D.D. Lewis, Cowboys legend and two-time Super Bowl champion, dies at 79
Lewis was a standout at both the college and professional levels
D.D. Lewis, a standout linebacker at Mississippi State and a key member of the Dallas Cowboys' famed "Doomsday" defense, died earlier this week. He was 79 years old. The Cowboys confirmed Lewis' death on Wednesday afternoon.
Lewis was a two-time first-team All-SEC performer at Mississippi State and was named the SEC Defensive Player of the Year in 1967, his senior season. He also earned consensus All-America status that year while being hailed by Alabama's Bear Bryant as "the best linebacker in the country."
Despite his success in college, Lewis' size led to him not being drafted until the Cowboys took him in the sixth round of the 1968 NFL Draft. The Cowboys initially had Lewis play center before moving him over to outside linebacker. He would eventually spend 13 seasons with the Cowboys, playing in 186 games that included 135 starts.
Lewis (who missed the 1969 season while serving in the military) was a reserve on the Cowboys' first two Super Bowl teams -- including the Cowboys' first Super Bowl championship team in 1971 -- before cracking the starting lineup for good in 1973. Over that span, Lewis played an integral role in the Cowboys' success that included three more NFC titles and the franchise's second Super Bowl win at the end of the 1977 season.
Arguably his best game took place in the 1975 NFC title game, when he recorded two interceptions while helping the Cowboys defeat the Rams.
Lewis played well in each of the Cowboys' final two Super Bowls in the 1970s. He had a sack in Dallas' 27-10 win over Denver in Super Bowl XII. A year later, Lewis recorded his fourth and final career postseason interception during Dallas' loss to Pittsburgh in Super Bowl XIII.
Lewis' 27 playoff games as a member of the Cowboys is the most in franchise history. During the 1980 season, he and teammate Larry Cole became the first players in franchise history to play for the team in three difference decades.
Lewis was named to the Cowboys Silver Anniversary Team in 1984 and was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2001. He was inducted into Mississippi State's Ring of Honor in 2011.
