In 1954 a former MIT runningback turned Dallas millionare tried to buy the NFL San Francisco 49ers and move them to Dallas.  When the deal fell dead he inquired about the Wasington Redskins and the Chicago Cardinals to no avail.  In 1959 the NFL decided to add two new franchises to the league and Clint Murchison Jr. was ready.  On January 28, 1960 the NFL awarded a franchise to a group of Dallas investors including Murchison and his brother, John D. for $600,000. 

Murchison had already hired Tex Schramm as his General Manager and they immediately went after NY Giants Defensive Coordinator Tom Landry to be the team's first head coach.  His hands off attitude was simple, "hire the best possible people you can find to run your business, then step back and let them run it.  And unless you have evidence they aren't getting the job done, you leave them alone."

In 1964 he gave Landry an unprecedented 10-year contract, which paid off as the Cowboys became one of the most successfull franchises in sports.  Murchison saw his Cowboys go to five Superbowls and win 2 NFL Championships.

His failing health caused him to sell the team in the spring of 1984.  The $80 million price tag was the largest ever paid for a sports team at the time.  He died on March 30, 1987 at the age of sixty-three.

The trademark stability of the Cowboys' front office team traces to the leadership of the club's first general manager, Texas E. Schramm.

Serving as managing partner of the Cowboys' ownership group, Schramm directed the daily operation of the Cowboys since 1960 when Clint Murchison, Jr., founded the franchise. Schramm is regarded as one of the greatest innovators in pro football history.

A native of Los Angeles with family roots in San Antonio, Texas, Schramm earned a degree in journalism from the University of Texas. He joined the Los Angeles Rams as publicity director in 1947 after two years as a sports writer and sports editor at the Austin American-Statesman. In a 10-year career with the Rams he rose from publicity director, to assistant to the president, to general manager. During his tenure he brought Pete Rozelle into the NFL as the Rams' publicity director.

Schramm left the Rams in 1957 to join CBS Television as assistant director of sports. He put together the first network telecast of the Olympics, but, following those Winter Games of 1960 in Squaw Valley, Calif., Schramm returned to pro football upon being hired by Murchison to run the NFL's new Dallas franchise.

After the Cowboys won Super Bowl XII, Schramm was named NFL Executive of the Year by The Sporting News, and in 1978 he received the Bert Bell Award for outstanding executive leadership in the NFL. Tex served as chairman of the NFL's Competition Committee and on the executive committee of the NFL Management Council.

Tex was named a 1987 Father of the Year by the Dallas Father of the Year Committee and the New York based Father's Day Council, Inc.

After leaving the Cowboys, Tex served as commisioner for the World League of American Football for two years.

Schramm was enshrined into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1991.

Gil Brandt was the man responsible for finding the football players who made the Cowboys a winning team for a remarkable 20 of their first 22 years.

Brandt served as the Cowboys' chief talent scout since the club's birth in 1960. He had served as a part-time scout for the Los Angeles Rams under General Manager Tex Schramm in the 1950s. When Schramm took command of the newly formed Dallas Cowboys in 1960, one of the first people he hired was Brandt. Schramm, Brandt and Coach Tom Landry formed the triumverate which guided the Cowboys since during their first 25 years.

Brandt helped pioneer many of the scouting techniques used by NFL clubs today, such as computer analysis of prospects, converting basketball players and track athletes into football players and finding top free agent rookies, such as Drew Pearson, Cliff Harris and Everson Walls.

A native of Milwaukee and a graduate of the University of Wisconsin, Brandt worked as a baby photographer before his flair of discovering football talent led him into the NFL.

H. R. (Harvey Roberts) Bright, better known as "Bum," put together the ownership group and masterminded the complicated purchase of the Cowboys from founder Clint Murchison, Jr. in 1984 for $60 million (plus another $20 million for Texas Stadium).  Bright served as general partner of the limited partnership.

With Bright at the helm, the Cowboys began their second 25 years by moving into their state-of-the-art headquarters and training facility. Bright also guided the renovation of Texas Stadium, including the addition of 118 Crown Suites and the installation of two DiamondVision color scoreboards.

Born in Muskogee, Okla., Bum moved to Dallas with his family when he was eight years old. He earned a degree in petroleum engineering from Texas A&M University in 1943 before serving 2 1/2 years as a captain in the Army Corps of Engineers.

Bright entered the oil business following his military service. He was senior partner of Bright & Company, a Dallas-based oil and gas production firm. He also held extensive holdings in the banking industry.

Bright was chairman of the board of directors of Children's Medical Foundation of Texas and past chairman of the board of regents of Texas A&M. 

As the Cowboys declined during the 80s Bright was public in his criticism of the team, even requesting that Schramm fire Landry in 88.  After reviewing many offers, he accepted a $150 million bid from Arkansas oilman Jerry Jones.
 

At the time of Jerry Jones' purchase of the Dallas Cowboys in 1989, the proud franchise was struggling through the most difficult period in club history.

For the first time since 1964, the Cowboys had posted losing seasons for three consecutive years, and the club had closed the 1988 season with the worst record in the NFL.

In the ensuing years of Jones' ownership, fans of the Dallas Cowboys witnessed what might have been the most dramatic and visible turnaround in the history of professional sports. A team that closed the 1980s with a pair of seasons that netted just four wins would take hold of the 1990s with three Super Bowi titles, four straight NFC Championship Game appearances and an unprecedented five straight NFC Eastern Division crowns.

Jones' immediate vision was to put a championship team on the field, whiie also restoring the pride of a fan following that spans the nation and reaches all corners of the world, In a matter of months, that vision became reality. By January of 1993, the Cowboys earned a Super Bowl championship for the first time in 15 seasons, and the following year, the Cowboys became the fifth team to win back-to-back Super Bowl crowns.

In 1995, the Dallas Cowboys became the first NFL franchise to win three Super Bowls in a four year period of time, while tying the NFL record for the most Super Bowl victories by an organization with five. In 1996, the club claimed its fifth straight division title, a feat that had never been reached before by any NFC Eastern Division team.

Along the way, Jones established himself as one of the NFL' s most influential and active owners. His "hands on" leadership ability has played a prominent role in the resurgence of the Cowboys, and his contributions to the National Football League have been prominent and productive.

Between 1980 & 1998, 18 different owners have entered the National Football League. Of that group, only Jerry Jones has guided his franchise to more than one Super Bowl championship. Moreover, Jones joins Art Rooney, Jack Kent Cooke, Al Davis and Eddie DeBartolo as the only men to own NFL franchises that have won at least three Super Bowls.

The fan following and interest in the current era of the Cowboys has reached unprecedented levels in the national and international spotlight. At the end of the 1997 season, the team had played before 129 straight sold out stadiums (home and away). In addition, Dallas' three most recent Super Bowl appearances represent the three most watched television programs in history.

As a member of the league' s Broadcasting Committee, Jones was a key player in the agreement that introduced the FOX Network to the NFL as the rights holder for the NFC television package in 1993. 

With his appointment to the NFL' s prestigious Competition Committee in May of 1992, Jones became the first owner to serve in that capacity since the late Paul Brown. He has since moved to the Executive Committee of the NFL's Management Council.

During the club' s run to the 1992 World Championship, the Cowboys set a team record for most wins in a regular season (13) and most overall wins (16). Following the 1995 season, the Cowboys appeared in a NFL-record eighth Super Bowl. The Cowboys are now the only team in the NFL that has won multiple Super Bowl titles in two separate decades.

After the inaugural 1-15 season in 1989, Jones was the NFL' s most aggressive executive in the area of Plan B free agency, signing 16 Plan B players. Three of those players went on to start in Super Bowl XXVII, and tight end Jay Novacek was selected to five Pro Bowls.

In May of 1997, Financial World magazine recognized Jones as the owner of the most valuable sports team in all of professional athletics. The Cowboys carried that "most valuable franchise" tag throughout 1993, 1994, 1995 and 1996.

In November of 1994, Jones was selected as the Master Entrepreneur of the Year by Ernst and Young and Inc. magazine. In December of 1994, he was named one of America' s 10 Most Interesting People in a nationally televised Barbara Walters special on ABC.

In the summer of 1991, Jones was voted as the best sports franchise owner in the Dallas-Ft. Worth metroplex, receiving 48% of the votes that were tabulated in a Dallas Morning News readers' poll. Four years later, a Fort Worth Star Telegram readers poll recognized Jones with the same distinction.

In February of 1992, Jones was named the winner of the "Big D Award" by the Dallas All Sports Association. The "Big D Award" annually recognizes the sports figure who has done the most to bring excitement to the Metroplex through athletics. More recently, Jones was ranked 23rd in The Sporting News' list of the 100 Most Powerful People in Sports for 1997.

Jerral Wayne Jones was born on Oct. 13, 1942 in Los Angeles. He learned his business style from his father, J.W. "Pat" Jones, a successful entrepreneur first in supermarkets, then in insurance.

Pat Jones moved his family to North Little Rock, Ark., soon after Jerry was born. After starring as a running back at North Little Rock High School, Jerry received a scholarship to play football at the University of Arkansas. He was a starting guard and co-captain of the 1964 team that went 11-0, defeated Nebraska in the Cotton Bowl and captured the national championship.

Upon graduating with a M.B.A. from Arkansas in 1965, Jerry joined his father's insurance company, Modern Security Life in Springfield, Mo., as executive vice president.

Jones entered the oil and gas exploration business in Oklahoma in 1970 and soon became a phenomenal success. His oil and gas concern now has offices in Fort Smith, Ark., and Calgary, Canada.

One of a very small number of NFL owners who actually earned a significant level of success as a football player, Jones is currently living his dream of engineering the fortunes of a NFL franchise. A man of varied interests who will not rest on yesterday's achievements, he is a dedicated businessman and family man - sharing a passion for both worlds.

Jerry is also involved in numerous civic and charitable causes. As very strong supporters of the Salvation Army, Jerry and wife Gene were recently presented the Army's Partner of the Year Award on behalf of the Cowboys organization. The Jones family is also very actively involved with several other community-related organizations, including the Children's Medical Center of Dallas, the National Board for the Boys and Girls Clubs of America and the Kent Waldrep Paralysis Foundation.

Jerry and wife Gene, a former Arkansas beauty pageant winner whom he met while both attended the University of Arkansas, live in Dallas. They have three children, Stephen, Charlotte and Jerry, Jr., and five grandchildren.

Stephen is a graduate of the University of Arkansas who serves as the Cowboys' Vice President/Director of Player Personnel, and Charlotte  is a Stanford graduate who is the Cowboys Vice President/Director of Marketing and Special Events. Jerry Jr. a graduate of Georgetown University who earned his law degree from Southern Methodist University, is the Cowboys' Vice President for Legal Operations.

Named a Cowboys Vice President in February of 1989, Jones coordinates the Cowboys' entire player personnel department. He also oversees the negotiation of all player contracts, management of the salary cap, the operation of Texas Stadium and a wide range of other club related duties.

Recognized as Owner Jerry Jones' right hand man, Stephen Jones has played an integral role in the team's rise from a 1-15 record in 1989 to Super Bowl victories in the 90s.

In the ever-evolving role of the salary cap in the current collective bargaining agreement, Jones' performance in managing the Cowboys player payroll has played a prominent role in the team's ability to compete at the NFL's highest level.

Jones' involvement in shaping the Dallas roster under the salary cap has been critical in allowing the Cowboys to maintain one of the NFL's most talented core group of players throughout the decade of the 1990s.

During a historic two-year period of time, Jones was involved in signing five Cowboys stars to the most lucrative contracts ever paid for individual players at their respective positions. Between September of 1993 and September of 1995, Jones helped orchestrate contract agreements that made Cowboys running back Emmitt Smith, quarterback Troy Aikman, fullback Daryl Johnston, wide receiver Michael Irvin and cornerback Deion Sanders the highest paid NFL players to ever play their positions at the time of their signings.

In the summer of 1992, Stephen Jones was the key figure in the negotiation and signing of 13 veteran contracts - enabling the Cowboys to start the season with a complete roster en route to their run to the Super Bowl XXVII title.

In April of 1991, Jones was part of a Dallas college draft effort that saw the Cowboys select 17 players - all of whom were signed to contracts prior to the start of training camp in July. In addition, 14 of the 17 players drafted by Dallas in '91 went on to earn roster spots in the NFL.

A four-year letterman as a linebacker and special teams stand-out at the University of Arkansas, Jones was a starter for the Razorbacks in the Orange Bowl Classic that followed the 1986 season.

Prior to attending the University of Arkansas, Jones was also an all-state quarterback and a three-year starter at Catholic High School in Little Rock.

He graduated from Arkansas in 1988 with a degree in chemical engineering and went to work in the oil and gas business for JMC Exploration as an engineer.

On Feb. 25, 1989, Jerry Jones purchased the Dallas Cowboys and installed Stephen into a key front office position as one of three vice presidents with the club.

Jones is actively involved with the Young Presidents Organization. He also serves on the board of directors for the Kent Waldrep National Paralysis Foundation and the G.T.E./S.M.U. Athletic Forum.

Jones was born and raised in Little Rock. He is married to the former Karen Hickman of El Dorado, Arkansas, and the couple has three daughters.