cover image I Remember Tom Landry

I Remember Tom Landry

Denne Freeman, Jaime Aron. Sports Publishing LLC, $22.95 (224pp) ISBN 978-1-58261-302-4

Tom Landry, who died in February 2000 at the age of 75, coached the Dallas Cowboys from the time the football team was founded in 1960 until he was fired in 1989 by new owner Jerry Jones. During Landry's 29 years as coach, the Cowboys had 20 straight winning seasons, reaped 13 division titles, went to five Super Bowls and won two. Dallas was so dominant in the 1970s that its host of famous players became known as ""America's Team."" For this compilation of brief recollections about Landry, sportswriters Freeman and Aron canvassed approximately 125 people (including the coach's family), then organized their memories, more or less chronologically, into different parts of Landry's career. Tex Schramm and Gil Brandt talk about how they worked with Landry to build the expansion team into a winner, while other players recall Landry's days as an assistant coach with the New York Giants. The heart of the book, however, resides in the memories shared by Landry's players during the Cowboys' glory days, with the interviewees ranging from stars like Roger Staubach and Bob Lilly to players only die-hard Cowboys fans will recall. While the players, media members and coaches all have different Landry stories to tell, nearly all cite Landry as a fair-minded, hardworking, disciplined man who was an important influence in their lives. (Dec.)