Total Pro Sports
Longtime Dallas Cowboys offensive lineman Tom Rafferty, who helped the team to a Super Bowl 12 championship in the 1977 season, has passed away.
According to Kevin Sherrington of The Dallas Morning News, Tom Rafferty passed away at the age of 70 in Windsor, Colorado, on Thursday after suffering a stroke. Rachel Powers, Rafferty’s daughter, told the outlet that he had been hospitalized since May.
Rafferty is survived by his wife, Donna, daughter Rachel, son Michael and two grandchildren.
Tom Rafferty was a star offensive lineman at Penn State under head coach Joe Paterno, earning First-team All-East selections in 1974 and ’75 and a First-team All-American selection in the latter year.
The Cowboys drafted Rafferty in round four (119th overall) in 1976, looking to add more depth to the offensive line for future Hall of Famers, quarterback Roger Staubach and running back Tony Dorsett.
Tom Rafferty played guard and center during his 14-year career, spent entirely with Dallas. He helped them to two NFC Championship banners (1977 and 1978) and a Super Bowl 12 victory over the Denver Broncos, the franchise’s second Lombardi Trophy.
Rafferty blocked for Dorsett and later future star running back Herschel Walker, whom Dallas traded to the Minnesota Vikings in the most lopsided NFL trade ever in 1989.
Our thoughts and prayers are with the family and friends of Mr. Rafferty and the Cowboys organization during this difficult time.
A model of longevity and durability, Rafferty is sixth on the Cowboys’ franchise leaderboard for games played with 203. The only players ahead of Rafferty are Jason Witten (255), L.P. Ladouceur (253), Ed “Too Tall” Jones (224), Bill Bates (217) and Randy White (209).
Along with those six, Hall of Fame running back Emmitt Smith (201) is the only other player to play at least 200 games with America’s Team.
