Fifty years ago Sunday, on Dec. 28, 1975, Cowboys receiver Drew Pearson hauled in the most memorable pass of Roger Staubach’s career.
DALLAS — The Dallas Cowboys have won five Super Bowls, but their most famous play — the most iconic of them all — happened in a postseason in which they didn’t win a title.
But don’t let that small detail spoil things.
Fifty years ago Sunday, on Dec. 28, 1975, Cowboys receiver Drew Pearson hauled in the most memorable pass of Roger Staubach’s career: The “Hail Mary” in the NFC Divisional round against the Minnesota Vikings.
With 32 seconds left and the Cowboys on the 50 — and trailing Minnesota 14-10 on the road — Staubach stepped back to his own 40 and, as he later explained, threw up a Hail Mary. Literally and figuratively.
Staubach said a prayer, and then tossed a lengthy pass that reached the Vikings’ five-yard-line. Pearson was covered well but pivoted back toward the football, caught the ball on his hip and stepped into the endzone.
Watch the full play and the sequence of events that led to it on the NFL’s YouTube.
The rest was history, even if the Cowboys’ magical moment was spoiled in a Super Bowl loss to the Steelers a few weeks later.
While there may have been a few references to “Hail Mary” passes before Staubach-to-Pearson, the Cowboys’ famous connection popularized the term — and is viewed by most football fans as the original “Hail Mary.”
The Cowboys earlier this season honored Pearson and Staubach in a ceremony at AT&T Stadium to commemorate the 50th anniversary of iconic play.