Football Greats - Troy Aikman

Troy Kenneth Aikman, a celebrated quarterback who spent his entire NFL career with the Dallas Cowboys, was born November 21, 1966, in West Covina, California. Currently, he is a sportscaster working for the Fox network and joint owner of Hall of Fame Racing (a NASCAR Nextel Cup team) with Roger Staubach, another former Cowboys quarterback.

In 1989, the number one NFL draft pick belonged to the Dallas Cowboys, and the prediction was that Aikman was a shoo-in. The Cowboys had gone 3-13 the previous season and were in desperate need of fresh blood. In fact, on February 25, 1989, the sports world was shocked when Jerry Jones, the team’s owner, fired the beloved Tom Landry. Up to that point, the Cowboys had never had another head coach, and Landry was replaced with Jimmy Johnson, who (not surprisingly) picked Aikman.

Johnson didn’t allow Aikman to train slowly for his new frontline position but threw him into battle, and the young man led the team through a pathetic 1-15 season. However, Aikman proved to recover, bringing the team almost all the way to the playoffs the following season. Suffering an injury with the team sitting at a 7-7 record in 1990, Aikman had to sit out the last two games, which the Cowboys lost.

In 1991, the Cowboys finally made the playoffs, and Aikman, star of “America’s Team”, was elected to the first of six ProBowls in a row. 1992 proved to be Aikman’s career high, with 302 completions, 3,445 passing yards, and 23 touchdown passes. This brought the team to Superbowl XXVII, played at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena against the Buffalo Bills. Aikman and team smashed their opponents with a score of 52-17. Aikman completed a total of 23 passes for 273 yards and 4 touchdowns, earning him the title of Most Valuable Player. A repeat trip to the Superbowl the following year resulted in Aikman’s acquisition of a second Superbowl ring.

In 1995, Aikman and team tied the record, winning their fifth Superbowl title (a feat that, to date, has only been accomplished by the Dallas Cowboys and the San Francisco 49ers). In 1997, Troy Aikman became the first quarterback in Cowboys history to complete three straight 3,000 yard seasons, though the team, now under Barry Switzer as head coach, did not make the playoffs.

After the salary cap and high turnover rate of the team began to plague the team, Aikman’s game began to suffer. He announced his retirement in the spring of 2001 and ended his stint with the team as their all-time leading passer. Currently, besides his work for Fox networks, Aikman hosts a weekly radio show on Sporting News Radio (Thursdays from 5-6pm EST).

He is married to former Cowboys employee Rhonda Worthey (since 2000), and the couple has two daughters, Jordan and Alexa. In 2005, Aikman was added to the Dallas Cowboys Ring of Honor, along with Michael Irvin and Emmitt Smith during a game against the Redskins (long time Cowboys rivals) and was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in February of 2006.

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