Mel Renfro: Forever a Cowboy

by Bob Gill

Mel Renfro: Forever a Cowboy, an authorized biography, relates the life journey of an early Cowboy legend. Unlike today, the salaries in the '60s were miniscule and the good players usually stayed with one team. When Mel Renfro was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys in 1964, the struggling team got one of the nation's top two-sport athletes. Not only was the native Oregonian multitalented in both football and track and field, he received high school and college All-American honors. If not for his love for football, he may have been an Olympic decathlon medalist. After Mel arrived in Dallas, Coach Tom Landry recognized his talents and started him in the lineup. Mel responded by setting team records, and he was selected to play in the first of his ten consecutive Pro Bowls, becoming MVP in the 1970 game. Being a member of "Doomsday Defense I," the Cowboy defenders who played six years together from 1966-1971 and led the team to the Super Bowl VI win, was the highlight for Mel. His play as the best "shutdown" cornerback for years earned him the Cowboy Ring of Honor, and after an anxious 14-year wait, a Pro Football Hall of Fame induction in 1996. Forever a Cowboy also reveals Mel's human side, discussing how he dealt with his life-after-football and the struggles that came with it. But the completion of the loop as a Cowboy legend was Mel's selection to the Hall of Fame in 1996. Today, Mel still lives in Dallas and wears his two Super Bowl rings proudly.

298 pages, Paperback

Published November 2, 2015

Reviews

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is not a typical sports biography. About half covers on the field success, the other half is off the field struggles. He has an older brother with legal trouble, civil rights issues, transition to retirement, multiple failed marriages, multiple failed businesses.

I get the feeling that Mel is a pretty good guy with a lot of bad luck. This is written by a friend of Mel's in cooperation with him. This is not a tear down job, it is just an attempt to get the complete story.

This will give you a different picture of a pro athlete than you are used to.