Troy Aikman
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Troy Aikman | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Position(s): Quarterback |
Jersey #(s): 8 |
| Born: November 21, 1966 West Covina, California |
|
| Career Information | |
| Year(s): 1989–2000 | |
| NFL Draft: 1989 / Round: 1 / Pick: 1 | |
| College: Oklahoma & UCLA | |
| Professional Teams | |
| Career Stats | |
| TD-INT | 165-141 |
| Yards | 32,942 |
| QB Rating | 81.6 |
| Stats at NFL.com | |
| Career Highlights and Awards | |
|
|
| Pro Football Hall of Fame | |
Troy Kenneth Aikman (born November 21, 1966 in West Covina, California) is a former American football quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League, and currently a television sportscaster for the Fox network. He is also a joint owner of the NASCAR Nextel Cup racing team, Hall of Fame Racing, along with fellow former Cowboys quarterback, Roger Staubach. He is considered among the best NFL quarterbacks of all time, and was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2006. He is referred to as one of "The Triplets" with Cowboys teammates Michael Irvin and Emmitt Smith.
Contents |
[edit] Early life
The youngest of three children, Aikman was born in West Covina, California on November 21, 1966 to Charlyn and Kenneth Aikman, and lived in Cerritos, California until age 12, when his family moved to a farm in Henryetta, Oklahoma. In Things Change, an account of his life written for kids, Aikman recounted that he thought his athletic career was over, but, to his surprise, it was just beginning. He made All State in both football and baseball, and his high school, Henryetta High School, retired his football jersey. In high school, he was also involved in the Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA), the influence of which can be seen in his business ventures.
[edit] College career
[edit] Oklahoma Sooners 1984-1985
The New York Mets offered Aikman a contract out of high school, but instead of playing baseball he chose to pursue football and attended the University of Oklahoma under head coach Barry Switzer.
In 1985, his first season as a collegiate starter, Aikman led the Sooners to wins over Minnesota, Kansas State, and #17 Texas in the Red River Shootout before hosting the Miami Hurricanes and his future head coach Jimmy Johnson.
On October 19, in front of a sellout crowd of 75,008 at Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in Norman, Miami's Jerome Brown broke through the offensive line, sacked Aikman on the Sooner 29-yard line and broke Aikman's ankle. Aikman, who had been six of eight passing for 131 yards, would be lost for the season. Switzer and offensive coordinator Jim Donnan were forced to switch back to the wishbone offense under freshman quarterback Jamelle Holieway. The team went on to win the 1985 National Championship by beating Penn State in the 1986 Orange Bowl.[1][2] With Holieway established as the starting quarterback at OU, Aikman decided to transfer to UCLA.[3]
[edit] UCLA Bruins 1986-1989
Switzer oversaw Aikman's transfer to UCLA, a program under Terry Donahue that was more conducive to a passing quarterback. He had to redshirt one year due to college transfer rules but went on to lead the Bruins to a 20-4 record over two seasons.[3]
As a junior, Aikman led the Bruins to a 10-2 record and the 1987 Aloha Bowl, where they beat the Florida Gators 20-16.[4][5]
As a senior, Aikman won the 1988 Davey O'Brien Award as the nation's top quarterback, a first for UCLA. He was a Consensus All-American, the UPI West Coast Player of the Year, the Washington DC Club QB of the Year, a finalist for the 1988 AFCA "Coaches Choice" Player of the year award, and he finished third for the 1988 Heisman Trophy. UCLA matched the victory total from the previous season under Aikman, going 10-2 and losing only to USC and Washington State. The season culminated with a 17-3 Bruin victory over the Arkansas Razorbacks in the 1989 Cotton Bowl, which is played in Dallas. The Dallas media spent most of the Cotton Bowl week promoting Aikman as the "next quarterback of the Cowboys," and much was made of Tom Landry watching Troy Aikman practice during the Bruins' workouts at Texas Stadium. Aikman finished his career as the number two career passing leader in UCLA history.[4][5] In 2008 he was elected to the college football hall of fame.
[edit] Professional career
Aikman was the projected No. 1 overall pick in the 1989 NFL Draft, held by the Cowboys. The franchise had fallen on hard times, going a woeful 3-13 in 1988. On February 25, 1989, new owner Jerry Jones shocked the sports world by firing the beloved Tom Landry—the only head coach the Cowboys ever had—and replacing him with Jimmy Johnson, who, to no one's surprise, took Aikman in the draft. A few months later, in the NFL's supplemental draft, Johnson surprisingly selected quarterback Steve Walsh, who had played for Johnson (and most of the new Cowboys' coaching staff) the previous two years at the University of Miami (going 23-1 as a starter and winning a national championship). However, Aikman won the job over Walsh in training camp and never relinquished it (although Walsh played while Aikman was injured). Walsh was traded early in the 1990 season.
Johnson did not develop Aikman slowly but instead threw him into action immediately. Meanwhile, Johnson spent the entire season shuffling the depth chart trying to find players talented enough to build a winning team. As a result, Aikman was constantly trying to adjust to the styles of different players. Then, in middle of the season, the team's only Pro Bowl player, running back Herschel Walker, was traded for several veteran players and draft choices. Although the trade turned out to be successful in the long run, it was devastating to the team in the 1989 season.
Aikman's NFL career started with a disastrous 28-0 shutout loss to the New Orleans Saints. The following week against Atlanta, Aikman threw his first touchdown pass, a 65-yard completion to Michael Irvin, but the Falcons intercepted two of his passes and won the game. Aikman would not fare much better over the next several weeks; the Washington Redskins sacked him four times, intercepted two passes, and held him to only six completions in his first home game. Then, the New York Giants came to Dallas and only allowed Aikman to complete one pass before knocking him out of the game with a broken finger, which sidelined him for five games. During that time, the Cowboys won their only game of the year; a 13-3 win over the Redskins. When Aikman returned, he showed the league the skills that led the Cowboys to draft him with the first overall choice. In a close game against the Phoenix Cardinals, he threw for an NFL-rookie record 379 yards, including an 80-yard touchdown pass that gave Dallas a 20-17 lead with 1:43 left in the game. However, Aikman's superb performance was spoiled when the Cardinals came back on their next drive to win the game. With the exception of a 17-14 loss against Miami and a 35-31 loss to the Los Angeles Rams, the Cowboys never came close to winning another game for the rest of year. They ended the 1989 season with a 20-10 loss to the Green Bay Packers, a game in which Aikman threw 4 interceptions.
Aikman finished 1989 with an 0-11 record as a starter, completing 155 of 293 passes for 1,749 yards, 9 TDs, 18 INTs, as the Cowboys went 1-15. Fans and sportswriters, still reeling from Landry's firing, publicly disparaged the team's "savior."
Aikman proved resilient, however, and in 1990, led the Cowboys to the brink of the playoffs. He started off the year by scoring his first rushing touchdown with 1:58 left in the fourth quarter to lead his team to a 17-14 opening day win over the San Diego Chargers. Aikman's performance continued to improve, bolstered by an improved supporting cast led by rookie running back Emmitt Smith, whom coach Jimmy Johnson chose with one of the draft picks from the Walker trade. There was also a much improved offensive line and a defense that would eventually rank among the league's best. Dallas stood at 7-7 with two weeks to play before Aikman suffered a season-ending injury, and having traded backup quarterback Steve Walsh to the New Orleans Saints earlier in the season, the Cowboys were left without a proven backup and would lose its final two games. However, the Cowboys 7-9 record on the season was a vast improvement over the 1989 team, and Aikman had shown his potential for success in the NFL. His first two seasons had been a rough adjustment. He had thrown 36 interceptions and was sacked 58 times, but had shown his reliability when the game was on the line, leading his team to victory with fourth quarter scoring drives in six different games. In those six fourth quarter rallies, he had completed 71.1% of his passes for 456 yards and 2 touchdowns with no interceptions.
In 1991, Aikman led the Cowboys to a 6-5 record in the first 11 games and had the Cowboys ahead in week 12 against undefeated Washington when he was injured. Backup quarterback Steve Beuerlein was not the prolific passer Aikman was, but his gritty attitude and experience as a seasoned NFL quarterback helped him lead the Cowboys to wins in their last four games and a playoff win. Aikman returned in time for the NFC Divisional Playoff game against Detroit, which the Cowboys lost, 38-6. That year, however, Aikman was selected to the first of six consecutive Pro Bowls.
In 1992, Aikman set career highs in completions (302), passing yards (3,445) and touchdown passes (23), and led the Cowboys to a team record 13 regular season victories and a return to the Super Bowl, winning Super Bowl XXVII at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena against the Buffalo Bills. Aikman completed 22-of-30 passes for 273 yards with 4 TDs as Dallas obliterated Buffalo, 52-17. He was named Super Bowl MVP.
The next year, Aikman had one of his best seasons posting a 99.0 passer rating, and Dallas finished the regular season with a 12-4 record and defeated the Bills yet again in Super Bowl XXVIII for a second straight Super Bowl title, becoming only the fourth team in NFL history to do so. It was widely expected that the team might win the Super Bowl at the end of the 1994 season, becoming the first team to win three consecutive titles. However, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones and coach Johnson began having disputes regarding their own personal responsibility for the team's success. This led to Johnson leaving the Cowboys (by termination or resignation) which led to the hiring of Barry Switzer, a former college teammate of Jones' at Arkansas. Despite the turmoil, the Cowboys almost returned to the Super Bowl but were beaten, 38-28, in the NFC Championship game by the San Francisco 49ers.
In 1995 however, Aikman and the Cowboys bounced back, with the team once again finishing the regular season with a 12-4 record and Aikman amassing over 3,300 yards passing. The season ended with the Cowboys winning a record-tying fifth Super Bowl on January 28, 1996 beating the Pittsburgh Steelers 27-17 in Super Bowl XXX.
In 1997, Aikman became the first quarterback in Dallas history to have three straight 3,000-yard seasons, but it was an otherwise dismal year for the Cowboys, finishing with a 6-10 record and missing the playoffs. Switzer suffered the first losing season of his coaching career, and his off-the-field woes exacerbated a bad situation. Switzer resigned following the season.
Revolving-door personnel changes plagued the Cowboys for the rest of Aikman's tenure. His pass protection failed him repeatedly as the team, stymied by the salary cap, began to decline. In 1999, Aikman was forced to prematurely depart two consecutive games due to head-related injuries. In 2000, Aikman suffered a concussion early in the season opener against Philadelphia and threw 5 interceptions in a loss to the New York Giants. On December 10, 2000, Washington Redskins linebacker LaVar Arrington hit Aikman with such force that his head literally bounced off the turf, leaving a dent in his helmet; it resulted in Aikman's 10th concussion and would end his career. The Cowboys finished the season 5-11.
After he was waived a day before he was due a $70 million/7-year contract extension, Aikman asserted he could still play but found no interested teams. He announced his retirement on April 9, 2001, a press conference notable for the volume of people he thanked. He ended his career as the Cowboys' all-time leading passer (32,942 yards). His 90 wins in the 1990s is the most by any quarterback in any decade.
[edit] Retirement
After his retirement as a player, Aikman joined Fox's NFC telecasts as a color commentator for the 2001 season. A year later, he was named to the network's lead announcing crew, teaming with Joe Buck and (from 2002-2005) Cris Collinsworth. Aikman received an Emmy Award nomination for his television work in 2004 and has helped broadcast two Super Bowls (XXXIX and XLII) to date.
Aikman also hosts a weekly sports radio show which airs on Thursday from 5 to 6 p.m. ET on Sporting News Radio, and appears weekly during the football season on the Dunham & Miller morning show on Dallas sports talk radio station 1310 The Ticket. He was a public spokesman for Acme Brick throughout his career and now owns a Ford dealership in Dallas. He is also the chairman of the Troy Aikman Foundation, a charity to benefit children that has recently focused on building playplaces for children's hospitals.
Aikman, once named the most eligible bachelor in Dallas by Texas Monthly, married former Cowboys publicist Rhonda Worthey on April 8, 2000, in Plano, Texas, after dating country singer Lorrie Morgan and rumors of dating Sandra Bullock and Janine Turner.[6] They have three children: Rachel Worthey (from Rhonda's previous marriage), daughter Jordan Ashley Aikman born August 24, 2001, and daughter Alexa Marie Aikman born July 30, 2002.[7]
In 1999, he was ranked No. 95 on The Sporting News' list of the 100 Greatest Football Players.
On September 19, 2005, at halftime of the Cowboys-Redskins game (broadcast on Monday Night Football), Aikman was inducted into the Dallas Cowboys Ring of Honor with his longtime teammates Michael Irvin and Emmitt Smith. On August 5, 2006, Aikman was one of six players inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. When he accepted the honor, the ever-modest Aikman commented that he was merely a beneficiary of the Cowboys' system and being paired with subsequent Hall-of-Famers Irvin and Smith.
[edit] Hall of Fame Racing
In late 2005, Aikman together with another former Cowboys quarterback, Roger Staubach, established Hall of Fame Racing with Terry Labonte and Tony Raines co-driving the #96 DLP HDTV Chevrolet in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series in 2006 (the race car's number was derived by multiplying Aikman's Cowboy jersey number 8 by Staubach's jersey number 12). Terry Labonte and Tony Raines shared driving duties in 2006, Raines drove for Aikman full time in 2007, and JJ Yeley drives the 96 for 2008. He has invited some of the current and former Dallas Cowboys players Drew Bledsoe, Terry Glenn, Roy Williams, and others to test drive NASCAR race cars at Texas Motor Speedway.
[edit] References and notes
- ^ 1985 OU-Miami Game. Soonerstats.com (2007).
- ^ 1986 Orange Bowl. Soonerstats.com (2007).
- ^ a b Troy Aikman Official College Football Site. Aikman.com (2007).
- ^ a b BruinGold.com Season Statistics. Bruingold.com (2007).
- ^ a b BruinGold.com Aikman Page. Bruingold.com (2007).
- ^ Crissey, Mike, Cowboy quarterback, former staffer, are wed, <http://www.texnews.com/1998/1999/cowboys/wed0409.html>. Retrieved on 4 October 2007
- ^ Troy Aikman Fan Bio. Bluekate (2007).
[edit] External links
- ProFootballHOF.com - Hall of Fame biography page
- Dallas Cowboys Hall of Fame and Ring of Honor profile
- Troy Aikman at the Internet Movie Database
- Troy Aikman 2007 Interview on Sidewalks Entertainment
- Videos of Troy Aikman at UCLA on mReplay
| Preceded by Danny Bradley |
Oklahoma Sooners Starting Quarterbacks 1985 |
Succeeded by Jamelle Holieway |
| Preceded by Don McPherson |
Davey O'Brien Award Winner 1988 |
Succeeded by Andre Ware |
| Preceded by Aundray Bruce |
1st Overall Pick in NFL Draft 1989 |
Succeeded by Jeff George |
| Preceded by Steve Pelluer |
Dallas Cowboys Starting Quarterbacks 1989-2000 |
Succeeded by Quincy Carter |
| Preceded by Mark Rypien |
NFL Super Bowl MVPs Super Bowl XXVII, 1993 |
Succeeded by Emmitt Smith |
| Preceded by Darrell Green |
Walter Payton Man of the Year Award 1997 |
Succeeded by Dan Marino |
|
|||||
|
||||||||
|
|||||
|
|||||
|
|||||
|
|||||
|
|||||
|
|||||
|
|||||
|
|||||
|
|||||
|
|||||
| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| NAME | Aikman, Troy Kenneth |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | |
| SHORT DESCRIPTION | Football player |
| DATE OF BIRTH | November 21, 1966 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | West Covina, California |
| DATE OF DEATH | |
| PLACE OF DEATH | |
