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Troy Kenneth Aikman (born November 21, 1966 in West Covina, California) is a former American football quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League, and currently a television sportscaster for the Fox network. He is also a joint owner of the NASCAR Nextel Cup racing team, Hall of Fame Racing, along with fellow former Cowboys quarterback, Roger Staubach, and an investor and advisor to http://www.protrade.com/. He is considered one of the best NFL quarterbacks of his era, and was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in February of 2006.

Early life and college career

The youngest of three children, Aikman lived in Cerritos, California until age 12, when his family moved to a farm in Henryetta, Oklahoma. In Things Change, an account of his life for kids, Aikman recounted he thought his athletic career was over, but, to his surprise, it was just beginning. He made All-State in both football and baseball, and his high school retired his football jersey.

Although drafted by Major League Baseball's New York Mets, Aikman chose to pursue football and attended the University of Oklahoma. He broke his leg in his debut against the University of Miami, then headed by his future coach, Jimmy Johnson. With Aikman on the sidelines, Sooners' head coach Barry Switzer went back to the wishbone offense, and the college team went on to win the 1985 NCAA title.

Having won with the wishbone, and as Aikman was primarily a passing quarterback, Coach Switzer oversaw Aikman's transfer to UCLA, a program under Terry Donahue that was more conducive to Aikman's game. He had to redshirt one year due to college transfer rules, but went on to lead the Bruins to a 20-4 record over two seasons, and wins in the 1987 Aloha Bowl and the 1989 Cotton Bowl.

NFL career

Aikman was the projected number-one overall pick in the 1989 NFL Draft, held by the Cowboys. The proud franchise had fallen on hard times, going a woeful 3-13 in 1988. On February 25, 1989, new owner Jerry Jones shocked the sports world by firing the beloved Tom Landry—the only head coach the Cowboys ever had, replacing him with Johnson, who, to no one's surprise, took Aikman.

Johnson did not develop Aikman along slowly, but instead threw into him into action immediately. He stumbled to an 0-11 record (155 of 293 for 1,749 yards, 9 TDs, 18 INTs) as the Cowboys went 1-15. Fans and sportswriters, still reeling from Landry's firing, publicly disparaged the team's "savior." But things were going to get better sooner than most people expected.

Aikman proved resilient, and, in 1990, led the Cowboys to the brink of the playoffs. He also started having more help from his teammates, as Johnson showed an uncommon ability for evaluating talent, selecting Emmitt Smith. Dallas was 7-7 with 2 weeks to play before Aikman suffered a season-ending injury. Dallas would lose its final 2 games, but fans were taking notice of the blond-haired, blue-eyed leader of "America's Team." Advertisers began to capitalise on his good looks and prominent position, and Aikman began to appear in commercials and quickly became a national celebrity.

In 1991, the Cowboys made it to the playoffs and Aikman was selected to the first of six consecutive Pro Bowls. In 1992, Aikman set career highs in completions (302), passing yards (3,445), and touchdown passes (23), and led the Cowboys to Super Bowl XXVII at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena against the Buffalo Bills. Aikman completed 22 of 30 passes for 273 yards with 4 TDs as Dallas outplayed Buffalo, 52-17. He was named Super Bowl MVP.

The next year, With Aikman having one of his best seasons posting a 99.0 passer rating, Dallas defeated the Bills again for a second-straight Super Bowl title. It was widely expected that the team might win the Super Bowl at the end of the 1994 season, becoming the first team to win three consecutive titles. However, Jones and Johnson began having disputes regarding their own personal responsibility for the team's success. Jones fired Johnson, and hired Barry Switzer. Despite the turmoil, the Cowboys almost returned to the Super Bowl, but were beaten 38-28 in the NFC Championship game by the San Francisco 49ers.

The 1995 Cowboys won a record-tying 5th Super Bowl (on January 28, 1996) beating the Pittsburgh Steelers, and Aikman threw for over 3,300 yards in the regular season. That August, a book was published alleging that Aikman was a racist, and which also suggested that Switzer planted rumors that Aikman was gay because he thought Aikman was trying to get him fired. It was around this time that Sports Illustrated carried a lengthy article about Aikman's "search for the perfect woman," and Aikman became more visible dating female celebrities.

In 1997, Aikman became the first quarterback in Dallas history to have three straight 3,000-yard seasons. However, the team missed the playoffs. Switzer suffered the first losing season of his coaching career. His off-the-field woes exacerbated a bad situation, and Switzer quit following the season.

Revolving-door personnel changes plagued the Cowboys for the rest of Aikman's tenure. His pass protection failed him repeatedly as the team, stymied by the newly-enacted salary cap, began a decline. On December 10, 2000, Washington Redskins linebacker Lavar Arrington sacked Aikman with such force that his head literally bounced off the turf; it was his tenth concussion, and the one that would end his career. The Cowboys finished the season 5-11.

After he was waived a day before he was due a $7 million/7-year contract extension, Aikman asserted he could still play, but found no interested teams. He announced his retirement on April 9, 2001. He ended his career as the Cowboys' all-time leading passer (32,942 yards). His 90 wins in the 1990s is the most by any quarterback in any decade, and his 61.5 percent completion rate is fourth best of all time.

Retirement

After his retirement as a player, Aikman joined Fox's NFC telecasts as a color commentator for the 2001 season. A year later, he was named to the network's lead announcing crew, teaming with Joe Buck and Cris Collinsworth. Aikman received an Emmy Award nomination for his television work in 2004, and worked Fox's broadcast of Super Bowl XXXIX in February of 2005.

Aikman also hosts a weekly sports radio show which airs on Thursday from 5 p.m.-6 p.m. ET on Sporting News Radio. He was a public spokesman for Acme Brick throughout his career, and now owns a Ford dealership in Dallas. He is also the chairman of the Troy Aikman Foundation, a charity to benefit children which has recently focused on building playplaces for children's hospitals.

Aikman, once named the most eligible bachelor in Dallas by Texas Monthly, married former Cowboys employee Rhonda Worthey in 2000 after dating actresses Sandra Bullock and Janine Turner, and country singer Lorrie Morgan. They have two daughters, Jordan and Alexa.

On September 19, 2005, at half-time of the Cowboys-Redskins game (broadcast on Monday Night Football), Aikman was inducted into the Dallas Cowboys Ring of Honor with his longtime teammates Michael Irvin and Emmitt Smith. On February 4, 2006, Aikman was one of six players announced to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Hall Of Fame Racing

In late 2005, Aikman together with another ex-Cowboys quarterback, Roger Staubach, established Hall of Fame Racing with Terry Labonte and Tony Raines co-driving the #96 DLP HDTV Chevrolet in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series in 2006.

Statistics

Career

• 4,715 passes attempted
• 2,898 passes completed
• 32,942 passing yards
• 165 passing touchdowns
• 141 passes intercepted
• 33.4 passing attempts per interception

Post-season records and statistics

• 11-5 record in the post-season
• 502 passes attempted
• 320 passes completed
• 3849 passing yards (240.5 ypg)
• 24 passing touchdowns
• 17 passes intercepted
• 29.5 passing attempts per interception in the post-season
• 6 Pro Bowls
• 1 Super Bowl MVP award
• 3 Super Bowl victories

External links

• Pro Football Hall of Fame: Member profile
• Dallas Cowboys Hall of Fame and Ring of Honor: Member profile
• Troy Aikman at IMDb
• Template:Pro-football-reference

• 1966 births
• American football quarterbacks
• American radio personalities
• American sports announcers
• Dallas Cowboys players
• Living people
• Lutherans
• NASCAR owners
• National Football League First Overall Draft Picks
• NFC Pro Bowl players
• People from Oklahoma
• People from the Greater Los Angeles Area
• Pro Football Hall of Fame
• Sigma Alpha Epsilon brothers
• The NFL on FOX
• UCLA Bruins football players
• 100 passing touchdown club