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Billy
Howton was LaBaron and Meredith's "go to"
man in those early years with the Cowboys. He caught 56 passes for
785 yards in 1961, his best season as a Cowboy. He signed with the
Cowboys in 1960 after seven excellent years as a Packer and one with Cleveland.
The former All-American from Rice was a smart runner with the ball retired
with over 500 catches and almost 8,500 yards receiving. He was selected
as All-Pro two times during his career.
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| Frank Clarke was one of the original 36 veterans the Cowboys picked from the 1960 expansion pool. The fact that he stayed on board for more than a year made him even more rare. In 1962 he became the team's first 1000 yard receiver by latching onto 47 balls for 1043 yards and led the league with a 22.2 yard average and 14 touchdowns. In 1964 he caught 65 passes for 973 yards and was named All-Pro. His last few years he played tight end primarily and remained a clutch 3rd down receiver and retired after the 1967 season. |  |
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"Bullet" Bob Hayes was an Olympic Gold Medalist sprinter who as known as "The Fastest Man on Earth" mainly due to his 9.1 second 100 yard dash. Drafted out of Florida A&M in 1964, his first year as a Cowboy caught 46 passes for 1003 yards and 12 touchdowns. He redefined the term "deep threat" by spreading out the defense in a way no-one had ever done before. He was impossible to play man-to-man so coaches developed the zone defense to try to contain him. He holds the Cowboy record with 246 yards in receptions in a single game. Hayes was an exciting punt returner who led the league in 1968 with a 20.8 yard average, still a Cowboy record. He retired in 1974 after losing his starting job to Golden Richards and being traded to the 49ers. Convicted for dealing drugs in the Dallas area in 1977 he spent time in prison, but his conviction was later overturned. An after-football drug conviction has so far kept Hayes out of the Hall of Fame. He became the first Cowboy receiver to join the Ring of Honor in 2001. He died in 2002. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Lance Rentzel after two disappointing seasons with the Vikings and legal problems, the often-injured running back who had been an All-American at Oklahoma was traded to the Cowboys where he blossomed as a flanker. He led the team in receptions three straight years gaining 1009 yards in 1968. He had 13 receptions in a game against the Redskins in 1970. Married to actress Joey Heatherton, Rentzel seemed to have everything, but a few days before the 1970 Thanksgiving Day game against Green Bay he was charged with indecent exposure to a minor, a felony. He and the Cowboys felt it best if he quit the team. He plead guilty and received 5 years probation. He authored an autobiography, When All the Laughter Died in Sorrow which chronicled his life up until the incident. He was traded to the Rams for tight end Billy Traux where he went on to have three more successful seasons and retired after the 1974 season. |  |
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Lance
Alworth was already a Hall of Fame flanker
when he joined the Cowboys in 1971. He already had seven 1000 yard
seasons and had been named to the AFL All-Pro team seven times with the
Chargers. After an injury in the pre-season kept him out the first
half of the season, he made up for lost time by catching 34 passes for
487 yards including several clutch catches. He caught a touchdown
pass from Staubach against the Dolphins in Superbowl VI. He played
one more season before retiring.
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| Golden Richards was the Cowboys 2nd round pick out of Hawaii in 1973. In his first year he led the team in punt returns including a 63-yard touchdown return aginst Minnesota in the NFC Championship game. In 74 he won the starting job from an aged (among other problems) Bob Hayes. He caught a touchdown pass from Staubach in the 75 NFC Championship game against the Rams but was shut out by the Steelers in the Superbowl and left the game with broken ribs after several hard hits by the Steelers defense. Hampered by a hamstring injury in 76 he gave his punt return duties up and eventually lost his starting receiver job to Butch Johnson. In 77 he saw his production fall even more due to more passes being thrown to backs like Dorsett and Preston Pearson. His most memorable play as a Cowboy was in Superbowl XII against the Broncos. He caught a 29 yard touchdown pass from fullback Robert Newhouse. In 1978 rookie Tony Hill came along and beat both Richards and Butch Johnson out for the starting position and Richards was traded to Chicago for a third-round draft choice a few weeks into the season. He went on to have a good year with the Bears catching a career-high 28 passes. He only caught 5 passes in 1979 as a backup and discovered that he had played the entire season with a broken arm. After failing to make the Denver Broncos in 1980 he retired at the age of 29. | 
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Drew Pearson signed as a free agent in 1973 after being a star football and baseball player at Tulsa in college. After stepping in after injuries to Otto Stowe and Mike Montgomery, Pearson found himself catching everything thrown his way during his rookie year finishing with 22 catches for 388 yards. His second year he led the NFL with 1026 yards followed by five more excellent receiving years. He always had a knack for last-minute game saving catches. In 73 in the playoffs against the Rams, he went up between two defenders and came down with a Staubach toss at midfield and then raced 50 yards for an 83 yard touchdown play. His most memorable catch will always be the "Hail Mary" against Minnesota in the 1975 NFC Championship game. Pearson retired after a 1984 auto accident that left him with serious internal injuries. He was named to the Pro-Bowl three times and was named NFL All-Pro three times. He has established himself as one of the top black businessmen in the country with his line of NFL licensed merchandise and other endeavors. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Butch
Johnson was possibly the best backup wide receiver in the
league during his tenure with the Cowboys. Always a clutch receiver,
his most famous catch was the diving 45 yard TD grab in the 3rd quarter
of Superbowl 12. He also made the Cowboy's last TD catch in SB 13
to bring the Cowboys to within 35-31, the eventual final score. Johnson
was a third round pick out of Cal-Riverside in 76. He was primarily
used on special teams early in his
career. He proved himself in 81 when Tony Hill was injured and started
the first six games. He had 25 catches, 552 yards and 5 TDs.
Johnson was not afraid to catch passes across the middle. He
is also remembered for his touchdown dance, the "California Quake".
With Pearson's injuries in 83, Johnson saw his best year with 41 catches
and 561 yards, but his outspoken personality and flamboyant on-field antics
wore thin with Coach Landry and he was traded to Houston for Mike Renfro.
The Oilers released Johnson after 3 weeks of training camp and he signed
with Denver where he finished his career, retiring in 1985.
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Tony
Hill was one of the top receivers in the
NFL in the late 70s and early 80s. In 79 and 80 he caught 60 passes
for over 1000 yards both years. Drafted in the 3rd round in 1977,
Hill broke all of Gene Washington's records at Stanford. He finished his
NFL career with 26 100-yard receiving games and almost 8000 yards receiving.
Tony led the team in receiving 4 times and was named to 3 Pro Bowls.
Hill still lives in Dallas where he's worked as a broadcaster, businessman
and high school football coach.
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Mike
Renfro was
the son of former Cowboy assistant coach Ray Renfro. He came to the Cowboys
in 84 after six years with the Oilers. He had grew up in Dallas,
been a ball boy for the Cowboys, went to high school in Dallas and played
college ball at TCU. His best year came in 85 when he caught 60 passes
for 955 yards and 8 touchdowns including a 164-yard performance against
the 49ers. He played through the 87 season and finished his career
337 yards short of 5000. He now has a successful real estate career
and owns thoroughbred race horses.
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Ray
Alexander led the Cowboys in receiving
in 1988 with 54 catches for 788 yards. He was signed as a free agent
after a spectacular season with Calgary in the CFL where he gained over
1500 yards receiving. He was a college teammate of Nate Newton at
Florida A&M. Injuries limited him to one catch in 89, his final
year as a Cowboy.
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| Kelvin
Martin - "K-Mart"
Selected in the 4th round of the 1988 draft out of Boston College, K-Mart caught 45 or more passes three years (88-90). With the arrival of Alvin Harper, Martin found his role dimished, used in 3rd down situations and excelling as a punt returner. He returned a punt 85 yards for the winning touchdown against the Eagles in 91. He left for the greener pastures of Seattle after the 92 season where he enjoyed some good seasons. He returned to the Cowboys in 1996 for his final season.
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Single-Game Bests
Yards Receiving - 210 vs. Phoenix, 9/20/92
Average Yards Receiving - 26.3 twice, vs. Phoenix, 9/20/92; at
Philadelphia, 10/5/92
Long Reception - 87t vs. Phoenix, 9/20/92
Touchdowns - 3 twice, at Washington, 12/11/88;
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Michael
Irvin - "The Playmaker"
The Cowboys drafted Irvin out of Miami with their first pick in 1988. He has completly rewritten the Cowboys receiving record books. He is the all-time leader in receptions, yards, 100-yard games, consecutive game with a catch. He set Cowboy single season marks for catches (111), yardage (1,603) and 100-yard games (11) in 1995. He has appeared in 5 Pro Bowls and has led the team in receiving every year since 1991. Irvin retired following the 1999 season after suffering a season-ending neck injury in Philiadelphia in October. He was diagnosed with cervical stenosis, a congenital condition that means he has a narrow spinal column.
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| Alvin Harper developed into the Cowboys "Home Run" receiver. Dallas' second pick in the 1991 draft out of Tennessee. He led the league in 1993 with a 21.6-yard per catch average. He caught several bombs from Aikman during his Cowboy career. He was espcially valuable during playoff time, against the 49ers in 93 he made a memorable game-breaking 45-yard touchdown catch. He signed a big contract with Tampa Bay after the 1994 season. He wasn't successful there and was eventually released. He signed for a short while with Washington who also released him. He rejoined the Cowboys in 99, but wasn't used. |  |
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Raghib
"Rocket" Ismail went from a complimentary
role to go-to man when Michael Irvin went down with a career-ending injury.
After a successful career in the CFL, the Notre Dame All-American had good
seasons with the Raiders, then came into his own as an NFL receiver with
Carolina. Once he came to Dallas he set personal highs in receptions and
yards. He became only the 6th Cowboy receiver to gain 1000 yards receiving.
Rocket was injured in the 9th game of the 2000 season.
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Joey Galloway On Feb. 12, 2000, the Cowboys finalized a trade with the Seattle Seahawks to bring wide receiver Joey Galloway to Dallas in exchange for first round draft choices in the 2000 and 2001 drafts. While his first year in Dallas was cut short because of injury. Teamed with Raghib Ismail, Dallas boasts one of the fastest receiving tandems in the NFL. Originally the eighth overall pick of the 1995 NFL Draft, Galloway went on to start 67-of-71 games during his Seattle career and was an AFC Pro Bowl alternate in both 1997 and 1998. Only Cris Carter (52) and Carl Pickens (39) recorded more touchdown receptions between 1995-98 than Galloway's 36. He led the Seahawks in receiving yards and touchdowns in each of his first four seasons and led the club in receptions from 1996-98 after finishing second on the team as a rookie in 1995. His 12 100-yard receiving games are the third-best total in Seahawks history. In addition to his 37 receiving touchdowns, Galloway has one touchdown rushing and four touchdowns on punt returns. With 5,752 all-purpose yards in 72 games, he has averaged 79.9 yards-per-game and has caught a pass in all 72 games of his six-year career. Between receptions, rushes, punt and kickoff returns, Galloway averages 13.9 yards every time he touches the football and a touchdown every 7.6 receptions. |
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