Cowboys, Broncos Super Bowl quarterback dies

Craig Morton, who quarterbacked the Dallas Cowboys and Denver Broncos to Super Bowl berths in the 1970s, died May 9. He was 83.

“We are saddened to learn of the passing of quarterback Craig Morton, who died on Saturday at the age of 83,” the team announced on X. “Morton quarterbacked the Broncos from 1977-82 and led the team to its first playoff appearance and Super Bowl berth (XII vs. Dallas) in the 1977 season.”

A native of Flint, Michigan who moved to Northern California as a child, Morton was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys in the first round (fifth overall) of the 1965 NFL Draft out of Cal.

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Morton barely started during his first four seasons in the league. Then in 1969, he took over for Don Meredith as the Cowboys’ signal caller and went 10-2-1 as a starter. In 1970, Morton led the Cowboys to their first NFC title.

In his first championship game appearance as a starter in January 1971, Morton nearly guided the Cowboys to victory in Super Bowl V. His touchdown pass to Duane Thomas gave Dallas a 13-6 lead over the Baltimore Colts going into halftime. But the Colts scored 10 points in the fourth quarter to pull out a 16-13 win.

But after starting all 14 games in 1972, and losing to Washington in the NFC Championship Game, Morton’s days in Dallas were numbered. Roger Staubach took over in the pocket. Two years later Morton effectively forced a trade to the by refusing to attend a practice.