Dallas Cowboys History:
The Dallas Cowboys were formed as a franchise in 1960, and were known as the Dallas Steers and the Dallas Rangers before settling on "Cowboys" prior to the start of the 1960 season. Initially, the Cowboys' would-be owners had trouble securing their expansion team, since the Washington Redskins owner George Marshall had a monopoly over the representation of the Southern States of the U.S. with his Redskins team. To counteract Marshall's opposition to the new franchise, would-be owners Clint Murchison, Jr. and Bedford Wynne purchased the rights to the Washington Redskins fight song. This led Marshall to agree to a new franchise, and the Dallas Cowboys were born.
During the early and mid 1960's, the Cowboys grew from a fledgling team to a prime contender. By 1966, the Cowboys had posted their first winning record and playoff appearance with the help of team members including Don Perkins, Chuck Howley, Mel Renfro and Bob Hayes. At that time, the Cowboys were competing for recognition in their own hometown. The AFL football team, the Dallas Texans, was already well established in Dallas, and even had a better record than the NFL team. In 1963, the Texans moved to Kansas City (and would become the Chiefs) and the Cowboys integrated well with the Dallas community.
The late sixties saw greats like Roger Staubach and Mike Ditka with the 'boys. The Cowboys made their first Super Bowl appearance in 1970, though losing the game 16-13 on several errors. In 1971, the Cowboys moved from the Cotton Bowl to Texas Stadium, where they would reside until the end of the 2008 season. During the rest of the 70's, the Cowboys grew to national prominence, and became a highly popular NFL team.
The Cowboys suffered through the 1980's, and played progressively worse throughout the decade. In 1989, Jerry Jones replaced longtime coach Tom Landry and the team would rebuild to its present glory. In 1992, Johnson would lead the team to a Super Bowl win and their first ever national championship. Since then, Dallas has won two more Super Bowls: 1993 and 1995. The Dallas Cowboys are still one of the most prominent teams in the NFL today.