Michael Irvin

IRVING – The problem quantifying one football player's worth over another is that it's a team concept, and any attempt to remove one from his era just rips up a lot of real estate around him.

Who knows how good Drew Pearson would have been in these pass-happy days?

What if Tony Hill had played with Troy Aikman?

What if Billy Parks had had a clue?

A Cowboys culture primer: Parks was a free agent out of Cal State Long Beach in 1972 who earned the nickname "Harpo," partly because of his curly blond air, mostly for what percolated beneath it. He had maybe the best hands in Cowboys history, and probably the worst head.

"You put Billy Parks' brain in a hummingbird," teammate Pat Too- Cannot justify may once said, "and it will still fly backwards."

Anyway, the Cowboys have had an interesting history among wide receivers. They have tried several approaches. Tex Schramm once thought it was a good idea to bring in a falling star and try to fan a flicker of life, leading to Bill Howton and Buddy Dial and Lance Alworth.

They've had a receiver with good hands and bad legs (Mike Sherrard), one with good legs and bad hands (Alexander Wright), and several with no limbs to recommend them whatsoever.

In fact, looking over the lack of Cowboys receivers in the Pro Football Hall of Fame or even the Ring of Honor might lead you to think that the position is one of the worst in club history.

But four stand out in any era, on any teams: Bob Hayes, Pearson, Hill and the guy who finally retired Tuesday, Michael Irvin.

Numbers insist that Irvin is the greatest in club history. He leads the Cowboys in receptions (750), yardage (11,904) and 100-yard games (47). He either owns or shares 20 club records, a receiving record itself.

But numbers also say that John Burkett is 6-4 with the Atlanta Braves this season, and no one really believes that.

Frank Luksa, the semi-retired columnist and former Pro Football Hall of Fame voter, has done a lot of research on the subject of statistics now that he's not tied up in deadlines.

What he did was open a couple of press guides, and here's what he found: Of the top 10 quarterbacks in NFL history, only Otto Graham wore hightops.

Receivers? You have to scroll all the way down to No. 17 before you find one – West Texas' own Don Maynard – who didn't play in the last 20 years.

Translation: Changes in the game, mostly to help offenses, have all but rendered moot many statistics that could be used to compare players of different eras.

So, in the interest of fairness and decency, a panel was convened to determine the greatest Cowboys receiver ever. Panelists include Luksa, who covered the Cowboys from their infancy and well into debauchery; Dallas radio personality Preston Pearson, who played for the club from 1975-80, and yours truly, who has seen several Cowboys games.

Hill: Made the big catch in Roger Staubach's last great comeback, the 35-34 victory over Washington in 1979 ... second only to Irvin in club history with three 1,000-yard seasons ... "He was always open ... according to Tony Hill," Luksa said.

Pearson: A big-game, big-catch receiver who ranked among the NFC's top 10 receivers four seasons in a row (1974-77) ... "His numbers suggest he was in the category where Lynn Swann was," Preston Pearson said.

Hayes: Averaged 26.1 yards per catch in 1970, his last great year . . . So fast that defenses couldn't cover him one-on-one. "Because of the zone defenses created for him," Pearson said, "Tom Landry could use running backs out of the backfield on swing passes and other things, all because Bob sucked the defense downfield with him."

Irvin: A big man who used strength, determination and the art of the push-off, the latter inspiring a rules change to keep receivers from manhandling cornerbacks. "He just outrebounded the smaller defensive backs," Luksa said.

The panel's conclusion: Depends on what you want, but Hayes and Irvin were the best in Cowboys history because the NFL made changes to accommodate them. Hayes was faster and more dangerous; Irvin was tougher, more reliable and durable.

Pearson favors Hayes, but he calls Irvin the greatest receiver of this generation, save for maybe Jerry Rice. "I'd have loved to have been his teammate," he said.

Hayes was a favorite of teammates, too. The other sad coincidence is that both led not-so-private lives that ultimately muddied their accomplishments. Hayes has yet to make the Hall of Fame because of his problems, although the selection committee will have a hard time selling that now after taking Lawrence Taylor.

As for Irvin's rap sheet, he said Tuesday he wasn't sure how it will affect his Hall of Fame chances.

"But the Ring of Honor?" he said, grabbing Jerry Jones' arm. "No question. Not as long as this man owns the team."

And in that competition, only one vote counts.