We currently sit 65 days until the Dallas Cowboys begin their Super Bowl Tour against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and while some fans are probably already frustrated with my SB claim– I wanted to talk about something else, and that’s crowning the Greatest #65 in Cowboys History.
Typically, during these countdown posts, I admit I’m tossing and turning as I try to narrow the list of talented players worthy of each day’s selection, but when I saw the players who wore #65–there was only one person who stood out.
But before I share with you all who got the crown at #65, here are all of the players who have worn the number:
- Andre Gurode, G/C
- Mitch Hyatt, T
- Ronald Leary, G
- Kurt Petersen, G
- Ray Schoenke, G/T
- Tony Slaton, C/G
- Dave Stalls, DT
- Ron Stone, G
- Bob White, C/G
- John Wilbur, RG
Like I said above, the list was small, but there had to be a choice.
With that in mind, let’s talk about Mr. Andre Gurode.
Andre Gurode’s NFL Career
Drafted in the 2002 NFL Draft by the Dallas Cowboys (37th overall), Gurode’s career took off quickly as he became the first rookie to start at Center on opening day, which later was accomplished again by Travis Frederick in 2013.
Also, if you are looking for a fun fact to tell your friends–he was the starting center who helped Pro Football Hall of Fame RB Emmitt Smith break the all-time rushing record. What a badass.
Following his successful rookie season, Gurode’s career took a little tumble as he flip-flopped between Center and Right Guard, and at one point, he lost his starting gig in 2005.
While that could have spelled the end of his tenure with the Cowboys, Gurode bounced back the following year, took his job back permanently at C, and would excel at the position for several years.
Some of the high points of his career included earning 2-time All-Pro honors (First-Team All-Pro in 2007 and Second-Team All-Pro in 2009), 5-Time Pro-Bowler (2006-2010), and being a part of NFL History in 2002–when he was on an offensive line that consisted of all African-American players.
While I would love to throw more good facts about Gurode here, the one low point he did have in his career (nothing he did, but still was terrible) was when he got stomped on the face by DT Albert Haynesworth in 2006.
For those of you saying you’ve never seen anything like Myles Garrett’s helmet swing, I’m guessing you forgot Albert Haynesworth, literally, taking his 2” cleats and stomping Andre Gurode’s head causing him to need 30 stitches pic.twitter.com/tnL3H5U3DX
— Jared Christopher (@JaredLChris) November 15, 2019
Gurode would have to get 30 stitches, but the craziest part was that he didn’t miss a game.
Besides that incident, I will forever remember Gurode for being tied to those Tony Romo days when they rocked those funky-looking white and navy blue uniforms, but shoutout to Mr.Gurode on being crowned as my Greatest #65 in Cowboys History.
