1962 Dallas Cowboys season The 1962 Dallas Cowboys season was their third in the league . The team finished with a record of 5 wins , 8 losses , and 1 tie , placing them 5th in the NFL ' s Eastern Conference . Offseason . The Cowboys traded away their first round draft choice ( fourth overall ) in 1962 NFL Draft to the Cleveland Browns . With their first selection the Cowboys selected quarterback Sonny Gibbs from Texas Christian University in the second round ( eighteenth overall ) . Other notable selections in the draft included defensive end George Andrie from Marquette University in the sixth round and Harold Hays from Southern Mississippi in the fourteenth round . The team acquired several veterns prior to the 1962 season . Sam Baker , formerly of the Browns , was acquired to bring stability to the kicker position . The team traded for offensive tackle Monte Clark from the San Francisco 49ers and acquired Dale Memmelaar , an offensive lineman formerly of the St . Louis Cardinals . Jerry Norton , an eight year veteran who had played for the Cardinals and the Philadelphia Eagles , was acquired to help out in the secondary . Dick Nolan , who had played defensive back for the New York Giants when Cowboys head coach Tom Landry was the defensive coach there , was hired as an assistant coach on the defensive side of the ball , but ended up actually playing safety for most of the season , in addition to coaching . Lee Folkins , who spent his rookie season with the Green Bay Packers , was the Cowboys starting tight end for most of the year . Notable rookie free agents the Cowboys signed prior to the season included Pettis Norman , from Johnson C . Smith University , Mike Gaechter , a track and field athlete as well as a football player , from the University of Oregon , and Cornell Green , a basketball player from Utah State University . Schedule . Season recap . The Cowboys got off to a frustrating start to the 1962 season , as the team was unable to capitalize on opportunities to win their first two games , both played at home . Head coach Tom Landry decided to alternate between quarterbacks Eddie LeBaron and Don Meredith on every play , and the system proved its worth from the start , as the Cowboys offense rolled up 35 points and 483 yards against the Washington Redskins . Flanker Frank Clarke caught 10 passes for 241 yards and scored 3 touchdowns in the game , but kicker Sam Baker missed a 35 - yard field goal with 13 seconds left and the Cowboys had to settle for a 35 – 35 tie . The next week against the Pittsburgh Steelers the team saw a 99 - yard touchdown pass from LeBaron to Clarke be erased due to a holding call in the end zone , which not only wiped out the touchdown but also awarded a safety to the Steelers , giving them the 2 points which turned out to be the difference in a 30 – 28 loss for the Cowboys . The team rebounded the next week in Los Angeles against the Rams with a 27 – 17 victory , highlighted by LeBaron ' s 85 - yard touchdown pass to Amos Marsh , but lost a defensive struggle in Cleveland the next week to the Browns 19 – 10 . The Cowboys , leading the NFL in offense after the first four weeks , went on to score a combined 83 points in their next two games , victories over the Philadelphia Eagles and the Steelers . The Cowboys were unable to maintain momentum , losing to the struggling St . Louis Cardinals 28 – 24 in a sloppily played game , despite Don Perkins rushing for 137 yards . The following week , the Cowboys may have played their most complete game of the season against the surprising Redskins , beating them in Washington 38 – 10 , with the Cowboys ' usually inconsistent defense holding the Redskins to 293 yards and just 10 points , while the offense provided their usual assortment of big plays . The Cowboys faced their biggest test of the season the following week against the Eastern Conference - leading New York Giants in front of a record crowd at home , but the Giants won in a rout , 41 – 10 . Both Eddie LeBaron and Frank Clarke were injured in the game , limiting the Cowboys offense over the next few weeks , and leading to a repeat of the team ' s late - season tailspin of 1961 . The Cowboys would go on to lose four of the last five games of the season , and while Meredith ' s inexperience would prove costly at times , it was the defense that was the main culprit , allowing 446 yards or more over five of the last six games . The lone bright spot of the late season was a 45 – 21 victory over the Browns in the team ' s home finale . Meredith enjoyed his finest day as a professional , throwing two touchdown passes in the first half , and the maligned defense held Browns fullback Jim Brown to just 13 yards . The Cowboys offense was among the league ' s best in 1962 , finishing second in both yards gained and points scored . The passing offense finished seventh , and quarterbacks Eddie LeBaron and Don Meredith combined for 31 touchdown passes , second in the league . LeBaron earned a trip to the Pro Bowl for his stellar season , his 8 . 7 yards per pass attempt ranking second overall among quarterbacks . Frank Clarke emerged as one of the league ' s top receivers , catching 47 passes for 1043 yards and a league best 14 touchdown receptions , while veteran Billy Howton led the team in receptions with 49 . The rushing game finished second overall with Don Perkins and Amos Marsh combining for 1747 of the Cowboys 2040 rushing yards . Perkins earned all - pro recognition for his season . The defense struggled for much of the season , finishing 13th in both yards allowed and points allowed , as the relatively inexperienced players on defense struggled with injuries and the intricacies of Tom Landry ' s defense . The team showed improvement from the previous two seasons against the run however , finishing fourth overall and allowing only 3 . 9 yards per carry . Against the pass the defense finished last in passing yards allowed , and allowed a league high 16 . 8 yards per completion . The pass rush was too often a non - factor , and the defense didn ' t force as many turnovers as the previous season . Despite these struggles , the Cowboys did get some strong performances from individual performers such as second - year defensive lineman Bob Lilly , who was named to his first pro bowl , and cornerback Don Bishop , who finished with six interceptions . Middle linebacker Jerry Tubbs also earned pro bowl recognition . Veteran Sam Baker improved the team ' s kicking game from the previous season , averaging 45 . 4 yards per punt , and converting 14 field goals out of 27 attempts . Amos Marsh had a solid season returning kickoffs , averaging 25 . 0 yards per kick return , and returning a kickoff for a score in a victory against the Eagles . The team struggled covering kickoff returns , allowing 25 . 5 yards per kick return , and finding a reliable punt returner was becoming an annual problem . See also . 1962 NFL season < br > 1962 NFL Draft References . 1 . http : / / www . pro - football - reference . com / teams / dal1962 . htm < br > 2 . The Football Encyclopedia ISBN 0 - 312 - 11435 - 4 < br > 3 . Total Football ISBN 0 - 06 - 270170 - 3 < br > 4 . Cowboys Have Always Been My Heroes ISBN 0 - 446 - 51950 - 2 < br > 5 . http : / / www . dallasnews . com / sports / football ( Archived 2009 - 05 - 13 )