FRISCO, Texas – Gil Brandt becomes the 17th member of the Dallas Cowboys’ family to enter the NFL’s illustrious shrine in Canton, Ohio. The Hall of Fame announced its inductees at the NFL Honors on Saturday night. Brandt was among the list of the league’s outstanding contributors along with Champ Bailey, Tony Gonzalez, Johnny Robinson, Ty Law, Ed Reed, Kevin Mawae, and Pat Bowlen.
The word Brandt is synonymous with the phrase America’s Team. As the former Vice President of player personnel for the Dallas Cowboys (1960-1988), Brandt built a team from scratch in 1960 at the inception of the franchise as the new team’s chief talent scout. Brandt was one of the first people Tex Schramm hired and it was a love affair that lasted 29 years.
Gil pioneered many scouting techniques that are still used today in the NFL that allowed the Cowboys’ to acquire infamous players such as Roger Staubach, Herschel Walker, Chad Hennings, Drew Pearson, Cliff Harris, Randy White, Ed “Too Tall” Jones, and Tony Dorsett. His modern mind revolutionized the field of scouting that led to the birth of America’s Team. Along with Landry and Schramm, Brandt guided the Cowboys to 13 Division Championships, 20 straight winning seasons, five-time NFC Champions, and two-time Super Bowl Champions.
This past season, Brandt was inducted into the Cowboys’ hallowed Ring of Honor at AT&T Stadium, and now his achievements to the National Football League will be immortalized in Canton Ohio, with a bust and gold jacket.
Owner and General Manager, Jerry Jones, issued a statement on Brandt’s election to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, “ Gil Brandt set the standard for all scouts and personnel executives to follow, and aspire to, in the NFL.
He drafted Hall of Fame players in the first round and in the late rounds and helped build the foundation for the tremendous legacy and success that Cowboys enjoy to this day.
We are so proud of his accomplishments with the organization and just as grateful for what he has done over the course of the last 30 years an ambassador of the NFL, the Dallas Cowboys and the game of football.
Gil changed the NFL in the draft room and is more than worthy of this recognition. “
Congratulations Gil! A well deserved honor to a kind and genuine man. Thank you for your contribution to the NFL, the Dallas Cowboys, and your willingness to initiate change by thinking outside the box!
