Bill Bates was the ultimate free agent for Cowboys

“If we had 11 players on the field who played as hard as Bill Bates does and did their homework like he does, we’d be almost impossible to beat.” — Coach Tom Landry (circa mid-’80s)

High praise for an undrafted free agent.

But then, throughout 48 years of Dallas Cowboys history, Bill Bates is a refreshing reminder this time every year: Not every star who wore the star came out of the NFL draft.

Heck, no ...

Cliff Harris, aka, Capt. Crash, became a head-hunting safety for the entire 1970s and made the Ring of Honor. He was an undrafted free agent from Ouachita Baptist University in Arkadelphia, Ark.

Cornell Green, a Utah State basketball player who never played a down of college football, joined the ’62 Cowboys as an undrafted free agent. He played 13 seasons and made five Pro Bowls at two different positions — cornerback and safety.

Everson Walls, a Grambling cornerback, went undrafted in ’81. He immediately set an NFL rookie record with 11 interceptions — which is still a Cowboys’ single-season record.

Tony Romo ... OK ... just a modest 24 NFL starts (plus two playoff losses) into a rather high-profile career that lacks NFL draft pedigree. All Romo does is attract sportswriters and paparazzi alike.

It’s a nice collection of names.

But each one fell through the cracks on draft day. And no single undrafted free-agent in Cowboys history went on to enjoy more fan popularity and rack up more Cowboys seasons than Bill Bates (1983-97).

Snubbed by every NFL team in the ’83 draft — including Dallas — Bates provided special-teams star power from the get-go. He quickly moved into the secondary and played a fierce brand of safety for both Tom Landry and Jimmy Johnson.

The fact that he was hated by receivers over the middle and loved by fans in the seats made him something of an enigma.

First of all, his popularity meant something to him. He’s still proud to have received the team’s Bob Lilly Award as “Most Popular Cowboy” four consecutive seasons in the early ’90s.

Only Ed “Too Tall” Jones and Mark Tuinei played as many Cowboys seasons as Bates (15).

But this fairytale ending almost never got off the ground.

And why not? Bates was too slow.

Despite being a four-year starter at Tennessee, he ended up even more irrelevant than Mr. Irrelevant on ’83 draft day. (RB John Tuggle was selected 335th — and last — by the New York Giants that year.)

NFL scouts believed their stopwatches — and their stopwatches were trying to tell them: This guy can’t play.

Bates ran a 4.8-second 40-yard dash.

“NFL teams today realize the 40-yard dash isn’t all that important to playing football,” said Bates, who played and coached a total of 21 years in the NFL. “But in ’83, though, [scouts] saw my 40 time and figured, ‘He’s not fast enough.’ That was it.”

I find it funny that Bates wore No. 40 throughout his career. Maybe NFL scouts noticed. (Then again, maybe they didn’t.)

“I ran track in high school, but nobody taught me how to run,” Bates explained. “I pretty much ran straight-up.”

Lost in the NFL evaluation process were his other traits: SEC-pedigree, field awareness, quick reflexes ... and the ability to knock a receiver’s head off.

The Steelers, Raiders and Cowboys showed considerable interest in him before the ’83 draft — but none called.

“It was during the USFL years,” Bates recalled. “I was taken by the New Jersey Generals in their [territorial] draft, but I wanted to play in the NFL — not the USFL — and I wanted to play for the Dallas Cowboys.”

That was his favorite team as a kid growing up in Farragut, Tenn., a suburb of Knoxville. In fact, the Farragut High football team issued uniforms modeled after the Cowboys.

“We had a star on our helmets and everything,” said Bates, who began wearing No. 40 in high school.

As you might imagine, Bates being snubbed by 28 NFL teams in a 12-round draft left him feeling a bit disillusioned. And a lot disappointed.

“I figured I’d get a normal job like everybody else now,” he said. “My dad [Dan] worked as a field sales manager at Exxon at the time.”