1960 Dallas Cowboys season The 1960 Dallas Cowboys season was the inaugural season for the franchise in the National Football League . The team finished with no wins , 11 losses , and 1 tie , which placed them last in the Western Conference , and was the worst record in the NFL for that season . Offseason . The NFL granted a franchise to Clint Murchison , Jr . , and Bedford Wynne on January 28 , 1960 . The franchise hired former Los Angeles Rams executive Tex Schramm as their general manager . Tom Landry , an assistant coach with the New York Giants , was named head coach . Landry was offered the coaching job before the 1959 NFL championship game . Landry was offered a five year contract . The same day that Landry accepted the offer , it was reported by the UP , that Landry would become coach of the AFL ’ s Houston Oilers . Gil Brandt , who had served as a part - time scout for the Los Angeles Rams under Schramm , was named player personnel director . According to Schramm , the team ' s name was originally the Dallas Steers , but then was changed to the Dallas Rangers , which was the name of the minor league baseball team that was supposed to move out of town at the end of the baseball season . The franchise was admitted to the league too late to participate in the 1960 NFL college draft . However , majority owner Clint Murchison signed two college players , quarterback Don Meredith from SMU , and running back Don Perkins from New Mexico , to personal services contracts before the draft ( and before the franchise was voted into the league ) . The NFL honored these contracts after the franchise was voted in , although the Chicago Bears actually drafted Meredith in the third round , and the Baltimore Colts drafted Perkins in the ninth round . The franchise was allowed to retain both players , but had to give their third - round and ninth - round choices in the 1962 draft to the Bears and Colts , respectively . On March 13 , 1960 , the franchise selected 36 players in an expansion draft . Each of the other 12 NFL teams were allowed to protect 25 players from their 36 - man roster . The franchise was then were given 24 hours to select three players from those unprotected by each other team . The franchise was placed in the league ' s Western Conference . However , since they were the league ' s thirteenth franchise in addition to being an expansion franchise , it was decided that they would play every team in the league once , instead of playing each team in their conference twice , as the other teams did . Transactions . Other notable transactions prior to the season included acquiring quarterback Eddie LeBaron from the Washington Redskins , offensive end Billy Howton from the Cleveland Browns , and signing former San Francisco 49ers fullback Gene Babb . During training camp the team signed quite a few players who were released by other teams . Notable signings included center Mike Connelly , a rookie who was released by the Los Angeles Rams , and veteran Don Bishop , a defensive back who was released by the Chicago Bears . Name Change . The franchise used the nickname " Rangers " during its draft . But on March 19 , 1960 , the organization announced that it would be called the Cowboys to avoid confusion with the American Association Dallas Rangers baseball team . Regular season . Season recap . Expectations certainly weren ' t high for the Cowboys heading into their inaugural season , but they got off to a hopeful start , as the team took a 14 – 0 lead on Bobby Layne and the Pittsburgh Steelers early in their first game and led throughout before succumbing in the fourth quarter 35 – 28 . The next week they played the eventual league champion Philadelphia Eagles to a near deadlock , losing 27 – 25 , the difference being two blocked extra points . The lack of talent on the roster caught up with them as the season went on , however . Their first ever road game was against the woeful Washington Redskins , and it ended in defeat , 26 – 14 , spoiling quarterback Eddie LeBaron ' s return to the city where he starred for the Redskins during the ' 50s . The next week the team was annihilated at home by one of the league ' s top teams , the Cleveland Browns , 48 – 7 . The team would go on to suffer more lopsided defeats , including a 45 – 7 loss to the defending champion Baltimore Colts , and a 41 – 7 loss to the eventual Western Conference champion Green Bay Packers . Squeezed in between blowout losses was rookie quarterback Don Meredith ' s first start , which came against the Los Angeles Rams . Predictably , Meredith struggled in a 38 – 13 loss . The Cowboys also suffered heartbreaking losses , including a 12 – 10 defeat in St . Louis to the Cardinals , a game in which they led late only to lose on a field goal in the last minute , and a 26 – 14 defeat against the San Francisco 49ers , in which the Cowboys surrendered 17 points during the last 6 minutes of the game . The Cowboys ' lone highlight of the season came near the end of the season , when they traveled to New York and tied the Giants 31 – 31 , ending the Giants ' hopes of winning the Eastern Conference crown for the third year in a row . The Cowboys struggled in almost every statistical category , finishing last in both points scored ( 177 ) and points allowed ( 369 ) . Quarterback Eddie LeBaron and the receiving corps provided some big plays in the passing game throughout the season , but LeBaron mostly struggled behind a porous offensive line , and the quarterbacks threw a league - high 33 interceptions . Rookie halfback Don Perkins was lost prior to the season after breaking a bone in his foot , and the Cowboys rushing attack suffered all season long , finishing last in the league in rushing at 1049 yards , and averaging a paltry 3 . 4 yards per carry . Defensively the team was gashed by opposing running games all season long , giving up 2242 yards rushing and allowing 5 . 0 yards per carry , both last in the league . The team ' s pass defense had its moments , particularly in games against the Chicago Bears and the St . Louis Cardinals , but gave up too many big plays and didn ' t provide much of a pass rush . The kicking game proved to be average , and the kick returners were among the worst in the league , despite an ample number of opportunities ( a league high 69 kick returns ) . See also . 1960 NFL season 1960 NFL Expansion Draft External links . http : / / www . pro - football - reference . com / teams / dal1960 . htm http : / / www . profootballhof . com / The Football Encyclopedia ISBN 0 - 312 - 11435 - 4 Total Football ISBN 0 - 06 - 270170 - 3 Cowboys Have Always Been My Heroes ISBN 0 - 446 - 51950 - 2 http : / / www . dallasnews . com / sports / football /