Roger Staubach

Staubach graduated from the Naval Academy in 1965 with an engineering degree. A few months later, he married longtime girlfriend, Marianne Hoobler, and prepared to begin his naval service. Over the next four years, he satisfied his active duty requirements, serving one year in Vietnam as a supply officer. Although he had at one time considered a career in the military, he found the urge to play professional football too strong to resist and in 1969 reported to the Dallas Cowboys training camp. With Craig Morton firmly entrenched as the team's starting quarterback, Staubach saw limited action his first few seasons. After the Cowboys, quarterbacked by Morton, narrowly lost Super Bowl V to Baltimore in January 1971, Cowboys coach Tom Landry decided to give Staubach a chance to compete for the quarterback's job during the 1971-1972 season. By mid-season, Staubach had won the job, eventually leading the Cowboys to the NFC Championship and a chance to reverse its Super Bowl fortunes. At Super Bowl VI, Dallas blew away the Miami Dolphins, 24-3, earning Staubach the Super Bowl MVP Award.

For Staubach, much of the 1972-1973 season was marred by a shoulder injury he suffered in the pre-season. After surgery and a lengthy recuperation, he did return to the team late in the season. In a first-round playoff game against the San Francisco 49ers, the Cowboys were trailing when Staubach led the team to two touchdowns in the final two minutes of the game for a 30-28 victory over San Francisco. This come-from-behind victory earned Staubach the nickname "Captain Comeback." In the race for the NFC Championship, the Cowboys reached the finals but lost, 26-3, to the Washington Redskins. In the second half of the 1970s, Staubach led the Cowboys to the Super Bowl three times—1976, 1978, and 1979. In two of those Super Bowl appearances, Dallas was overpowered by the Pittsburgh Steelers, but in 1978 Staubach led the Cowboys to a lopsided victory, 27-10, over the Denver Broncos.