Here are 10 things you might not know about Thomas Wade “Tom” Landry, who for 29 years was the only coach the Cowboys had and who finished his NFL coaching career with the third-highest win total in league history (special thanks to DMN staffer Barry Horn for a profile of Landry that appeared Feb. 13, 2000 – the day after Landry’s death at age 75 from cancer).
1. Texas roots
Landry was born in South Texas’ Rio Grande Valley, not far from the Mexican border, in the small town of Mission, on Sept. 11, 1924.