DALLAS – The world of American football mourns the loss of Lee Roy Jordan, a historic linebacker for the Dallas Cowboys, who passed away at the age of 84. Jordan was a key figure in the first Cowboys team that won the Super Bowl in the 1970s.
The news was confirmed by the Dallas Cowboys, who announced the death on Saturday without specifying the date or cause of death.
Jordan was selected in the first round of the draft by the Cowboys in 1963, after an outstanding career at the University of Alabama, where he played under the direction of Paul “Bear” Bryant.
Jordan was an essential part of the “Doomsday” defense, which propelled the Cowboys to victory in the Super Bowl, with a score of 24-3 over the Miami Dolphins in the 1971 season. He retired in 1976, a year before Dallas won their second championship.
Five-time Pro Bowl selection, Jordan was the first player to be inducted into the Cowboys’ Ring of Honor after Jerry Jones acquired the team in 1989.
The Cowboys, known as “next year’s champions” after the defeat in the famous “Ice Bowl” against Green Bay in 1967, finally achieved their long-awaited triumph. Three years later, Dallas lost to the Baltimore Colts in the Super Bowl by a field goal in the last second. Success came a year later with a line of linebackers led by Jordan and Chuck Howley, along with defensive tackle Bob Lilly, whose 29-yard sack of Bob Griese was the key play in the Super Bowl victory. Jordan was the defensive leader of the Alabama team that won the national championship in 1961 and was an Associated Press All-American a year later. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1983. Alabama described him as a “legend” in a social media post, stating that “he will always be part of the history of Alabama football”.“With fearless instincts, leadership, and an unrelenting work ethic, Jordan was the embodiment of the Cowboys’ spirit,” the team expressed. “Off the field, his commitment to his community was the center of his life after retiring in 1976.”
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