Troy Aikman

Troy Kenneth Aikman (November 21, 1966-) (QB) was offered a baseball contract out of high school by the New York Mets, but turned down the offer to play football. Originally the starting quarterback for the University of Oklahoma before succumbing to injury and losing his starting position, Aikman finished his playing career at UCLA where he finished his college career as the second leading passer in school history. He was named the 1988 recipient of the Davey O’Brien Award honoring the nation’s top quarterback. The Dallas Cowboys selected Troy as the Number 1 overall pick in the 1989 NFL Draft out of UCLA. The Cowboys struggled during Troy’s initial couple of seasons before assembling the powerful offensive nucleus of Aikman, Michael Irvin and Emmitt Smith that won three Super Bowls in four seasons (Super Bowls - XXVII, XXVIII, XXX). Troy was named the Most Valuable Player of Super Bowl XXVII. He was a three-time All-Pro selection and six-time Pro Bowl selection. Aikman retired the Dallas Cowboys all-time leading passer and completed more touchdowns in a decade than any other player in history prior to his retirement – 90 touchdowns in the 1990s. (Peyton Manning and Tom Brady surpassed the record in the 2000s with 115 and 97 respectively.) Troy played his entire career with the Dallas Cowboys (1989-2000). Often injured throughout his career, he suffered his 10th concussion in 2000 and retired after the season with 32,942 career passing yards, 2,898 pass completions in 4,715 attempts (61.5%), 165 touchdowns, 141 interceptions and an 81.6 career quarterback rating. Troy Aikman was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2006. Following his retirement as a player, Aikman made a successful transition to the broadcast booth as a color commentator.