Tom Landry

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From September 11, 1924 (Moritz 270), through the late 1960’s, Tom Landry accomplished a lot of things in his life, and set new trends for many years to come. Whether it be high school football star, or flying combat missions with the United States Air Force. Whether it be playing collegiate football, and really excelling, or actually moving on to a professional football career. Whether it be transforming from player to coach, and leading way for years to come and different programs; Tom Landry had experienced it all. Tom Landry was a great coach and player, whose leadership made him a hero, and a prestigious name in the football world.
Tom Landry was born in Mission, Texas (Moritz 270). Landry really excelled in football at the high school level, attaining the prestigious honors of being selected as an “all-regional fullback” (Moritz 270). As most high school football stars do, Landry went on and “enrolled at the University of Texas at Austin” (cemetery.state). Although Landry seemed to do as every other great high school star had done, his college experience had a twist to it. “After a semester at the University of Texas, he joined the U.S. Army Air Corps and, as a co-pilot of a B-17 bomber in World War II, eventually flew thirty missions over German occupied Europe and survived one crash landing” (Whittingham 83). After his experience in the military, “he returned to the University of Texas and resumed his football career” (Whittingham 84). Landry’s success in football seemed to pick up where it had left off, as “he made the All-Southwest Conference second team” (Moritz 270) as a junior, and “was cocaptain of the University of Texas team” (Moritz 270) his senior year. Landry’s success in college football was clear, and showed...

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...games, and actually winning the Coach of the Year Award by the Associated Press (dallascowboys.org). His career, and accomplishments speak for themselves. Tom Landry was a great coach and player, whose leadership made him a hero, and a prestigious name in the football world.

Works Cited

"Dallas Cowboys Coach Tom Landry." Dallas Cowboys RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 Nov. 2013. .
"Landry, Tom." The Encyclopedia Americana. Vol. 16. Danbury, CT: Grolier, 1998. 706. Print.
Moritz, Charles. "Landry, Tom." Current Biography Yearbook,. New York: H.W. Wilson, 1972. 270-72. Print.
"Thomas Wade Landry." Texas State Cemetery. Texas State Cemetery, n.d. Web. 05 Nov. 2013. .
Whittingham, Richard. "Tom Landry." Giants, in Their Own Words. Chicago: Contemporary, 1992. 83-96. Print.

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