D.D. Lewis Dies at Age 79, Won 2 Super Bowls with Cowboys

Former Dallas Cowboys linebacker D.D. Lewis died Tuesday at the age of 79.

Mississippi State, Lewis’ alma mater, mourned his death on social media:

Lewis, a sixth-round draft pick of the Cowboys in 1968, spent his entire 13-year NFL career in Dallas. During that time, he became a key piece in a defense that won a pair of Super Bowls in the 1970s.

The Cowboys boasted a ton of stars during that era. Roger Staubach, Tony Dorsett, Cliff Harris, Drew Pearson, Rayfield Wright, Mel Renfro, Randy White, Chuck Howley and Bob Hayes all went on to make the Hall of Fame.

But Kurt Daniels, editor for the Cowboys’ official magazine, noted that legendary head coach Tom Landry cited Lewis as one of the most underappreciated player from those teams.

The NFL didn’t record official tackle or sack numbers when Lewis was a player, so it’s tough to fully quantify his impact on Dallas’ defense. He started 132 games from 1973-81 and was on the field in three other Super Bowls aside from the two he won.

Bob Breunig, another Cowboys linebacker from that period, praised Lewis for his contributions behind the scenes as well.

“Yeah, D.D.’s such a great guy,” Breunig once said, per Daniels. “D.D. was a locker room peacemaker, peacekeeper, because everybody loved D.D. I mean, he’s got this happy spirit about him and was a great linebacker, too, by the way.”

Lewis’ greatest contribution to Cowboys lore is arguably unrelated to anything he did on the field. He’s the one credited with saying the old Texas Stadium roof had a hole “so God can watch his favorite team play.”

The Knoxville, Tennessee, native enjoyed a legendary career on the gridiron before he ever made the jump to the NFL. He was a first-team All-American and the SEC Defensive Player of the Year in 1967 at Misissippi State. His talent shone through despite the Bulldogs going 7-23 in his three years as a varsity player.

Lewis was enshrined in the College Football Hall of Fame in 2001.