Roger Thomas Staubach (/stɔːbɑːk/, -/bæk/; STAW-bahk, -back; born February 5, 1942), nicknamed "Roger the Dodger", "Captain America", and "Captain Comeback",[1] is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 11 seasons with the Dallas Cowboys.

Staubach joined the Dallas Cowboys in 1969, becoming the team's second major franchise quarterback after the retirement of Don Meredith in 1968.

Staubach is one of ten players to both win the Heisman Trophy and be elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and the only quarterback.

To prepare for his naval career, Staubach spent one year at New Mexico Military Institute in Roswell, where he set a school record for passing yards and scored 18 total touchdowns.

He relieved starter Ron Klemick as the Minnesota defense, led by Bobby Bell and Carl Eller, was stifling in its 21–0 victory.

Earlier that season, Staubach led Navy to a 35–14 road victory in its annual rivalry with Notre Dame.

During three seasons at Navy, Staubach completed 292 of 463 passes with 18 touchdowns and 19 interceptions, while gaining a school-record 4,253 yards of total offense.

The Naval Academy retired Staubach's jersey number (12) during his graduation ceremony after his senior season.

[17] After graduating from the Naval Academy in June 1965,[18] Staubach could have requested an assignment in the United States, but he chose to volunteer for a one-year tour of duty in South Vietnam.

[19] Staubach returned from South Vietnam in September 1967,[20] and spent the rest of his naval career in the United States.

The Cowboys won their first NFC title in 1970 with Craig Morton starting at quarterback, but lost to the Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl V, losing by three points on a last-second field goal.

In 1971, Morton began the season as the starter, but after a loss to the New Orleans Saints, Staubach assumed the role.

Dallas gained almost 500 yards of offense but committed seven turnovers that resulted in a 23–19 loss to a mediocre Bears squad that dropped the Cowboys to 4–3 for the season, two games behind the Washington Redskins in the NFC East race.

He threw for 183 yards, a touchdown, and no interceptions in Dallas' 27–10 victory in Super Bowl XII over the Denver Broncos, led by his former teammate Morton.

Staubach's offensive teammates included standout receivers "Bullet" Bob Hayes, Lance Alworth, Drew Pearson, and Golden Richards, tight ends Mike Ditka, Billy Joe Dupree, and Jackie Smith, tackle Rayfield Wright, and running backs Robert Newhouse, Calvin Hill, and Tony Dorsett.

Dorsett, Hayes, Pearson, and Wright are in the Hall of Fame, as are Alworth, Ditka, and Smith (although those three were all with the Cowboys only at the end of their careers).

Staubach recorded the highest passer rating in the NFL in four seasons (1971, 1973, 1978, 1979) and led the league with 23 touchdown passes in 1973.

29 on The Sporting News list of the 100 Greatest Football Players, the second-ranked Cowboy behind Bob Lilly.

He led the Cowboys to 23 game-winning drives (15 comebacks) during the fourth quarter, with 17 of those in the final two minutes or in overtime.

[29] In the television show King of the Hill, Staubach's name has been used for the elementary school in the fictional town of Arlen, Texas.

In November 2018, Staubach was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by Donald Trump, becoming one of only four recipients associated with American Football to receive the distinction.

[38] In 1977, he started a commercial real estate business, The Staubach Company, in partnership with Robert Holloway Jr., an associate of Henry S.

Staubach began working with real estate because "I couldn't have retired at my age and just played golf.

The company first developed several office buildings; Holloway managed construction while Staubach found tenants.

In 1982, Staubach bought out Holloway and shifted the company's emphasis from commercial development to representing corporate clients seeking to lease or buy space.

The company was also involved with residential development, with ownership stakes in 27 apartments and other real estate projects in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

On November 9, 1980, during a close game between the New York Giants and the Dallas Cowboys, Staubach broadcast a nostalgic comment by exclaiming he would like to be "right down there in the middle of it".

On December 27, 2011, Staubach wrote the foreword for a book titled The Power in a Link,[44] published by John Wiley & Sons, authored by United States Military Academy graduate, David Gowel.