The 1963 Dallas Cowboys season was their fourth in the league, and also the first where the Cowboys were the only professional football team in Dallas, as the AFL's Texans relocated to Kansas City (and were rebranded as the Chiefs) during the offseason.
The team failed to improve on their previous output of 5–8–1, winning only four games. The Cowboys also missed the playoffs for the fourth consecutive season.
Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance Recap 1 St. Louis Cardinals L 7–34 0–1 Cotton Bowl 36,432 Recap 2 September 22 Cleveland Browns L 24–41 0–2 Cotton Bowl 28,710 Recap 3 September 29 at Washington Redskins L 17–21 0–3 D.C. Stadium 40,101 Recap 4 October 6 at Philadelphia Eagles L 21–24 0–4 Franklin Field 60,671 Recap 5 October 13 Detroit Lions W 17–14 1–4 Cotton Bowl 27,264 Recap 6 October 20 at New York Giants L 21–37 1–5 Yankee Stadium 62,889 Recap 7 October 27 at Pittsburgh Steelers L 21–27 1–6 Forbes Field 19,047 Recap 8 November 3 Washington Redskins W 35–20 2–6 Cotton Bowl 18,838 Recap 9 November 10 at San Francisco 49ers L 24–31 2–7 Kezar Stadium 29,563 Recap 10 November 17 Philadelphia Eagles W 27–20 3–7 Cotton Bowl 23,694 Recap 11 November 24 at Cleveland Browns L 17–27 3–8 Cleveland Stadium 55,096 Recap 12 December 1 New York Giants L 27–34 3–9 Cotton Bowl 29,653 Recap 13 December 8 Pittsburgh Steelers L 19–34 3–10 Cotton Bowl 24,136 Recap 14 December 15 at St. Louis Cardinals W 28–24 4–10 Busch Stadium 12,695 Recap Conference opponents are in bold text
Game summaries
Week 5
Week 8
Week 10
Week 14
Standings
Season recap The Cowboys were expecting to turn their fortunes around and have a good year, but won only three of their first ten games.
The assassination of John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963, stands out as an infamous moment in the season: not only was the nation's psyche impacted by this event, but the image of the city of Dallas was seriously tarnished. On November 24 - just two days after this historic event - the NFL decided to play its normal schedule of games, with the Cowboys traveling to face the Cleveland Browns.
On game day, when the team was introduced, the public address announcer referred to the team as simply the Cowboys, while the crowd also vented their frustration and pain at Cowboys players and officials during the game. The Cowboys lost 17–27, and would go on to have only one more win in the remaining three games.
On September 29, 1963, Billy Howton became the NFL's all-time receiving leader, breaking Don Hutson's record for career receptions and receiving yards. He retired at the end of the year, after playing in 12 seasons with 503 catches, 8,459 yards and 61 touchdowns.
NFL draft
Roster
Dallas Cowboys 1963 roster Quarterbacks Sonny Gibbs Eddie LeBaron Don Meredith
Running backs Amos Bullocks Wendell Hayes Amos Marsh Don Perkins Jim Stiger
Wide receivers Gary Barnes Frank Clarke Billy Howton Pettis Norman
Tight ends Lee Folkins Offensive linemen Mike Connelly C Bob Fry T Lynn Hoyem G/C Tony Liscio T Dale Memmelaar G Ed Nutting T Lance Poimboeuf C/G Ray Schoenke T/G
Defensive linemen George Andrie DE Bob Lilly DT/DE John Meyers DT Guy Reese DT Larry Stephens DELinebackers Dave Edwards OLB Harold Hays MLB/OLB Chuck Howley OLB Jerry Tubbs MLB
Defensive backs Don Bishop CB Mike Gaechter SS Cornell Green CB Warren Livingston FS Jerry Overton CB Jimmy Ridlon SS
Special teams Sam Baker K/PReserve lists Joe Isbell G (IR) Lee Roy Jordan LB (IR) Jim Ray Smith G (IR) Don Talbert T (Military)
Rookies in italics 37 active, 4 inactive
References