Training camp for the Cowboys has now officially moved from Oxnard, California to Frisco, Texas. Of course, practices will be inside at The Star due to the summer heat.
However, when fans walk up to The Star, they will notice more than just the new facility. They will also see a little bit of history. The Cowboys unveiled their Ring of Honor Walk Monday morning, with monuments and mural honoring the 21 members of the Ring of Honor, including Cowboys icons Troy Aikman, Roger Staubach, Emmitt Smith, Michael Irvin and the Original 88, Drew Pearson.
“It’s pretty awesome,” said Smith. “There’s something there to hopefully inspire this current team and many future Cowboys teams to do something that is transformative. Don’t live for the now, live for what you can possibly be in the future. Start for today and build for your plans of tomorrow and leave a legacy for when the game is over. Make your mark.”
Seeing the monuments and having the Cowboys greats around the facility is a positive for the current Cowboys players.
“It’s a chance for us young guys to be around people who have put so much effort and so much of their life into this sport, into this game and kind of learn from them,” said safety Byron Jones. “I’m going to ask them questions.”
Jerry Jones spares no expense, never does. The newly elected Hall of Famer wasted no time Monday morning during the unveiling ceremony thanking the Ring of Honor members for everything they’ve brought to the organization.
“It was the best of what brought five Super Bowls to the Dallas Cowboys over the years,” Jones said.
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He also added some humor into his ceremonial speech, bringing up the awesomely emotional draft pick announcement made by Pearson during the second round of this year’s NFL Draft. The Cowboys selected cornerback Chidobe Awuzie with that pick.
“Drew Pearson, we were all so elevated at the draft when you stood up there and put it on those Philadelphia Eagles,” Jones said.
Jones would praise the members of this exclusive club, including Captain America himself, Roger Staubach.
“No one has been more supportive over the years when we became involved with the Dallas Cowboys family,” Jones said. “When you go to the Hall of Fame today, when you go to Canton, the most commonly asked question and the player they want to see the most is Roger Staubach.”
16 of the 21 Ring of Honor members were in attendance, including former safety Darren Woodson, who explained how much being a part of the Cowboys organization has meant to him.
“They are honoring me as an individual but at the same time the relationships I’ve gained through being here with the Dallas Cowboys, there are so many in this organization, not just football players, people in this organization that’s meant so much to me and helped me get to the point I’m at right now,” said Woodson.
The Ring of Honor mural representing the members was unveiled on the east and west sides of the plaza. Monday offered a celebration of both the past, present and future of the Cowboys. Later that afternoon, the first training camp practice at The Star took place in front of an estimated 12-thousand fans.
“It’s the dog days of camp,” added Byron Jones. “It is going to be nice having a little crowd out there. You have to understand, this is Cowboys football. If fans can come to our practice every day, they will be here every day.”
Cowboys Ring of Honor Members:
Bob Lily
Don Meredith
Don Perkins
Chuck Howley
Mel Renfro
Roger Staubach
Lee Roy Jordan
Tom Landry
Tony Dorsett
Randy White
Bob Hayes
Tex Schramm
Cliff Harris
Rayfield Wright
Troy Aikman
Michael Irvin
Emmitt Smith
Charles Haley
Drew Pearson
Larry Allen
Darren Woodson
