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What: “I Remember Tom Landry”

Authors: Denne H. Freeman and Jaime Aron

Publisher: Sports Publishing L.L.C.

Price: $17.95

When owner Clint Murchison Jr. awarded Tom Landry a 10-year contract extension in 1963, in the wake of four miserable losing seasons -- the first four of the Dallas Cowboys’ existence -- it was one of the biggest acts of faith ever in sports. And it was rewarded almost immediately.

After two NFL championship-game losses over the next four years to Green Bay in 1966 and ‘67, the Cowboys went on to play in five Super Bowls from 1970-78, winning two -- over Miami in 1971 and Denver in ’78 -- and losing the three others by a total of 11 points.

At the time of Murchison’s gutsy move, Landry, a World War II bomber pilot and former University of Texas halfback and intramural boxing champion, had a combined record of 18-46-4.

“Tom was the kind of person that never gave up,” says Roger Staubach, who wrote the foreword to “I Remember Tom Landry,” a 266-page paperback book by Texas sportswriters Denne H. Freeman and Jaime Aron. “He was our rock, our hope, our inspiration.”

Even at the twilight of his 29-year career in Dallas, when he was on the verge of being fired by new team owner Jerry Jones, Landry, who died of leukemia in February 2000 at 75, made a major impact on the future of “America’s Team.”

“I Remember Tom Landry” comprises stirring anecdotes and testimonies from those close to “the Man in the Hat.” The memories come from his family, former players, assistant coaches, opposing coaches, media members, and other Cowboy personnel from 1960-88.

-- Steve Rom