many major injuries for his entire career before 1983. He ended up needing surgery to repair both shoulders and eventually retired at the end of that season.
Donovan remains one of just four offensive tackles in club history to make at least four Pro Bowls, joining Rayfield Wright (six), Flozell Adams (five) and Erik Williams (four).
45. Ralph Neely Position: Offensive tackle Cowboys Career: 1965-77 Honors: Pro Bowls in 1967, 1969; Four-time All-Pro pick; Selected to All-Decade team (1960s) by the voters of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Highest Ranking From Panel: 28
Offensive linemen still don't get a lot of recognition in today's game, so imagine how much attention guys like Ralph Neely received some 40 years ago.
But despite the lack of media exposure to the league and especially the guys up front, Neely still managed to become one of the NFL's top offensive linemen of his era. He came onto the scene in 1965 and started five seasons at right tackle. When Rayfield Wright then entered the picture, the Cowboys put Wright at right tackle and Neely had a brief stint at guard in 1970 before ending the season at left tackle, where he played until 1977.
An injury prevented Neely from playing in the Cowboys' Super Bowl VI victory over Miami. Fittingly, he retired after the 1977 season when the Cowboys beat Denver in Super Bowl XII.
One interesting side note about Neely was that he indirectly ignited the longstanding feud between the Houston Oilers and Cowboys and the creation of the Governors Cup. Back in 1965, the NFL had yet to merge with the AFL. The two leagues held separate drafts and often had heated battles for the top college players. Neely originally signed a contract with the Oilers, who drafted him for the AFL, but after Baltimore traded his rights to the Cowboys, Neely chose to sign with Dallas and gave his check back to Houston.
Although Oilers owner Bud Adams sued the Cowboys and Tex Schramm, the courts favored the Cowboys and Neely headed to Dallas. However, the Cowboys did have to give up three draft picks in the process and were forced to play an annual game against the Oilers either in the regular season or exhibition. The annual game was simply dubbed "The Governors Cup."
41. Mark Tuinei
42. Leon Lett
43. Flozell Adams
44. Pat Donovan
45. Ralph Neely
