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The Dallas Cowboys are mourning the loss of one of the franchise’s celebrated defensive players. Lee Roy Jordan, a star linebacker who played on the Cowboys’ first Super Bowl-winning team in 1971, has died at age 84.
The Cowboys announced Jordan’s death on Saturday, but did not provide details about the timing or cause of death.
Jordan played under the late Paul “Bear” Bryant during his standout career at Alabama. Dallas selected him in the first round of the 1963 NFL Draft.
Jordan was a big part of the team’s “Doomsday Defense” that carried the Cowboys to a Super Bowl title in a 24-3 victory over the Miami Dolphins during the 1971 season. He retired from the NFL in 1976. The Cowboys won their second championship the following year.
A five-time Pro Bowler, Jordan was the first player inducted into the team’s Ring of Honor under Jerry Jones’ ownership.
Jordan remains second on the team’s all-time tackles list with 1,236. Darren Woodson, a safety on the Dallas teams that won three Super Bowls in the 1990s, has 1,350.
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“With fearless instincts, leadership and relentless work ethic, Jordan was the embodiment of the Cowboys’ spirit,” the team said. “Off the field, his commitment to his community was the centerpiece of his life after retiring in 1976.”
The Cowboys were known as “next year’s champions” after the famous “Ice Bowl” loss to the Green Bay Packers in 1967, when the Packers went on to win their second consecutive title in Super Bowl II. Three years later, Dallas lost to the Baltimore Colts on a last-second field goal in the Super Bowl.
The breakthrough finally came a year later with a linebacker group led by Jordan and Chuck Howley, along with defensive tackle Bob Lilly, whose 29-yard sack of Bob Griese was the signature play in the Super Bowl win.
Jordan was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1983.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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