Craig Morton is the name that rises to the top at No. 14, even if he sometimes gets squeezed out of the bigger Cowboys quarterback conversation.
That’s a little surprising on the surface, because this jersey has been worn by a long list of players over the years: Miles Austin, Markquese Bell, Jabril Cox, Andy Dalton, Will Grier, Gary Hogeboom, Brad Johnson, Eddie LeBaron, Lance Lenoir, Paul McDonald and Craig Morton.
LeBaron deserves a special mention. He started the first regular-season game in Cowboys history in 1960 and put up 345 passing yards with three touchdowns and three interceptions in a 35-28 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers. He spent four seasons in Dallas, made the Pro Bowl in 1962 while splitting time with Don Meredith, and then lost the job to Meredith for good in 1963.
Morton’s path in Dallas was tied directly to Meredith’s. A First-Team All-American at Cal-Berkeley in 1964 and a two-time First-Team All-Coast selection, Morton was drafted by the Cowboys in the first round of the 1965 NFL Draft with the No. 5 overall pick.
For most of his first four seasons, he backed up Meredith, who had become one of the NFL’s top quarterbacks and had led Dallas to back-to-back NFL Championship Game appearances in 1966 and 1967. Both ended in losses to the Green Bay Packers, who then won the first two Super Bowls.
Everything changed when Meredith abruptly retired at 31 after a rough performance in the Cowboys’ loss to the Cleveland Browns in the 1968 Eastern Conference Championship Game. Morton stepped in as the starter in 1969 and beat out a 27-year-old rookie named Roger Staubach.
From 1969 through 1970, Morton went 18-5-1 in 24 regular-season starts. He then guided Dallas to Super Bowl 5 in the 1970 postseason, where the Cowboys fell 16-13 to the Baltimore Colts and Morton threw three interceptions.
The next year, Tom Landry tried to keep both quarterbacks involved, even alternating Morton and Staubach on every other play in a game against the Chicago Bears. Staubach eventually won the job, went 10-0 in his 10 regular-season starts, and led Dallas to a 24-3 win over the Miami Dolphins in Super Bowl 6.
Morton still had one more run in him. With Staubach sidelined by a separated shoulder in the preseason, Morton started all 14 regular-season games in 1972 and went 10-4 to get the Cowboys back to the playoffs.
But after Staubach’s comeback win over the San Francisco 49ers in the Divisional Round, Morton’s time as the guy in Dallas was basically over. He stayed one more season, but he never made another start.
After three seasons with the New York Giants, Morton was traded to the Denver Broncos before the 1977 season and got his career going again. He won AFC Offensive Player of the Year and NFL Comeback Player of the Year, helped Denver to a 12-2 regular-season record and a Super Bowl 12 matchup with Staubach and the Cowboys, and then threw four interceptions in a 27-10 loss.
Morton stayed with the Broncos until he retired before the 1983 season, which was John Elway’s rookie year.
In 10 seasons with Dallas, Morton threw for 10,279 yards and 80 touchdowns, both seventh in Cowboys history. He may not always get the credit he deserves, but he gets the call here as the best Cowboys player to wear No. 14.
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