Three dollars produced a lifetime of priceless memories for Luke Madole, a Dallas first-grader who couldn't wait to see the Cowboys, which had just joined the NFL. They were led by Eddie LeBaron, who came out of retirement to quarterback the team, and a future Hall of Fame coach named Tom Landry.
It was an inauspicious start, as the Cowboys posted an 0-11-1 record during their inaugural 1960 campaign and wouldn't have a winning season until 1966 when they faced the Packers in the first of two straight iconic NFL championship games.
But to Madole and his football crazy boyhood friends, the early Cowboys became instant heroes.
“We would go on buses called ‘Cotton Bowl Flyers’ for three dollars — one dollar for the bus to the Cotton Bowl, one dollar for an end zone seat and one dollar for the ride home,” he said. “We didn't win often, but it was great fun. It was an innocent time when three boys only 8 or 9 years old could safely walk a little less than a mile to the bus stop, spend all afternoon at
