Cornell Green

Cornell M. Green was born on February 10, 1940, in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. He was one of five sons raised by Elijah and Gladys Green; his brothers were Elijah Jr. (Pumpsie), Credell, Travis and Eddie Joe. According to his brother Pumpsie, the family moved from Oklahoma to California when the eldest boys were small, and their father worked at the Oakland Army Base and later for the city of Richmond's public works department, while their mother worked as a welder on the Oakland docks during the Second World War and later as a nurse.

Green grew up in Richmond, California and attended El Cerrito High School, where he played basketball from 1955 to 1957. He was All-ACAL, All-Northern California and, in 1957, All-State. He played only one season of football, in 1956. El Cerrito later inducted him into its Athletic Hall of Fame.

Green played the 1958 to 1959 basketball season at Contra Costa College, where he was named All-State. He then transferred to Utah State University in Logan, Utah, playing forward for the Aggies from 1960 to 1962.

He was a two-time All-American (1961, 1962), All-Skyline Conference in each of his three seasons and the Skyline Conference Most Valuable Player as a sophomore. He set the Utah State career rebounding record of 1,067, which still stands, and his 403 rebounds and 13.9 rebounds per game in 1960 remain school single-season records. He scored 1,890 points, sixth in school history, including 745 in 1962. The 1960 Aggies reached the NIT semifinals and finished eighth in the AP poll, the highest final ranking in school history, and the 1962 team won a game in the NCAA Tournament. Utah State retired his No. 24 jersey.

Drafted by the NBA's Chicago Zephyrs in the fifth round in 1962 but bypassed in the NFL draft, Green signed with the Dallas Cowboys for $1,000 after a recommendation from Utah State coach LaDell Andersen to the Cowboys' personnel department led by Gil Brandt. In another version told by Sports Illustrated, Green approached Brandt himself and asked for a chance.

He made the 1962 team as an undrafted free agent, started three games and was named to the NFL All-Rookie Team. In 1963 he became the starting left cornerback and intercepted a career-high seven passes. He played cornerback for eight seasons, led the Cowboys in interceptions four times and earned Pro Bowl selections after the 1965, 1966 and 1967 seasons, along with All-Pro honours.

In 1970 Tom Landry moved Mel Renfro to cornerback alongside newly acquired Herb Adderley and shifted Green to strong safety. Green returned to the Pro Bowl after the 1971 and 1972 seasons. He played in the 1966 and 1967 NFL Championship Games, Super Bowl V and Super Bowl VI, which Dallas won 24 to 3 over Miami on January 16, 1972.

Over 13 seasons (1962 to 1974) he never missed a game, playing 168 games with 145 consecutive starts. He recorded 34 interceptions for 552 yards, 7 fumble recoveries and 4 touchdowns, and blocked 10 kicks, including a Cowboys record eight field goals. He announced his retirement in September 1975.

Green began scouting for the Cowboys in 1970 while still an active player and remained a full-time Dallas scout through 1979. After several years in private business, he joined the Denver Broncos' scouting staff in 1987. He spent 28 seasons with Denver and 35 years scouting in the NFL overall, a span in which the Broncos won Super Bowls XXXII and XXXIII. In 2010 the Fritz Pollard Alliance named him AFC Scout of the Year. He retired at 75 after the 2015 NFL Draft, when general manager John Elway honoured him publicly with a Broncos jersey.

Green was married for nearly six decades to Betty Ruth Green (born Betty Ruth Jones on September 25, 1940, in Wilmar, Arkansas). She died on February 16, 2019, and her memorial service was held at Friendship-West Baptist Church in Dallas. The couple had two sons, Randy Green and Ronney Green (married to Deedee), and three granddaughters.

His eldest brother Pumpsie Green, the Boston Red Sox's first Black player, died in July 2019. He continued to give interviews about his career into his eighties, including a December 2020 conversation with the scouting site Inside the League.

Green was known for durability and adaptability rather than public statements. He described his arrival in pro football with self-deprecating humour, saying he expected to be cut within a week. Coaches and opponents described a big, fast defensive back who could turn and run with receivers and was unafraid of contact. Tom Landry said his only transition from basketball was learning to tackle, and that he never had a problem with it. No broader political or religious views were documented publicly.

Green is widely regarded as one of the best defensive backs in Cowboys history and a model of the franchise's early willingness to sign athletes from other sports. He was named to the Cowboys 25th Anniversary Team (1985), the Professional Football Researchers Association Hall of Very Good (2017) and ranked No. 23 on the team's list of its 60 greatest players (2020). Former Cleveland Browns guard John Wooten publicly campaigned in 2026 for his induction into the Cowboys Ring of Honor, calling him the top candidate from the Doomsday era.

Super Bowl VI champion (1971 season). Five Pro Bowls (1965, 1966, 1967, 1971, 1972 seasons). First-team All-Pro in 1966 and 1967 per Pro Football Reference, with further selections reported for 1968 and 1969. NFL All-Rookie Team (1962). Dallas Cowboys 25th Anniversary Team (1985). PFRA Hall of Very Good (2017). Two-time college basketball All-American (1961, 1962). Skyline Conference MVP (1960). Three-time All-Skyline (1960 to 1962). Utah State Athletics Hall of Fame, inaugural class (1993). Utah Basketball Hall of Fame (2001). Utah State retired No. 24. El Cerrito High School Athletic Hall of Fame. AFC Scout of the Year, Fritz Pollard Alliance (2010).

Green appears in NFL Films coverage of the 1960s and 1970s Cowboys, including footage of the 1966 NFL Championship Game and the Ice Bowl, and he is discussed in Deep Blue documentaries on the Doomsday Defense, where Charlie Waters and Randy White spoke about him. Gil Brandt recounted how he found Green in a SiriusXM NFL Radio segment, and Utah State Athletics produced a Hall of Fame tribute video.

Green died on the morning of October 21, 2026, at the age of 86. His son Randy Green announced that his father had passed that morning, and the Dallas Cowboys issued a statement the same day calling him a true trailblazer who never missed a game in 13 seasons. The cause and place of death were not made public. Funeral arrangements had not been announced at the time of writing.