[1][2][3] Perkins earned eight letters for Waterloo West High School, four each in football and track (sprinter).

[8] The Dallas Cowboys franchise was admitted to the league too late to participate in the 1960 NFL draft in November 1959, so they signed Perkins to a personal-services contract for a $1,500 bonus and a $10,000 salary.

[17] Perkins sat out the entire 1960 season with a broken foot (fifth metatarsal) he suffered in training camp,[18] so he began playing with the Cowboys in 1961 as a rookie.

He finished with 815 rushing yards (sixth among league leaders) and 4 touchdowns,[1][19] earning NFL rookie of the year[citation needed] and Pro Bowl honors.

[21] Not only was Perkins considered a superb blocker,[22][3] he also finished in the NFL's top 10 rushing in each of his eight seasons in the league.

[23] Perkins's best year was in 1962, when he rushed for 945 yards and seven touchdowns,[1] becoming the first Cowboy, along with linebacker Jerry Tubbs, to make the All-Pro team.

In the 1967 game, known as the Ice Bowl, with wind chill temperatures as low as -48 degrees, he led all runners with 51 rushing yards.

[26][27][28] Even though he played the fullback position at 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) and 204 pounds (93 kg),[1] his ten career 100-yard games ranks fourth in club history.

[36] Perkins ranks fourth on the Cowboys' all-time rushing yards list (behind Emmitt Smith, Tony Dorsett, and Ezekiel Elliott),[37] and fifth on the rushing touchdowns list, behind Smith, Dorsett, Marion Barber III, and Elliott.

[41][42] "Perkins was in the toughest times", Cowboys head coach Tom Landry once told NFL Films: "The guy was a remarkable runner, a great pass blocker and one of the best players in our history.

"[citation needed] Walt Garrison, who replaced him in the starting lineup, once said, "Don Perkins was the best fullback the Dallas Cowboys ever had".

[43] He was inducted into the Cowboys Ring of Honor at Texas Stadium alongside his quarterback Don Meredith in 1976.

[46] The Professional Football Researchers Association named Perkins to the PRFA Hall of Very Good Class of 2016.