Michael Irving

Dallas Cowboys Player Michael Irving

Before the Dallas Cowboys
Michael Irvin was born March 5th, 1966 in Fort Lauderdale Florida. He first attended Piper High School, and then went to become a football star at St. Thomas Aquinas High School. He was heavily recruited by the University of Florida, into one of the top collegiate football programs in the nation at the time. There, he set records for career receptions, receiving yards, and touchdown receptions.

As part of Miami’s 1987 National Championship team, he made a legendary play in the school’s history with a 73 yard fourth quarter touchdown pass for a victory over Florida State. This propelled the team to the Orange Bowl against top ranked Oklahoma Sooners and drew a great deal of attention to the young player’s name.

Dallas Cowboys Career

Irvin was drafted in the first round by the Cowboys in 1988, and became the first rookie receiver in Cowboys’ history to start a game in 20 years. He caught his first touchdown the very same game and went on to secure 3 touchdown passes in the Cowboys’ win over Washington, one of only three wins that season. He finished his rookie season with 20.4 yards per catch average, which led the NFC.

The Cowboys had another rough year after that, finishing with a 1-15 record, which sadly was the worst in the history of the franchise. One could attribute the losses to the fact that Irvin was limited to six games due to injury. But with the addition of new players such as Jay Novacek, Troy Aikman, and Emmitt Smith, the team began to quickly improve and make a comeback.

Irvin’s career with the Dallas Cowboys ended in Philadelphia in 1999. He was tackled by Philadelphia Eagles defensive back Tim Hauck, and was driven head first into the turf. He sustained non-life-threatening cervical spinal cord injury that made it impossible for him to play again.

• From 1991-1998, Irvin recorded 1,000 yard seasons in all but one year, totaling 10,265 for the eight year span.
• Played in four NFC Championship Games (1992-1995)
• Played in three Superbowls (XXVII, XXVIII, and XXX) and won each one.
• Best Season was 1995: 111 receptions, 10 Tds, 1,603 receiving yards, 11 games with over 100 yards receiving.
• Only player to play for the first four Dallas Cowboy coaches under owner Jerry Jones.

Get to Know Your Dallas Cowboy

Where is He Now?
You can see Michael Irvin on NFL Sundays on the NFL Network for GameDay Morning. Irvin decided to trade the sports spotlight for Hollywood’s. In 2005, he was co-star in the remake of The Longest Yard, and also guest starred in Jack & Jill in 2011.

Irvin stepped into television briefly as a ‘Pro’ on Pros vs. Joes, was host of a football themed reality series 4th and Long, and even appeared on an episode of Burn Notice.

Fun Facts

• Irvin was born into a family of 17 children
• Irvin is an outspoken advocate of LGBTQ issues, spurred by his older brother being admittedly gay.
• He has invested in the Elite Football League of India
• He hosts a radio show on Miami’s WQAM with Kevil Kiley from noon to 3 pm
• He was nicked named along with Troy Aikmen and Emmitt Smith as one of the “triplets”.