Troy Aikman

Football great, Troy Aikman, was born November 21, 1966 in West Covina, California. Aikman is best known for playing quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys. Troy Aikman is currently a television sportscaster for the Fox network. Aikman is also a joint owner of the NASCAR Sprint Cup racing team, Hall of Fame Racing, along with fellow former Cowboys quarterback, Roger Staubach. He is considered among the best NFL quarterbacks of all time, and was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2006. He is referred to as one of "The Triplets" with Cowboys teammates Michael Irvin and Emmitt Smith.

Troy Aikman finished his collegiate career as the third rated passer in NCAA history. An All-America at UCLA, Aikman joined the Dallas Cowboys as the first overall pick in the 1989 NFL Draft. He became the first Dallas rookie quarterback to start a season opener since Roger Staubach in 1969. Although he showed great promise and threw for a rookie-record 379 yards in a game against the Phoenix Cardinals, the team finished 1-15. As the young quarterback improved, however, so too did the Cowboys' record.

In 1990, Aikman completed 226 of 399 passes for 2,579 yards and 11 touchdowns - the team finished 7-9. The following year he completed an NFC-best 65.3 percent of his passes, and the Cowboys improved to 11-5 and advanced to the second round of the playoffs.

In 1992, in just his 52nd game, Aikman reached the 10,000-yard passing mark, and his 302 completions were second most in team history. That season also marked the end of Dallas' odyssey from worst to first. With their high-powered offense and stingy defense, the 13-3 Cowboys swept through the 1992 NFL playoffs, scoring a combined total of 116 points in three games including a 52-17 victory over the Buffalo Bills in Super Bowl XXVII. Aikman's 22 of 30 for 273 yards passing and four touchdowns earned him Super Bowl MVP honors.

Over the next three seasons, the Cowboys enjoyed three consecutive 12-4 records and victories in Super Bowls XXVIII and XXX. Aikman, wide receiver Michael Irvin, and running back Emmitt Smith delivered an offensive attack that opponents found nearly impossible to contain. When defenses focused on Irvin and/or Smith, Aikman would find tight end Jay Novacek or wide receiver Alvin Harper. In the 1994 NFC Divisional Playoff Game against the Green Bay Packers, Aikman completed 23 of 30 passes for 337 yards. Irvin, Novacek, and Harper, each had more than 100 yards receiving. Aikman's 94-yard touchdown pass to Harper was the longest play from scrimmage in NFL post-season history at the time.

With 90 wins in the 1990s, Aikman became the winningest starting quarterback of any decade in NFL history. Unfortunately, during his final two seasons, injuries began to take a toll on the Dallas quarterback and the team's winning ways. Finally, after the 2000 season, the Cowboys' six-time Pro Bowl selection announced his retirement from football. His career statistics include 32,942 yards and 165 touchdowns for a passer rating of 81.6.

After his retirement as a player, Aikman joined Fox's NFC telecasts as a color commentator for the 2001 season. A year later, he was named to the network's lead announcing crew, teaming with Joe Buck and (from 2002-2005) Cris Collinsworth. Aikman received an Emmy Award nomination for his television work in 2004 and has helped broadcast two Super Bowls (XXXIX and XLII) to date.

Troy Aikman also hosts a weekly sports radio show which airs on Thursday from 7 to 8 p.m. ET on Sporting News Radio, and appears weekly during the football season on the Dunham & Miller morning show on Dallas sports talk radio station 1310 The Ticket. He was a public spokesman for Acme Brick throughout his career. He is also the chairman of the Troy Aikman Foundation, a charity to benefit children that has recently focused on building playplaces for children's hospitals.

Aikman, once named the most eligible bachelor in Dallas by Texas Monthly, married former Cowboys publicist Rhonda Worthey on April 8, 2000, in Plano, Texas. They have three children: Rachel Worthey (from Rhonda's previous marriage), daughter Jordan Ashley Aikman, and daughter Alexa Marie Aikman.

On September 19, 2005, at halftime of the Cowboys-Redskins game (broadcast on Monday Night Football), Aikman was inducted into the Dallas Cowboys Ring of Honor with his longtime teammates Michael Irvin and Emmitt Smith. On August 5, 2006, Aikman was one of six players inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. When he accepted the honor, the ever-modest Aikman commented that he was merely a beneficiary of the Cowboys' system and being paired with subsequent Hall-of-Famers Irvin and Smith.

In late 2005, Aikman together with another former Cowboys quarterback, Roger Staubach, established Hall of Fame Racing with Terry Labonte and Tony Raines co-driving the #96 DLP HDTV Chevrolet in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series in 2006 (the race car's number was derived by multiplying Aikman's Cowboy jersey number 8 by Staubach's jersey number 12). Raines drove for Aikman full time in 2007, and J.J. Yeley and Brad Coleman drove the car in 2008. He has invited some of the current and former Dallas Cowboys players Drew Bledsoe, Terry Glenn, Roy Williams, and others to test drive NASCAR race cars at Texas Motor Speedway.