Tom Rafferty, an offensive lineman who won a Super Bowl and played with two Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterbacks in Roger Staubach and Troy Aikman over 14 seasons with the Dallas Cowboys, has died. He was 70.
Rafferty died Thursday in Windsor, Colorado, where he had been hospitalized since early May following a stroke, his daughter, Rachel Powers, told The Dallas Morning News.
A year after getting drafted out of Penn State, Rafferty’s first season as a starter was at right guard in 1977, which ended with the Cowboys’ 27-10 victory over Denver in Super Bowl 12. He played the same position a year later when the Cowboys lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers 35-31 in the title game.
After a move to center, Rafferty threw one of the key blocks on Tony Dorsett’s record 99-yard touchdown run in a 31-27 loss at Minnesota on Jan. 3, 1983. Dallas had 10 men on the field for that famous play.
Rafferty’s final season was Aikman’s rookie year in 1989, when he started eight games at center for a 1-15 team.
Rafferty is one of 12 Dallas players to spend at least 14 seasons with the franchise. He was teammates with seven players on that list.
Reporting by The Associated Press.
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