Hall of Fame

CANTON, Ohio – At age 64, two months beyond the end of his 29th season as a head football coach, Tom Landry was fired. Eleven months and two days later, he was elected to the Hall of Fame.

"The last year has been interesting for me," Landry told a crowd of 15,000 at the Pro Football Hall of Fame on Saturday. "I got fired, and I'm in the Hall of Fame all in one year, so you coaches out there remember there's good things at the end of the rainbow if you stick at it."

Somewhere over the rainbow, in a football-crazy town where 200,000 people lined the streets for Saturday morning's parade, Landry arrived right on schedule. He made the Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility. Then again, as a player, it was Landry's 30th year of eligibility.

"I wish I'd been a good enough player to make it; that would have been super," Landry said. "But it's a great pleasure for me to come into the Hall of Fame. Never thought I'd make it but sure glad to be here."

Landry's speech was the last and the shortest of the seven men inducted Saturday. He joined San Francisco tackle Bob St. Clair, whom he played against in the 1950s, and five players he coached against - Pittsburgh's Jack Lambert and Franco Harris, Miami's Bob Griese, Kansas City's Buck Buchanan and linebacker Ted Hendricks, who played for Baltimore, Green Bay, and the Oakland and Los Angeles Raiders.

Although this is clearly Steeler country, Landry was cheered enthusiastically and received a standing ovation from fans attending a special dinner Friday night.

"They're taking bets whether I'll show any emotion today, and the odds are very heavy I won't," Landry said at the beginning of his speech. "If I don't show emotion, it's all on the inside."

About two hours before his speech, the man who guided the Dallas Cowboys to 20 consecutive winning seasons, five NFC titles and two Super Bowl victories was asked how he hopes to be remembered.

"I never thought much about how to be remembered," he said. "I think the greatest reward for a coach is when players who have gone through your system and who maybe didn't agree with you all the time come back after they're out of football and tell you, 'Yeah, I understand what you were talking about.' Those are the special moments."

Among the retired Cowboys who came to Canton to witness their coach's special day were Ed Jones, Drew Pearson, Robert Newhouse, Jethro Pugh and Bob Breunig. That's in addition to Hall of Famer Bob Lilly and Roger Staubach, who gave Landry's induction speech.

"I missed his [Tom Landry] Day in Dallas last year," said Jones, "so I wanted to be here for this. I can relate to 15 years of what he was talking about today."

Pearson said he came because he missed Staubach's induction in 1985. "I regret that to this day," he said.

Although Landry never was regarded as a "player's coach," Pearson said, "He was close enough. I didn't need a coach to be a buddy, to have a beer with. I needed a coach to prepare me for battle each week. You can't give any more preparation than he gave us. That was the key to my success and the key to our success as a team."

Landry once more gave credit to the late owner, Clint Murchison, as the man most responsible for the Cowboys' prolonged success. "He never once criticized me or second-guessed me. He took the pressure off me, and he took the pressure off Tex [Schramm]," Landry said.

He also praised Schramm as a "tremendous organizer", Gil Brandt for his scouting and several longtime assistants, including Jerry Tubbs, Jim Myers, the late Ermal Allen and current head coaches Dan Reeves, Mike Ditka and Gene Stallings.

"I think this is probably the greatest moment an athlete can have - to go into the Hall of Fame," Landry said. "It's the end of his career. When you can end your career on this note, what else is there in professional football?"

Landry and Staubach were the third duo to induct each other and the first since 1969 when former two-way Philadelphia player Chuck Bednarik inducted his coach, Greasy Neale. Paul Brown and his former Cleveland quarterback Otto Graham also inducted each other.

"A little over 20 years ago, a dream came true when I first stepped on the field at Cowboy training camp as a rookie," Staubach said. "Five years ago, another dream came true as I stood before you as an inductee to this great Hall of Fame. But my dreams and those of my teammates were fulfilled because of the efforts of one very special individual.

"Tom Landry was able to put a winning football team on the field for 20 years in a row. It's unprecedented in the NFL, and I don't think it will happen again. You don't do that by accident."

Staubach acknowledged Landry's conservative approach to life away from the game and his reluctance to smile when he was on the Dallas sidelines. "But you've got to admit any guy who can do American Express commercials and pop out of a suitcase singing country and western songs can't be taking life too seriously," Staubach said.

"In one of my weaker moments, I called Tom 'the man in the funny hat.' Speaking for football fans across the country, we miss that image on Sunday afternoon but we're thankful for the memories."

With the placing of his fedora next to Lilly's jersey and Staubach's Super Bowl VI MVP trophy in the Enshrinee Memento Room of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, those memories will be here for all to share.