Roger Staubach Roger Thomas Staubach ( born February 5 , 1942 ) is former star National Football League quarterback who is executive chairman of Jones Lang LaSalle . He attended U . S . Naval Academy where he won college football ' s Heisman Trophy , and after graduation he served in the U . S . Navy , including a tour of duty in Vietnam . Staubach joined the Dallas Cowboys in 1969 . He played with the club during five seasons in which they played in the Super Bowl , four as the primary starting quarterback . He led the Cowboys to victories in Super Bowl VI and Super Bowl XII . Staubach was named Most Valuable Player of Super Bowl VI , becoming the first of four players to win both the Heisman Trophy and Super Bowl MVP , along with Jim Plunkett , Marcus Allen and Desmond Howard . He was named to the Pro Bowl six times during his 11 - year NFL career . Early life . Of German descent , Staubach was born in Cincinnati , Ohio and grew up in suburban Silverton , Ohio . He attended St . John the Evangelist Catholic School , and graduated from a Catholic high school , Purcell High School ( now Purcell Marian High School ) . Staubach also attended New Mexico Military Institute in Roswell , New Mexico , where he also played football in 1960 in the 1960 NMMI Broncos football program . U . S . Naval Academy . After one year at New Mexico Military Institute , Staubach played quarterback for the Navy Midshipmen . As a third - class midshipman ( sophomore ) , he got his first opportunity to play in the third game of the season , against the University of Minnesota on October 6 , 1962 . Staubach relieved starter Ron Klemick as the Minnesota defense , led by Bobby Bell and Carl Eller , was stifling in its 21 – 0 victory . Staubach was 0 – 2 passing and was sacked twice for - 24 yards . A week later , against Cornell , with the offense misfiring , Hall of Fame Coach Wayne Hardin decided to put Staubach into the game to see if he could spark the team ' s offense . Staubach went on to lead Navy to six touchdowns , throwing for 99 yards and two touchdowns while running for 88 yards and another score as Navy won 41 – 0 . A few weeks later , Staubach started again in the famed Army – Navy game , which featured president John F . Kennedy ( himself a former Naval officer ) , who just 37 days earlier had negotiated the end of the Cuban Missile Crisis , performing the coin toss . Staubach led the team to a 34 - 14 upset over Army , throwing for two touchdowns and running for another . In his second class ( junior ) season of 1963 , he won the Heisman Trophy , Maxwell Award and the Walter Camp Memorial Trophy while leading the Midshipmen to a 9 – 1 record and a final ranking of # 2 in the nation . The Midshipmen lost the national championship to # 1 University of Texas in the Cotton Bowl . That season , Staubach led Navy to victory in its annual rivalry with Notre Dame . Navy did not beat Notre Dame again until 2007 . In his three seasons at Navy , he completed 292 of 463 passes with 18 touchdowns and 19 interceptions , while gaining a school record 4 , 253 yards of total offense . Staubach is the last player from a military academy to win the Heisman Trophy . The Naval Academy retired Staubach ' s jersey number ( # 12 ) during his graduation ceremony after his senior season . In 1981 , Staubach was enshrined in the College Football Hall of Fame . In 2007 , Staubach was ranked # 9 on ESPN ' s Top 25 Players In College Football History list . U . S . Navy officer . During his junior year at the Naval Academy , Staubach ' s color - blindness was detected . He was permitted to become the Naval Academy ' s first graduate to be commissioned directly into the Supply Corps , which did not necessitate being able to tell the difference between red ( port ) and green ( starboard ) lights or to discern the color differences in electrical circuitry . After graduating from the Naval Academy , Staubach could have requested an assignment in the States , but he chose to volunteer for a one - year tour of duty in Vietnam . He served as a Supply Corps officer for the Navy at the Chu Lai base / port ( a secondary air base providing relief for Da Nang Air Base approximately 50 miles to the northwest ) until 1967 . Staubach commanded 41 enlisted men . He spent the rest of his Naval career in the United States , playing football on various Naval service teams to prepare for his future career in the National Football League . NFL career . Staubach was a 10th - round future draft pick in the 1964 NFL Draft by the Dallas Cowboys . The National Football League allowed the Cowboys to draft him one year before his college eligibility was over , although due to his military commitment , he would not begin playing professionally until 1969 as a 27 - year - old rookie . He was also drafted by the Kansas City Chiefs in the 16th round ( 122nd pick overall ) of the 1964 American Football League Draft , also with a future selection . In 1969 , Staubach resigned his naval commission just in time to join the Cowboys training camp . In 1971 , Craig Morton began the season as the starter , but after a loss to the New Orleans Saints , Staubach assumed the role . However , in a game against the Chicago Bears in the seventh week of that season , coach Tom Landry alternated Staubach and Morton on each play , sending in the quarterbacks with the play call from the sideline . Dallas gained almost 500 yards of offense but committed seven turnovers that led to a 23 - 19 loss to a mediocre Bears squad that dropped the Cowboys to 4 - 3 on the season , two games behind the Washington Redskins in the NFC East race . Staubach assumed the full - time quarterbacking duties in a week eight victory over the St . Louis Cardinals and led the Cowboys to 10 consecutive victories , including their first Super Bowl victory , 24 - 3 over the Miami Dolphins . He was named MVP of Super Bowl VI on January 16 , 1972 , completing 12 out of 19 passes for 119 yards and two touchdowns and rushing for 18 yards . In 1972 , he missed most of the season with a separated shoulder , but he relieved Morton in a divisional playoff against the San Francisco 49ers and threw two touchdown passes in the last 90 seconds to win the game 30 – 28 . With that performance , he won back his regular job and did not relinquish it again during his career . Staubach led the Cowboys to a second Super Bowl win in the 1977 season . He threw for 183 yards and a touchdown , with no interceptions , in Dallas ' 27 - 10 victory in Super Bowl XII over the Denver Broncos . Staubach also led the Cowboys to Super Bowl appearances in Super Bowl X and Super Bowl XIII , where they lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers both times by a total of eight points . Staubach ' s offensive teammates included standout receivers " Bullet " Bob Hayes , Lance Alworth , Drew Pearson and Golden Richards , tight ends Mike Ditka , Billy Joe Dupree and Jackie Smith , tackle Rayfield Wright and running backs Robert Newhouse , Calvin Hill and Tony Dorsett . Dorsett , Hayes and Wright are in the Hall of Fame , as are Alworth , Ditka and Smith ( although those three were all with the Cowboys at the end of their careers ) . In his final NFL season of 1979 , Staubach set career highs in completions ( 267 ) , passing yards ( 3 , 586 ) and touchdown passes ( 27 ) , with just 11 interceptions . Staubach retired at the conclusion of the 1979 season , as he declined the Cowboys ' offer for two more seasons in order to protect his long - term health . He suffered 20 concussions in his playing career , including six in which he said he was " knocked out . " After suffering two concussions in 1979 , a doctor at Cornell told Staubach that while his brain tests were fine at the moment , another concussion could have life - altering consequences . He was succeeded as the Cowboys starting quarterback by Danny White . Overall , Staubach finished his 11 NFL seasons with 1 , 685 completions for 22 , 700 yards and 153 touchdowns , with 109 interceptions . He also gained 2 , 264 rushing yards and scored 21 touchdowns on 410 carries . For regular - season games , he had a . 750 winning percentage . Staubach recorded the highest passer rating in the NFL in four seasons ( 1971 , 1973 , 1978 , 1979 ) and led the league with 23 touchdown passes in 1973 . He was an All - NFC choice five times and selected to play in six Pro Bowls ( 1971 , 1975 – 1979 ) . Legacy and accolades . Staubach retired from football in March 1980 as the second - highest - rated passer of all time at 83 . 4 ( behind Otto Graham at 86 . 6 ) , and was voted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1985 . In 1999 , he was ranked # 29 on " The Sporting News " list of the 100 Greatest Football Players , the second - ranked Cowboy behind Bob Lilly . Staubach was one of the most exciting NFL players of the 1970s . Known as " Roger The Dodger " for his scrambling abilities , " Captain America " as quarterback of America ' s Team , and also as " Captain Comeback " for his fourth quarter game - winning heroics , Staubach had a penchant for leading scoring drives which led the Cowboys to improbable victories . He led the Cowboys to 23 game - winning drives ( 15 comebacks ) in the fourth quarter , with 17 of those in the final two minutes or in overtime . Perhaps Staubach ' s most famous moment was the " Hail Mary pass " in the 1975 playoff game against the Minnesota Vikings . With seconds on the clock and the Cowboys trailing 14 - 10 , Staubach launched a 50 - yard bomb to wide receiver Drew Pearson , who caught the pass and strode into the end zone for a 17 - 14 victory . After the game , Staubach quipped he prayed a " Hail Mary " after throwing the pass . Since then , any last - minute pass play to the end zone in a desperate attempt to score a game - winning touchdown is referred to as a " Hail Mary pass " in reference to Staubach ' s famous play . Staubach was named The Walter Camp " Man of the Year " in 1983 , and was awarded the Davey O ' Brien Legends Award in 2001 . In 1996 , the U . S . Navy Memorial Foundation awarded Staubach its Lone Sailor Award for his naval service . On the occasion of the 30th anniversary of Super Bowl VI in 2002 , Staubach , accompanied by former President George H . W . Bush , flipped the coin at Super Bowl XXXVI , played at the Louisiana Superdome , where his only other Super Bowl victory took place . On January 25 , 2007 , Staubach was named chairman of the North Texas Super Bowl XLV Bid Committee , whose goal was to have the Dallas - Fort Worth Metroplex host the Super Bowl in 2011 . On May 23 , 2007 , the NFL chose Dallas as the host city of Super Bowl XLV . In 2010 , Staubach was named the # 1 Dallas Cowboy of all - time according to a poll conducted by the " Dallas Morning News " . Off the field . Real estate . In 1977 , he started a commercial real estate business , The Staubach Company , in partnership with Robert Holloway Jr . , an associate of Henry S . Miller . He had prepared by working in the off - seasons from 1970 until 1977 for the Henry S . Miller Company . Staubach got into real estate because " I couldn ’ t have retired at my age and just played golf . First of all , they didn ’ t pay quarterbacks what they do today . And I was 27 with three kids . I kept thinking about [ what would happen ] if some linebacker takes off my head and I can ’ t play anymore . ” He said “ Henry Miller Jr . was a lot like [ legendary Cowboys Coach Tom Landry . They both had similar haircuts . . . they both had phenomenal integrity , great work ethic , and they could transfer their strengths to other people . ” The Staubach Company has been his primary endeavor since retirement from football . The company first developed several office buildings ; Holloway handled the construction side while Staubach found tenants . In 1982 , Staubach bought out Holloway and shifted the company ' s focus from commercial development to focus on representing corporate clients seeking to lease or buy space . This proved fortuous as a boom in Dallas office construction followed by a recession in the Texas oil industry left the city with excess office space , so companies representing tenants wielded greater influence . The company has worked with blue - chip firms including A . T . & T . , McDonald ' s Corporation , Hospital Corporation of America and K Mart Corporation . The company was also involved in residential development , with ownership stakes in 27 apartments and other real estate projects in the Dallas - Fort Worth area . Some of these were in partnership with Cowboys teammate Bob Breunig through S . B . C . Development Corporation , then a subsidiary of the Staubach Company . Others were collaborations with local developers and investors , including Ross Perot . He served as its chairman and CEO until June 20 , 2007 , when he announced he would step down as CEO of the multi - billion dollar real estate company he started 30 years earlier . On July 11 , 2008 , The Staubach Company was sold to Jones Lang LaSalle for $ 613 million . Staubach and his children ' s trust would gross over $ 100 million from the sale by 2013 . The sale provided an initial payment of $ 9 . 27 per Staubach share with additional payments due over the following five years for a total of approximately $ 29 / share . Staubach took half of his first payment in Jones Lang LaSalle stock which was then trading at approximately $ 59 . 50 / share . Staubach currently serves as executive chairman of Jones Lang LaSalle . On December 27 , 2011 , Staubach wrote the foreword for a book titled " The Power in a Link " , published by John Wiley & Sons , authored by United States Military Academy graduate , David Gowel . Other . During the 1970s and early 1980s he was a spokesperson for the men ' s clothing retailer Anderson Little , appearing in both print and TV ads . In the early 1980s , Staubach worked for a short time as a color commentator for CBS Sports ' NFL telecasts . Staubach jointly owned Hall of Fame Racing , a NASCAR Nextel Cup team , with fellow former Cowboy and hall - of - famer Troy Aikman , which began racing for the 2006 season . He is currently a minority owner of the team . On September 25 , 2007 a fundraising email was sent out from the presidential campaign of Senator John McCain ( R - AZ ) with a letter from Roger Staubach asking recipients to make a contribution before the Federal Election Commission third - quarter reporting date of September 30 , 2007 . Staubach is a conservative Republican who was often mentioned as a possible candidate for political office and had once been asked to run for a U . S . Senate seat . In 2013 , Staubach ' s daughter , Jennifer Staubach Gates , won a city council seat from North Dallas ' 13th District . Personal life . Roger Staubach has been married since 1965 to his sweetheart from grade school , Marianne . They have a son , four daughters , 15 grandchildren , and one great - grandchild .