[tps_title]2. Bob Hayes, WR, 1964[/tps_title]
“Bullet Bob” Hayes is one of the two players on our list to be named to both the Cowboys’ Ring of Honor and the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He is also one of the greatest pure athletes to ever grace the team and the NFL as a whole.
Hayes’ focus was on track & field during his college career despite also playing football. After breaking the world record for the 100-yard dash in 1963, Hayes was selected to the U.S. Olympic Team for 1964 in Tokyo. It actually required an order from President Lyndon Johnson for Hayes to get the time off from football that he needed to full prepare for the Olympics.
Two gold medals came Bob’s way in those games, one for the 100m race and another in the 4x100m relay. Hayes tied the world record in the individual race and his team broke the world record for the relay.
Wanting to see how they could utilize Hayes’ athletic prowess on the football field, the Cowboys used a pick on him in the 1964 even though he wouldn’t finish his college eligibility until 1965.
Bob hit the ground running, or really receiving, with 1,003 yards and 12 touchdowns in his 13-game rookie season. Those numbers improved to 1,232 and 13 touchdowns in 1966.
Also in 1966, Hayes set a franchise record with 246 receiving yards in a single game. That record would stand for 43 years until Miles Austin’s breakout 250-yard game in 2009 against the Kansas City Chiefs.
“Bullet Bob” also killed teams as a punt returner, leading the NFL in 1967 and 1968 in return yards.
Hayes is 3rd on the Cowboys’ all-time receiving touchdowns list, trailing just Dez Bryant and Jason Witten. That is astounding considering the different eras they played in, and with names like Michael Irvin and Drew Pearson below.
He’s is also 6th on the Cowboys’ all-time receiving yards list and 8th in career catches.
Indeed, Bob Hayes isn’t just one of the best 7th-round picks in Cowboys history but one of the greatest players ever for the franchise. He is the only athlete to ever win both Olympic gold and a Super Bowl, and he’s one of the two true legends on our list today.
Guess I’m not as familiar with Leon Lett’s time cause I wouldn’t have assumed He’d be above Ratliff.
He wasn’t. Lett was 5th, Ratliff was 3rd.
I like Aaron Parker from Rhode Island for round 7. He would give better rotational depth at WR. If I’m Dallas I would honestly get him and get his teammate WR in the 5th also. Dallas would get 2 WR’S in this draft I think both of them would be steals.
Get Isaiah Culter and Aaron Parker as a WR from Rhode Island. I think they would be awesome in Dallas and be steals in the mid-later rounds.
The name alone, Bullet Bob, says it all. Hayes changed the game and was a true home run hitter every time he touched the ball. He is the best seventh rounder! And as the article mentioned, he was a great returner. He brought an excitement to the game that very few others could match. He was one of the players that kept the Cowboys a very popular team, with a rich, great history.
Cowboys are America’s Team! And hopefully with the FAs and the right draft picks, they can compete for another Championship. Dak better take his big head out of his a$$, and get on board. If not, hopefully the front office has a plan B.
“Mike Hegman was a backup linebacker and special teams player for his first four seasons. He helped the Cowboys win Super Bowl XIII in a big way, returning a Terry Bradshaw fumble for a touchdown.”
The Cowboys didn’t win Super Bowl XIII. The Steelers did.