The No. 20 debate for the Dallas Cowboys doesn’t need much suspense. There are plenty of recognizable names in the mix - Richie Anderson, Alan Ball, Ibraheim Campbell, Dalvin Cook, Kaiir Elam, Darren McFadden, Tony Pollard, Ron Springs, Sherman Williams and others - but this one belongs to Mel Renfro.
That’s because Renfro isn’t just the best Cowboys player to wear No. 20. He’s one of the defining defensive players in franchise history, and the numbers back it up.
A two-way standout at Oregon, where he played defensive back and halfback and earned two All-American honors, Renfro also shined as a track athlete before Dallas made him the 17th overall pick in the second round of the 1964 NFL Draft. Tom Landry didn’t use him at running back, but he did put him at safety as a rookie, and Renfro responded immediately.
He led the Cowboys with seven interceptions that season, taking one back for a touchdown, and that performance earned him a Pro Bowl nod and Second-Team All-Pro recognition. Landry also leaned on him as a return specialist, and Renfro delivered there too, leading the NFL in both punt return yards with 418 and kickoff return yards with 1,017.
The defensive production kept rolling. Renfro made the Pro Bowl in each of the first 10 years of his 14-year career and added four more Second-Team All-Pro selections along the way. His biggest interception season came in 1969, when he picked off 10 passes, a franchise mark that stood until Everson Walls had 11 in 1981 and was matched by Trevon Diggs in 2021.
Even with that record gone, Renfro still owns the Cowboys’ all-time interceptions lead with 52. He returned three of those for touchdowns and scored six total touchdowns in his career, including one on a punt return and two on kickoff returns.
Renfro also appeared in eight NFL/NFC Championship Games and four Super Bowls, winning two, before being inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1996. He’s in the Cowboys’ Ring of Honor, too, which fits for the clear choice at No.
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