THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS – Tom Rafferty, a stalwart in the Cowboys’ offensive line whose career bridged generations from Roger Staubach to Troy Aikman and who was so tough he taught himself to walk again in middle age after a neurological disorder left him with no feeling below the waist, died Thursday at 70 in Windsor, Colo., after a stroke.
Rafferty’s daughter, Rachel Powers, said her father had been hospitalized since early May.
Born and raised in New York and drafted in the fourth round out of Penn State in 1976, Rafferty inherited Blaine Nye’s spot at right guard in his second season.
He started there or at center for two Super Bowls and 167 straight games in all, the longest streak in the organization’s history at the time, until Mark Stepnoski replaced him midway through the 1989 season.
Rafferty was typical of the men who populated Tom Landry’s offensive lines in the ’70s and ’80s: undersized at 6-3, 256 pounds, but quick, tough and smart.
“If you look at his dimensions,” said Brad Sham, longtime radio voice of the Cowboys who started with the organization the same year as Rafferty, “he wouldn’t be playing in the offensive line today. But that’s what Tom wanted. He wanted pulling linemen and guys who could get downfield in front of (Tony) Dorsett on a screen pass …
Tom Rafferty
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- Tom Rafferty, No. 64
- Position: Center / Guard
Personal information
- Born: August 2, 1954
- Syracuse, New York, U.S.
- Died: June 5, 2025 (aged 70)
- Windsor, Colorado, U.S.
- Height: 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
- Weight: 256 lb (116 kg)
Career information
- High school: Fayetteville–Manlius (Manlius, New York)
- College: Penn State
- NFL draft: 1976: 4th round, 119th pick
Career history
- Dallas Cowboys (1976–1989)
- Career highlights and awards
- Super Bowl champion (XII)
- First-team All-American (1975)
- 2× First-team All-East (1974, 1975)
- Greater Syracuse Sports Hall of Fame
Career NFL statistics
- Games played: 203
- Games started: 182
Thomas Michael Rafferty (August 2, 1954 – June 5, 2025) was an American professional football player who was an offensive lineman for 14 seasons with the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Penn State Nittany Lions under head coach Joe Paterno.
Early life
Born in Syracuse, New York, Rafferty attended Fayetteville-Manlius High School in Manlius, where he received all-league honors as a defensive lineman in football and also in lacrosse.
He accepted a scholarship from Penn State University, where he played for head coach Joe Paterno and was converted into an offensive lineman. In 1973, Rafferty was a part of an undefeated season (12–0). He became a starter as a junior in 1974, was named twice to the UPI’s All-East team. and once to the Football Writers’ All-American team in 1975.[1][2]
In 1988, he was inducted into the Greater Syracuse Sports Hall of Fame.[3]
Professional career
Rafferty was selected by the Dallas Cowboys in the fourth round (119th overall) of the 1976 NFL draft. As a rookie, he was a backup to Blaine Nye. The next year, he was named the starter at right guard, performing also as a long snapper for field goals and extra points, on a team that won Super Bowl XII over the Denver Broncos.
During this period, center John Fitzgerald nicknamed the Cowboys offensive line as the “Four Irishmen and a Scott”, when it was formed by him, Rafferty, Pat Donovan, Jim Cooper and Herb Scott.
Known to his teammates as “Raff”, he established himself as one of the better linemen in Cowboys history with an exemplary work ethic, durability and versatility. In 1981, he was moved to center after Robert Shaw went down with a career-ending knee injury, becoming the anchor of an offensive line that would enable the Cowboys to reach two NFC Championship Games. Among his memorable moments, he and Scott teamed on the block that cleared the way for Tony Dorsett’s 99-yard run against the Minnesota Vikings on Monday Night Football in 1983.
In 1989, Rafferty started the first eight games before rookie Mark Stepnoski took over the center position. He announced his retirement on April 21, 1990. He played in 221 total games for the Cowboys, including 167 consecutive games, which at the time was more than any other Cowboy in history. He appeared in eighteen post-season games and two Super Bowls (XII, XIII).
Personal life
Rafferty earned his Bachelor of Science in physical education from Penn State University in 1976, and later earned an MBA from the University of Dallas.
He lived with his wife Donna and their children Michael and Rachel in Keller, Texas, where he was a regional sales manager at Sports Supply Group, a Dallas sports supply company. In April 2008, he had a sudden bout of the neurological disorder transverse myelitis. The disorder caused him to use a walker and wheelchair while undergoing physical therapy to re-learn how to walk.
Rafferty died on June 5, 2025, at the age of 70.
