Dallas Cowboys Super Bowl Champion Running Back Dies at 72

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Scott Laidlaw, a running back who played for the Dallas Cowboys and was part of three Super Bowl teams, including the 1977 championship squad, has died at the age of 72. Laidlaw was drafted by the Cowboys in 1975 as part of the team's famed "Dirty Dozen" rookie class and went on to play six seasons in the NFL, five with the Cowboys and one with the New York Giants.

Why it matters

Laidlaw was a key member of the Cowboys' championship teams in the 1970s, a period considered one of the franchise's most successful eras. His passing marks the loss of another player from that legendary "Dirty Dozen" rookie class that helped build the Cowboys' dynasty.

The details

Laidlaw was drafted in the 14th round by the Cowboys in 1975 and made the roster as part of the team's "Dirty Dozen" rookie class that year. He went on to play in three Super Bowls with the Cowboys, winning a championship ring in Super Bowl XII in 1977 when the Cowboys defeated the Denver Broncos 27-10. Laidlaw gained 1,007 yards on 255 carries and scored 12 touchdowns over his six-year NFL career.

• Laidlaw was drafted by the Cowboys in 1975.
• He played in Super Bowl X in 1975, Super Bowl XII in 1977, and Super Bowl XIII in 1978.
• Laidlaw participated in a tribute to the 1975 "Dirty Dozen" rookie class at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, a month before his death in 2026.