Doug Dennison won the J. Freeland Chryst Award in 2017. We asked him for a favorite memory.
There are many, I confess, but there are those that stand out.
It was 1975 and we made it to the first round of the playoffs against the Minnesota Vikings. We played on a field that they just removed all the snow.
Minnesota was a fine veteran team that just knew that they could beat us in this Wild Card game. We had a team that we knew if our defense performed well that we could beat anybody on any given day. We weren't moved by the snow or cold weather. We went with the idea that we could win.
Our backfield was by committee. We rotated based on the down and situation. I scored the first touchdown for the Cowboys on a play from their five yard line that was supposed to be a goal line pass play because it was third down. As I took the play into Staubach, there was hollering and shouting from the sideline.
The other assistant coaches wanted the play changed as we lined up, but I fired straight ahead into the end zone,
Coach Tom Landry let the others coaches know that he knows what he is doing. The wrong call but the right guy to give the ball to in tough situations. The confidence that he had in me was immeasurable because it told our team that we can win. And win we did into my first Super Bowl. Great moments are meant to be shared. They breed future success.
Doug Dennison's J. Freeland Chryst bio