Top Ten Dallas Sports Moments (Part 1)

The last ten years have been Sahara Desert-barren for us Dallas fans searching for a championship. We haven’t seen anything close to the dry spell of such cities as Cleveland, Seattle or Buffalo, but ever since the Stars hoisted the Cup in 1999, we’ve seen our share of gut-punch level defeats.

So let’s try and focus on some positives on a relatively mild summer day. Namely, what have the 10 best moments been in the sports history of our fair city?

For this discussion, our “moments” are going to be more like events. So without further ado, here’s the list:

10. Nolan Ryan’s 5000th strikeout – August 22, 1989

There aren’t going to be a lot of Rangers sightings on this list – not exactly a historically dominant franchise. But the Rangers do occasionally have flashes of greatness, and this strikeout which took place 20 years ago is still up near the top of the list of best moments in Rangers history.

Soon-to-be Hall of Famer Rickey Henderson was Nolan’s victim that night against Oakland, and the strikeout prompted Rickey – ever the wordsmith -   to say, “If he ain’t struck you out, then you ain’t nobody.” Ryan went on to finish his career with 5,714 strikeouts, far and away the best total in baseball history. Nolan’s #34 has been retired by the Rangers (the only Rangers player ever to have his number retired), and Nolan was almost unanimously elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1999.

9. Roger Staubach’s “Hail Mary” pass to Drew Pearson – December 28, 1975

It’s not often a team can have a play that enters the football vernacular. It doesn’t seem possible, but before this game, a pass like this wasn’t called a “Hail Mary.” But Staubach’s heave to Pearson in the first round of the 1975 playoffs propelled the Cowboys all the way to Super Bowl X, where they were done in by Lynn Swann and the Steelers.

The phrase “Hail Mary” reportedly came from Staubach himself, who said afterwards that he threw the ball as hard as he could and said a Hail Mary prayer. Both players were key parts of the team in the 1970s that helped drive the Cowboys to their current stature in the American sports consciousness.

8. Morrow saves the Stars – May 4, 2008

Last year’s “Cinco de Morrow” game against the San Jose Sharks was not the longest game in Stars history (anyone care to remember the 5-OT marathon against the Ducks? Didn’t think so.), but it was one of the most memorable. After racing out to a 3-0 lead in their second round series against the Sharks, the Stars dropped two in a row and were locked in a tight game that didn’t seem like it was ever going to end. But Brendan Morrow’s goal in the 4th overtime sent the Stars to the Western Conference finals, their deepest playoff run since the 2000 playoffs. 

7. Kenny Rogers’ perfect game – July 28, 1994

There’s something to be said for the franchise known only for its hitting to have a pitcher throw one of only 17 perfect games in the history of the majors. I have no idea what that is, though. At any rate, Kenny’s perfect game against the Angels came 10 seasons after Mike Witt threw a perfect game against the Rangers. These two teams are still the only two teams to throw perfect games against one another. 

6. Jerry Jones buys the Cowboys – February 25, 1989

You may not think that this was such a great moment. After all, Jerry may have been behind the revival of the Cowboys in the ’90s, but those players were mostly brought in by Jimmy Johnson, right? What has he done since then? How have the Cowboys fared without a Hall of Fame coach such as Jimmy or the Tuna? 

Well, my friend, let’s go back to what times were like when Jerry bought the team. The Cowboys’ glory days were long gone. Even agonizing defeats had something on what the Cowboys were: irrelevant. The Mavericks, despite a disappointing (at best) 1988-89 season, were coming off a trip to the Western Conference Finals and five straight playoff appearances. With no hockey and simply an up-and-coming Rangers team, the Mavericks were threatening to loosen the Cowboys’ stranglehold on the Dallas sports market. 

Compare that run of success to that of the Cowboys: After losing three straight NFC Championships in 1980-82, the Cowboys had only two playoff appearances from 1983-1988 (six seasons), both of which ended in losses in the first round. America’s Team also had compiled three straight losing seasons in 1986-1988 before Jerry bought the team in 1989. 

Love him or hate him, Jerry has turned the Cowboys into the most valuable American sports franchise (trailing only Manchester United for global value), according to Forbes magazine, but I suppose us fans are simply focused on what his team hasn’t done (namely, win a playoff game since 1996).

Check back for Part 2 tomorrow. 

Photo credits -

Nolan Ryan: http://www.chrisoleary.com/
Morrow Goal: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SiqnaAMR-7Y