Emmitt Smith celebrating 20 years as NFL rushing king, Dallas Cowboys’ greatest player

Defensive tackle Bob Lilly will forever be Mr. Cowboy.

He was the first ever draft pick in the history of the Dallas Cowboys franchise.

He was the first player who spent his entire career with the Cowboys to be enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

And he was the first player enshrined in the team’s hallowed Ring of Honor.

Roger Staubach will likely never relinquish his unofficial title as the most beloved player in franchise history as the All-American boy, Heisman Trophy winner and former Naval officer who quarterbacked the Cowboys to their first two Super Bowl teams before going into the Cowboys’ Ring of Honor and Pro Football Hall of Fame.

But when it comes to the greatest player in franchise history one name stands alone: Emmitt James Smith III.

Smith’s resume as the most decorated, celebrated and accomplished player in Cowboys history has no equal: a former first-round pick in 1990 who went on became foundational piece to three Super Bowl title teams in 1992, 1993 and 1995 before finishing his career as league’s all-time leader rusher with a never-to-be-eclipsed 18,355 yards and ascending to his rightful resting place in the Pro Football Hall of Fame and the Ring of Honor.

Smith is the only player in NFL history to ever win a Super Bowl championship, the NFL Most Valuable Player award, the NFL rushing crown, and the Super Bowl Most Valuable Player award all in the same season (1993).

Arguments can be made but there is only one correct answer about Smith’s place with the Cowboys and his standing as one of the greatest running backs of all-time.

Consider this week as a subtle reminder when Smith celebrates the 20th anniversary of breaking Chicago Bears Hall of Famer Walter Payton’s then-rushing record of 16,726 yards with an 11-yard run against the Seattle Seahawks on Oct. 27, 2002.

“It makes you reflect,” Smith said. “As my daughter and I drove by the old Texas Stadium site the other day, she said ‘Dad, isn’t that where the old Cowboys Stadium was?’ I said, ‘That’s where I broke the record 20 years ago.’ And I said, ‘Your brother was six months old and he is now 20 in college.’ It’s a clear indication that time flies and how we should appreciate every moment that we actually have with our loved ones and friends and family and so forth. And you know, I’ve always believed records are made to be broken, but to have something like this stand for 20 years. It is an amazing accomplishment.”

Smith will celebrate by going to dinner with his family, friends and business partners on Friday.

Unbreakable record?

It’s a moment and accomplishment that can never be diminished and likely won’t ever be equaled.

There are many backs who were bigger, stronger and faster than Smith who played at 5-foot-9, 215-pound and ran the 40-yard dash in 4.6 seconds.

But as former Cowboys vice president Rich Dalrymple kept telling Smith as he crept closer to the record in the latter years of his career: “Keep chipping away.”

He thrived, endured and sustained for 15 years seasons, including 13 with the Cowboys without suffering a major injury.

“That’s why I appreciate what the Bible says: ‘The race is not given to the swift, to the fastest or the strongest, but to the one who endures.’ That passage itself underlines my whole entire career. Because I was never considered the fastest or the biggest or the strongest. And still, to this day, people don’t think I deserve to be who I was. All this comparison and everything else, y’all do what y’all want to do with that. But my accolades and what I’ve been able to accomplish with the teams I’ve been able to accomplish them with, it all speaks for itself.”

Smith has known nothing but greatness since he started playing PeeWee football in the Salvation Army leagues in Pensacola, Fla. He finished his career at Escambia as the second-leading rusher in high school football history.

He became an All-American at the University of Florida.

And although the Cowboys targeted running back Blair Thomas and linebacker James Francis before moving up to draft Smith with the 17th overall pick after both were gone, the all-time record was his goal from Day 1.

He wrote it down on a piece of paper as a rookie with safety James Washington as his witness.

“I don’t, I don’t know when I’ve ever seen (a player) just that focused on getting it and attaining it and then got it done,” owner Jerry Jones said. “He just expected it.”

Picking Smith

Even though the Cowboys initially focused on other players, Jones said the Cowboys had respected Smith.

But Jones compared what the scouts didn’t see on paper. He compares Smith’s selection with the selection of current Cowboys all-pro linebacker Micah Parsons, whom the team selected 12th overall in 2021 after going into the draft hoping to pick a cornerback in the first round.

“It’s really hard to see what is inside of someone,” Jones said. “And boy these guys have something inside that when you see it and Emmitt had that. He always has looked to get better. He was always working to get better mentally and physically.”

Smith certainly benefited from playing with Hall of Fame quarterback Troy Aikman and Hall of Fame receiver Michael Irvin, as they formed the famed Triplets which spearheaded the dynasty teams of the 1990s, as well as what was considered the best offensive line in football.

Smith was also driven to greatness on and off the field like no other player in Cowboys history.

He used to sit in Jones’ office after practice listening to him talk on the phone and make deals to sharpen his business acumen.

And he worked hard on the field and was one of the first players who took care of his body with weekly massages and treatments to stay in top shape.

“The older I get, the more I reflect on all the things and so forth. And these 20 years, I know I was driven,” Smith said. “My teammates knew that. And I didn’t walk around with it on my sleeve. But they knew how important things were to me. They knew how important winning was to me. They knew how important it was for me to perform at my peak level.”

The peak years

Smith’s peak was 1991-1995 when he won four rushing titles and three Super Bowl rings.

In 1998, he became the Cowboys’ all-time leading rusher (passing Hall of Famer Tony Dorsett) and the NFL’s all-time rushing touchdown leader (surpassing Marcus Allen).

But the record didn’t become real to him until after he surpassed 14,000 yards.

With 1,021 rushing yards in 2001, Smith became the first player in NFL history with 11 consecutive 1,000 yard seasons and the first to post eleven 1,000-yard rushing seasons in a career.

It only set the stage for the record-breaking moment.

Smith set his goals prior to the season like he did the previous 12 seasons about team success and individual success.

The Cowboys were in the midst of a run of three straight 5-11 seasons.

“I had to take what was given and had to grind it out,” Smith said.

The record

As the season went along, he was chipped away at the record and knew it had to happen the week of the Seattle game because the Cowboys were at home.

“In order for me to truly appreciate it and have fans appreciate it the way it needed to be appreciated, it needed to be at home,” Smith said. “So I was in a totally different mindset. I was in a zone. I had internalized everything emotionally and brought in every bit of focus, every bit of intent, every bit of level of commitment to try and make it happen that day.”

Smith, whose goal was to average 75 yards per game, knew he had a chance to do it against Seattle because he needed less than 100 yards going into the game.

And to that end, he wore four different uniforms in the game, changing every quarter on the sideline with the help of equipment manager Mike McCord.

“Four jerseys, four helmets, four pairs of shoes, four pairs of gloves, two pairs of pants,” Smith said. “Why? Because I knew if I broke the record, everybody was gonna want a piece of history: Jerry Jones, the Hall of Fame. We were all going to be fighting over it. We changed every quarter on the sideline. They were ready for me and had everything laid out and all packaged up. I don’t think people realized what was happening.”

Smith knew how far he was away because the public address announcer at Texas Stadium kept a running tally.

And right before the record-breaking drive, Cowboys team doctor Dan Cooper came up to him and said he wanted to be the first to congratulate him.

“I remember tripping over my own feet because I was trying to get there so bad,” Smith said of the record-breaking run. “I was trying to really break it and take it to the house. But I was just so gung-ho to try to just get to that point. And I think a younger me would have been a little bit more patient.”

He was patient enough as it was 13 years in the making.

Not a picture-perfect day

The moment wasn’t the stuff of dreams because the Cowboys lost the game. He got the record without many of the teammates from the championship teams, who had long since retired. And Payton had passed away and wasn’t there to pass the torch.

“That’s the perfect picture,” Smith said. “Then the real picture is what you go through and being able to do it at Texas Stadium in front of all the Cowboy fans, with the hole in the roof so God can look down on his favorite team and touch favorite running back, I guess. My parents were there. And it meant the world to me.”

“Move over, Sweetness, make a place for Emmitt” was the radio call of iconic Cowboys play-by-play man Brad Sham.

Smith was cut by the Cowboys after the season and he played his final two seasons with the Arizona Cardinals, where he would put the record out of reach.

Unbeknownst to Sham or anyone at the time was that Smith’s place atop the record book likely last forever as has gone on to become one of the unbreakable marks, not just in the NFL but in all of sports.

Think of Wilt Chamberlain’s 100-point game, Joe DiMaggio’s 56-game baseball hitting streak, Wayne Gretzky’s 2,857 points in hockey and Smith.

The rushing title is akin to the baseball home run record as one of the cherished marks in sports.

But unlike Barry Bonds, considered a tainted home run king because of his link to anabolic steroids, there is no besmirching Smith’s reign and there will be no eclipsing it because of how the NFL game has changed to a pass-first league, the devaluation of the running back position and the preference for a tandem approach.

“Ahhh, probably not,” said TCU legend and Hall of Fame running back LaDainian Tomlinson when asked if Smith’s record will ever be broken. “Just because of how important he was to that particular team and how much they utilized him. But the other thing is I think people don’t realize how durable Emmitt was at that time. How much he was able to handle the workload, constantly. The style of the game has changed so, no I don’t think it will ever be broken.”

Dorsett and Hall of Fame running backs Marcus Allen co-signed with Tomlinson.

“I don’t see that happening,” Allen said. “That is going to stand for a long time.”

Dorsett said he didn’t think Payton’s mark was going to be touched before Smith did it. But about this one he has no doubts.

“Emmitt had one of the greatest offensive lines of all-time,” Dorsett said. “He never got hurt. He was a durable guy. He showed up every Sunday. Emmitt was the last of the Mohicans. They don’t run them like that anymore.”

Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy said going to a 1-2 punch at running back rather than using a workhorse back just makes more sense in today’s game, especially with a 17-game season and the focus on being healthy and fresh for the playoffs.

But it does give him a greater appreciation for Smith’s record and his accomplishments while contributing to a championship team.

“You asked the question, do you think that record would ever be broken and there was just a big pause,” McCarthy said. “I don’t know how it could. For him to play at the level for that length of time. I think it’s special. It’s unique. I don’t know if I see it happening.”

Smith refuses to never say never but he understands the dynamics have changed for running backs. Too many things have to be checked off for someone to surpass his mark.

To do what he’s done and do it as a winner is something he doesn’t take lightly.

“I’m extremely proud because I’ve done something I can say that no man on the planet has ever done,” Smith said. “No other man in the history of the NFL has ever been over 18,000 yards. I’ve done it respecting the game, loving the game, and respecting the history of the game that has come before me.

“20 years is good. 25 would be even better.”