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About the series
Each week, staff writer Ray Buck takes a look at the history of the Cowboys - from a great game to a singular moment to a memorable player - in his online-exclusive offering, Old 'Boys Club.
Next Friday
"The catch" by "Bullet" Bob Hayes that turned Tom Landry’s head for the first time. Hint: The game was played in Oklahoma.
Each week, staff writer Ray Buck takes a look at the history of the Cowboys - from a great game to a singular moment to a memorable player - in his online-exclusive offering, Old 'Boys Club.
Next Friday
"The catch" by "Bullet" Bob Hayes that turned Tom Landry’s head for the first time. Hint: The game was played in Oklahoma.
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Don Perkins knew it was a big deal when he lined up in the same Pro Bowl backfield as the great Jim Brown.
“I’d read about this guy,” Perkins said with a chuckle. “I certainly felt out of my league.”The date was Jan. 16, 1962: JFK occupied the White House. Stanley Kubrick’s Lolita packed movie houses. And Donald Anthony Perkins was a wide-eyed rookie fullback with a bad case of jitters. The Cowboys’ first-ever Pro Bowl starter had a sense of pride and awe when he arrived in Los Angeles for the ’62 Pro Bowl.“Here I was a kid from Waterloo, Iowa, through [University of] New Mexico,” Perkins recalled. “I’m thinking, ‘What am I doing out here with Jim Brown? I hope they don’t find out who I am.’ ”This is classic Perkins, who lives in Albuquerque in a house with a pool and a view of his alma mater. But if you drop by that house, you may be surprised to find nary a memento from his eight seasons with the Cowboys (1961-68). “I have four children and 10 grandchildren,” Perkins explained. “I don’t see a need to build a shrine that says: ‘Grandpa played football.’ I really don’t.”On Jan. 16, 1962, Perkins made his first of six Pro Bowls appearances (’61-63, ’66-68). Vince Lombardi had just won his first NFL championship in Green Bay — beating the New York Giants 37-0 — and the 23-year-old Perkins (after sitting out the ’60 season with a broken foot) had been named 1961 NFL Rookie of the Year.He now shared the same Eastern Conference backfield with Y.A. Tittle (Giants) and Jim Brown (Browns). Johnny Unitas (Colts) and Bart Starr (Packers) were on the other side. It didn’t get much bigger than that 46 years ago.Brown already was in his fifth season with Cleveland. He had won five NFL rushing titles, two league MVPs and was just 20 games away from eclipsing the NFL’s all-time rushing record — held by Joe “The Jet” Perry, mostly with the 49ers. Perkins found Brown to be cordial in a “big brother” sense of the word.“C’mon now, hang onto the football,” Brown told Perkins late in the game.“I remember it very well,” Perkins said. “Of course, they didn’t give it to me; they gave it Jim ... and he coughed it up.”In this Pro Bowl, the MVP ended up being the goat. Brown was both.His 70-yard touchdown run (still a Pro Bowl record) gave the East a late 30-24 lead, and locked up MVP honors. But his subsequent fumble — caused and recovered by Bears middle linebacker Bill George — gave the East squad one last chance.With it, Unitas hit Jon Arnett in the end zone for a 12-yard touchdown pass on the final play of the game. The PAT, with time expired, gave the West a 31-30 victory. East reserve Dick Bielski earlier caught a nine-yard TD pass from Tittle. Bielski was the only other Dallas representative, although he would be playing the next season in Baltimore. Perkins joined the Cowboys’ Ring of Honor on the same November 1976 afternoon as Dandy Don Meredith. Only Bob Lilly — Mr. Cowboy himself — got in ahead of them.When you give Perkins an opening to gloat, he simply clears his throat, like buying time to recall a long-ago memory.
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