REMEMBER: Dallas Cowboys coach Tom Landry had a warm smile at the end of a cold day at Busch Stadium – and a long season.

December 15, 1963 – At the conclusion of a gruelling season and a chilly day at Busch Stadium, Dallas Cowboys coach Tom Landry had a warm smile. He was feeling really giving. The season will end with a 4-10 record for his club, but they had finally defeated the Cardinals. Landry remarked, “St. Louis has a good young team.” “It will remain up there for many years.” With 1:10 remaining in the game, Don Meredith (shown) found Frank Clarke for a 25-yard touchdown throw that gave the Cowboys a 28-24 victory. In the third quarter, Larry Wilson ran 35 yards for a score on a fake field goal play, giving the Cardinals a 21-14 lead.
Jim Bakken followed with a field goal that increased the lead to 24-14. In the fourth quarter, Meredith tossed a 12-yard touchdown pass to Pettis Norman and then the winning one to Clarke. “Most of the field was pretty hard,” Landry commented, “and the Card defensive backs did a good job but couldn’t operate well on that kind of surface. That’s why we were lucky.”
Meredith put Dallas ahead in the first quarter when he faked a pass then swept around right end for a touchdown. On the first Cardinal play from scrimmage after the ensuing kickoff, Charlie Johnson passed to Sonny Randle for 62 yards and the tying touchdown. The Cardinal went ahead in the same quarter on Johnson’s
16-yard touchdown pass to Bill Triplett. But before the half ended, defensive tackle Bob Lilly picked up a Johnson fumble and ran 42 yards for a Dallas touchdown. A hardy crowd of 12,695 turned out in clear
17-degree weather to bring the Cardinals’ season attendance to 165,453, a new high and 28½ percent better than a year ago. The 9-5 record of the Cardinals was the best in 15 years for the club that transferred to St. Louis in 1960 after almost 40 seasons in Chicago,