# 1964 Dallas Cowboys season

The 1964 NFL season was the Dallas Cowboys' fifth season in the league. The team improved on their previous output of 4–10, winning five games. They failed to qualify for the playoffs for the fifth consecutive season. The Cowboys would not have another losing season until 1986.

## Offseason
### NFL Draft

1964 Dallas Cowboys draft :
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College | Notes |
| 1 | 4 | Scott Appleton | DT | Texas | He was immediately traded to the Pittsburgh Steelers |
| 2 | 17 | Mel Renfro * $^†$ | CB | Oregon | |
| 4 | 43 | Perry Lee Dunn | RB | Ole Miss | |
| 6 | 73 | Billy Lothridge | QB | Georgia Tech | |
| 6 | 82 | Jim Curry | End | Cincinnati | |
| 6 | 83 | Jim Evans | End | Texas Western | |
| 7 | 88 | Bob Hayes * $^†$ | WR | Florida A&M | |
| 8 | 101 | Al Geverink | RB | UCLA | |
| 9 | 116 | Jake Kupp * | OG | Washington | |
| 10 | 129 | Roger Staubach * $^†$ | QB | Navy | |
| 11 | 144 | Bob Crenshaw | OG | Baylor | |
| 12 | 157 | Johnny Norman | End | Northwestern State (LA) | |
| 13 | 172 | Jerry Rhome | QB | Tulsa | |
| 14 | 185 | Jim Worden | LB | Wittenberg | |
| 15 | 200 | Bill Van Burkleo | RB | Tulsa | |
| 16 | 213 | Paul Cercel | C | Pittsburgh | |
| 17 | 228 | Bud Abell | LB | Missouri | |
| 18 | 241 | Theo Viltz | DB | USC | He signed with the Houston Oilers of the AFL |
| 19 | 256 | H.D. Murphy | RB | Oregon | |
| 20 | 269 | John Hughes | LB | SMU | |
| Made roster † Pro Football Hall of Fame * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career ||||||

## Schedule

| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Game Site | Attendance | Recap |
| 1 | September 12 | St. Louis Cardinals | L 6–16 | 0–1 | Cotton Bowl | 36,605 | Recap |
| 2 | September 20 | Washington Redskins | W 24–18 | 1–1 | Cotton Bowl | 25,158 | Recap |
| 3 | September 27 | at Pittsburgh Steelers | L 17–23 | 1–2 | Pitt Stadium | 35,594 | Recap |
| 4 | October 4 | at Cleveland Browns | L 6–27 | 1–3 | Cleveland Stadium | 72,062 | Recap |
| 5 | October 11 | New York Giants | T 13–13 | 1–3–1 | Cotton Bowl | 33,324 | Recap |
| 6 | October 18 | Cleveland Browns | L 16–20 | 1–4–1 | Cotton Bowl | 37,456 | Recap |
| 7 | October 25 | at St. Louis Cardinals | W 31–13 | 2–4–1 | Busch Stadium | 28,253 | Recap |
| 8 | November 1 | at Chicago Bears | W 24–10 | 3–4–1 | Wrigley Field | 47,527 | Recap |
| 9 | November 8 | at New York Giants | W 31–21 | 4–4–1 | Yankee Stadium | 63,061 | Recap |
| 10 | November 15 | Philadelphia Eagles | L 14–17 | 4–5–1 | Cotton Bowl | 55,972 | Recap |
| 11 | November 22 | at Washington Redskins | L 16–28 | 4–6–1 | D.C. Stadium | 49,219 | Recap |
| 12 | November 29 | Green Bay Packers | L 21–45 | 4–7–1 | Cotton Bowl | 44,975 | Recap |
| 13 | December 6 | at Philadelphia Eagles | L 14–24 | 4–8–1 | Franklin Field | 60,671 | Recap |
| 14 | December 13 | Pittsburgh Steelers | W 17–14 | 5–8–1 | Cotton Bowl | 35,271 | Recap |
Conference opponents are in bold text

## Game summaries
### Week 4: at Cleveland Browns

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Cowboys | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| Browns | 7 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 27 |
at Cleveland Municipal Stadium, Cleveland, Ohio
* Date: October 4
* Game time: 12:30 p.m. CDT
* Game weather: 56 °F (13 °C), relative humidity 58%, wind 13 mph
* Game attendance: 72,062
* TV announcers (CBS): Frank Glieber (DAL) (second half) and Ken Coleman (CLE) (first half) (play-by-play), Ray Renfro (DAL) (second half) and Warren Lahr (CLE) (first half) (color commentators)
* Pro-Football-Reference.com
Game information :
First Quarter
CLE – Ernie Green 7 yard pass from Frank Ryan Browns 7-0
Second Quarter
CLE – Lou Groza 19 yard field goal – Browns 10-0
DAL – Pettis Norman 5 yard pass from John Roach – (kick failed) Browns 10-6
CLE – Lou Groza 21 yard field goal – Browns 13-6
Third Quarter
CLE – Paul Warfield 40 yard pass from Frank Ryan – (Lou Groza kick) Browns 20-6
Fourth Quarter
CLE – Gary Collins 38 yard pass from Frank Ryan Browns 27-6
Cowboys
Browns :

### Week 6: vs. Cleveland Browns

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Browns | 7 | 6 | 0 | 7 | 20 |
| Cowboys | 0 | 6 | 10 | 0 | 16 |
at Cotton Bowl, Dallas, Texas
* Date: October 18
* Game time: 1:30 p.m. CDT
* Game weather: 68 °F (20 °C), relative humidity 60%, wind 16 mph
* Game attendance: 37,456
* TV announcers (CBS): Ken Coleman (CLE) (second half) and Frank Glieber (DAL) (first half) (play-by-play), Warren Lahr (CLE) (second half) and Ray Renfro (DAL) (first half) (color commentators)
* Pro-Football-Reference.com
Game information :
First Quarter
CLE – Ernie Green 1 yard run – (Lou Groza kick) Browns 7-0
Second Quarter
DAL – Dick Van Raaphorst 34 yard field goal – Browns 7-3
CLE – Lou Groza 34 yard field goal – Browns 10-3
CLE – Lou Groza 30 yard field goal – Browns 13-3
DAL – Dick Van Raaphorst 20 yard field goal – Browns 13-6
Third Quarter
DAL – Dick Van Raaphorst 37 yard field goal – Browns 13-9
DAL – Don Perkins 1 yard run – (Dick Van Raaphorst kick) Cowboys 16-13
Fourth Quarter
CLE – Bernie Parrish 54 yard interception return – (Lou Groza kick) Browns 20-16
Browns
Cowboys :

## Standings

NFL Eastern Conference :
| viewtalkedit | W | L | T | PCT | CONF | PF | PA | STK |
| Cleveland Browns | 10 | 3 | 1 | .769 | 9–2–1 | 415 | 293 | W1 |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 9 | 3 | 2 | .750 | 8–2–2 | 357 | 331 | W4 |
| Philadelphia Eagles | 6 | 8 | 0 | .429 | 6–6 | 312 | 313 | L1 |
| Washington Redskins | 6 | 8 | 0 | .429 | 5–7 | 307 | 305 | L2 |
| Dallas Cowboys | 5 | 8 | 1 | .385 | 4–7–1 | 250 | 289 | W1 |
| Pittsburgh Steelers | 5 | 9 | 0 | .357 | 5–7 | 253 | 315 | L1 |
| New York Giants | 2 | 10 | 2 | .167 | 2–8–2 | 241 | 399 | L4 |
    Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.

## Season recap

With one year left on his original contract, Tom Landry is re-signed to an additional 10-year extension, in effect giving him an 11-year deal, the longest in major pro sports history in the United States.