{"id":47314,"date":"2026-05-13T04:17:36","date_gmt":"2026-05-13T04:17:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=47314"},"modified":"2026-05-13T04:17:36","modified_gmt":"2026-05-13T04:17:36","slug":"legendary-quarterback-who-played-18-nfl-seasons-and-started-super-bowl-v-for-the-cowboys-has-passed-away-forever-leaving-dallas-fans-and-his-family-heartbroken-a-major-piece-of-cowboys-hist","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=47314","title":{"rendered":"Legendary Quarterback Who Played 18 NFL Seasons and Started Super Bowl V for the Cowboys Has Passed Away Forever, Leaving Dallas Fans and His Family Heartbroken \u2014 A Major Piece of Cowboys History Has Brought Tears to Everyone Who Loved Him..DT"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Dallas, Texas \u2013 The Dallas Cowboys community is mourning following the passing of legendary quarterback Craig Morton at the age of 83 this past weekend.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/cdn.smarttraffic.today\/2026-05-12\/695-1b5ba564-6c7e-4f0b-9c32-463493ff81b2.png\" width=\"630\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Morton\u2019s passing has not only saddened Cowboys fans, but also left a major emotional void within the long and historic legacy of the NFL.<\/p>\n<p>Craig Morton played 18 NFL seasons and became one of the most important quarterbacks in the history of the Dallas Cowboys franchise decades ago.<\/p>\n<p>The Cowboys selected Morton with the No. 5 overall pick in the 1965 NFL Draft during an era when the franchise was still evolving.<\/p>\n<p>At first, Morton served as the backup to Don Meredith before officially becoming the Cowboys\u2019 starting quarterback during the 1969 NFL season afterward.<\/p>\n<p>He quickly helped lead Dallas onto football\u2019s biggest stage by guiding the franchise into the historic Super Bowl V championship game appearance.<\/p>\n<p>Morton also became the first quarterback in Cowboys history to throw a touchdown pass in a Super Bowl despite Dallas eventually losing to Baltimore.<\/p>\n<p>Not long afterward, the Cowboys entered one of the most famous quarterback competitions in NFL history between Morton and Roger Staubach during the early 1970s.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/cdn.smarttraffic.today\/2026-05-12\/695-8c012355-bead-4aaa-b7ae-a9ae9c30889f.png\" width=\"630\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Staubach ultimately secured the permanent starting role in 1971 when Dallas finished the season by winning the legendary Super Bowl VI championship title.<\/p>\n<p>Even so, Morton continued playing an extremely important role during several following seasons whenever the Cowboys needed leadership, experience, and stability under pressure.<\/p>\n<p>During the 1972 season, Morton started 15 games after Staubach suffered an injury and helped Dallas remain among the NFC\u2019s top contenders consistently.<\/p>\n<p>In 1974, the Cowboys traded Morton to the New York Giants in a move that later significantly impacted franchise history for many years afterward.<\/p>\n<p>Dallas received a 1st round pick from the Giants and later used that selection to draft future Hall of Fame legend Randy White.<\/p>\n<p>Ironically, one of Randy White\u2019s most memorable performances eventually came against Craig Morton himself during the historic Super Bowl XII matchup years later.<\/p>\n<p>At that time, Morton quarterbacked the Denver Broncos while the Cowboys\u2019 legendary Doomsday Defense completely overwhelmed Denver during the Super Bowl victory famously remembered today.<\/p>\n<p>Throughout his remarkable NFL career, Morton played for the Cowboys, Giants, and Broncos before officially retiring following the conclusion of the 1982 NFL season.<\/p>\n<p>He finished his career with 27,908 passing yards, ranking ahead of Hall of Fame quarterback Joe Namath on the NFL\u2019s historical passing list then.<\/p>\n<p>The Dallas Cowboys organization quickly released an official statement expressing condolences to Morton\u2019s family, friends, and everyone mourning his heartbreaking passing this weekend publicly.<\/p>\n<p>Many Cowboys fans also shared photographs, highlights, and emotional memories of Morton across social media throughout the hours following the tragic announcement recently online.<\/p>\n<p>For generations of Dallas Cowboys supporters, Craig Morton was never simply a quarterback, but a symbol of the franchise\u2019s formative years and historic rise.<\/p>\n<p>A major piece of Cowboys history has now passed away forever, but Craig Morton\u2019s legacy will continue living inside Dallas football for generations to come.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Dallas, Texas \u2013 The Dallas Cowboys community is mourning following the passing of legendary quarterback Craig Morton at the age of 83 this past weekend. Morton\u2019s passing&#8230; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":47315,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-47314","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-dallas-cowboys"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Legendary Quarterback Who Played 18 NFL Seasons and Started Super Bowl V for the Cowboys Has Passed Away Forever, Leaving Dallas Fans and His Family Heartbroken \u2014 A Major Piece of Cowboys History Has Brought Tears to Everyone Who Loved Him..DT - Breaking News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=47314\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Legendary Quarterback Who Played 18 NFL Seasons and Started Super Bowl V for the Cowboys Has Passed Away Forever, Leaving Dallas Fans and His Family Heartbroken \u2014 A Major Piece of Cowboys History Has Brought Tears to Everyone Who Loved Him..DT - Breaking News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Dallas, Texas \u2013 The Dallas Cowboys community is mourning following the passing of legendary quarterback Craig Morton at the age of 83 this past weekend. 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