Remembering Cornell Green, Cowboys Great and Super Bowl VI Champion, 1940-2026

Cowboys great Cornell Green has died at 86, the team announced Wednesday. He spent all 13 of his NFL seasons in Dallas and never missed a game.

Cowboys Nation lost one of the originals on Wednesday. The Dallas Cowboys said Green, a member of the first generation of the Doomsday Defense, passed away today at 86. His son, Randy Green, also shared on X that his father died Wednesday morning.

From the hardwood to Doomsday

Green (1940-2026) took one of the most unlikely roads to Dallas in team history. Born in Oklahoma City, he was a basketball player first: all-state at El Cerrito High School and Contra Costa College, then a two-time All-American at Utah State, where his 1,067 career rebounds are still the school record. The Chicago Zephyrs drafted him in 1962, but Gil Brandt's scouts, hunting for speed, invited him to Cowboys training camp instead. He had played only one season of high school football, and he made the team anyway.

He went on to play 13 seasons from 1962 to 1974 without missing a game, starting 167 of 168 games after his rookie year. He led the Cowboys in interceptions four times at cornerback, moved to safety in 1970, and made five Pro Bowls with two first-team All-Pro nods. He played in two NFL Championship Games and Super Bowl V, then helped Dallas beat Miami 24-3 in Super Bowl VI. His 34 interceptions are still tied for fifth in team history (via DallasCowboys.com). After playing, he scouted for Dallas and later the Denver Broncos, where he was named AFC Scout of the Year in 2010.

Our Take: Green is the kind of player the Ring of Honor debate has always been about. He did not play college football, and he still became one of the best defensive backs this franchise has ever had, without missing a single Sunday. That deserves to be remembered.

Our thoughts are with his son Randy and the entire Green family.

Sources: DallasCowboys.com, Randy Green on X, Wikipedia