DALLAS — Lee Roy Jordan, a linebacker on the first Super Bowl-winning team for the Dallas Cowboys in the 1970s, has died. He was 84.
The Cowboys announced Jordan’s death Saturday without saying when he died or giving a cause of death.
Jordan was a first-round draft pick by Dallas in 1963 after a standout career at Alabama, where he played for the late Paul “Bear” Bryant.
Jordan was a big part of the “Doomsday” defense that carried the Cowboys to a Super Bowl title in a 24-3 victory over the Miami Dolphins during the 1971 season. He retired in 1976, the year before Dallas won its second championship.
A five-time Pro Bowler, Jordan was the first player inducted into the Cowboys’ ring of honor after owner Jerry Jones bought the team in 1989.
Jordan is still second on the team’s career tackles list with 1,236. Darren Woodson, a safety on the Dallas teams that won three Super Bowls in the 1990s, has 1,350.
“With fearless instincts, leadership and relentless work ethic, Jordan was the embodiment of the Cowboys’ spirit,” the team said. “Off the field, his commitment to his community was the centerpiece of his life after retiring in 1976.”
The Cowboys were known as “next year’s champions” after the famous “Ice Bowl” loss to Green Bay in 1967, when the Packers went on to win their second consecutive title in Super Bowl 2. Three years later, Dallas lost to the Baltimore Colts on a last-season field goal in the Super Bowl.
The breakthrough finally came a year later with a linebacking crew led by Jordan and Chuck Howley, along with defensive tackle Bob Lilly, whose 29-yard sack of Bob Griese was the signature play in the Super Bowl win.
Jordan was the defensive leader on Alabama’s 1961 national championship team and was an Associated Press All-American a year later. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1983.
The Tide called Jordan a “legend” in a social media post Saturday, saying he would “forever part of Alabama Football history.”