Thomas W. Landry*

The son of an auto mechanic, Tom Landry was born in Mission, Texas, in 1924. A star quarterback in high school, Landry enrolled as an industrial engineering major at the University of Texas at Austin, but World War II interrupted his education.

Landry served in the U.S. Army Air Corps and flew 30 B-17 bombing missions. He returned to college and earned a bachelor's from the University of Texas (UT) and a master's from the University of Houston.

Following his being a successful fullback and defensive back at UT, Landry played professional football as a defensive back with the New York Giants for five years, ending his career with 32 interceptions in only 80 games. For the 1954 football season, Landry became the defensive coordinator for the Giants.

In 1960, Landry became the first head coach of the Dallas Cowboys, where he stayed for 29 seasons. Under his leadership, the Cowboys went to the Super Bowl five times and won two Super Bowl titles. As a coach, he was ranked third with the most wins in the National Football League. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1990.