The official list of Dallas Cowboys sack leaders has always been flawed by the known fact that the NFL did not record sacks as an official statistic until 1982. As a result, one NFL record has always had somewhat of an asterisk attached to it and that is the single season sack record. The official title holder is Michael Strahan with 22.5 sacks recorded in 2001 but longtime Cowboys fans have long claimed that Harvey Martin is the rightful owner of that record with 23 sacks in 1977. Well now, that debate can be settled once and for all with the addition of Pre-1982 sack totals to the Pro Football Reference Library.
The new data, dating back to 1960, has shaken up the current list of All-Time sack leaders, single season sack leaders, and of course the list of Dallas Cowboys franchise sack leaders. The results may be a little surprising, and maybe more than a little disappointing for Dallas Cowboys fans.
“UNOFFICIAL” NFL ALL-TIME SACK LEADER BOARD
Rank | Player | Sk | Years | Tm |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bruce Smith+ | 200.0 | 1985-2003 | 2TM |
| 2 | Reggie White+ | 198.0 | 1985-2000 | 3TM |
| 3 | Deacon Jones+ | 173.5 | 1961-1974 | 3TM |
| 4 | Kevin Greene+ | 160.0 | 1985-1999 | 4TM |
| 5 | Julius Peppers | 159.5 | 2002-2018 | 3TM |
| 6 | Jack Youngblood+ | 151.5 | 1971-1984 | ram |
| 7 | Chris Doleman+ | 150.5 | 1985-1999 | 3TM |
| 8 | Alan Page+ | 148.5 | 1967-1981 | 2TM |
| 9 | Lawrence Taylor+ | 142.0 | 1981-1993 | nyg |
| 10 | Michael Strahan+ | 141.5 | 1993-2007 | nyg |
| 11 | Jason Taylor+ | 139.5 | 1997-2011 | 3TM |
| 12 | Terrell Suggs | 139.0 | 2003-2019 | 3TM |
| 13 | DeMarcus Ware | 138.5 | 2005-2016 | 2TM |
| 14 | Richard Dent+ | 137.5 | 1983-1997 | 4TM |
| John Randle+ | 137.5 | 1990-2003 | 2TM | |
| 16 | Jared Allen | 136.0 | 2004-2015 | 4TM |
| Rickey Jackson+ | 136.0 | 1981-1995 | 2TM | |
| 18 | John Abraham | 133.5 | 2000-2014 | 3TM |
| Carl Eller+ | 133.5 | 1964-1979 | 2TM | |
| 20 | Leslie O’Neal | 132.5 | 1986-1999 | 3TM |
| 21 | Al Baker | 131.0 | 1978-1990 | 4TM |
| 22 | Coy Bacon | 130.5 | 1968-1981 | 4TM |
| Jim Marshall | 130.5 | 1960-1979 | 2TM | |
| 24 | Claude Humphrey+ | 130.0 | 1968-1981 | 2TM |
| 25 | Derrick Thomas+ | 126.5 | 1989-1999 | ka |
Generated 7/12/2021.
“UNOFFICIAL” NFL SINGLE SEASON SACK LEADERS
| Rank | Player | Sk | Year | Tm |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Al Baker (21) | 23.0 | 1978 | DET |
| 2 | Michael Strahan+ (29) | 22.5 | 2001 | NYG |
| 3 | Jared Allen (29) | 22.0 | 2011 | MIN |
| Mark Gastineau (27) | 22.0 | 1984 | NYJ | |
| Justin Houston (25) | 22.0 | 2014 | KAN | |
| Deacon Jones+ (25) | 22.0 | 1964 | RAM | |
| Deacon Jones+ (29) | 22.0 | 1968 | RAM | |
| 8 | Coy Bacon (34) | 21.5 | 1976 | CIN |
| Deacon Jones+ (28) | 21.5 | 1967 | RAM | |
| 10 | Chris Doleman+ (27) | 21.0 | 1989 | MIN |
| Reggie White+ (25) | 21.0 | 1987 | PHI | |
| 12 | Aaron Donald (27) | 20.5 | 2018 | LAR |
| Jim Katcavage (28) | 20.5 | 1963 | NYG | |
| Joe Klecko (27) | 20.5 | 1981 | NYJ | |
| Lawrence Taylor+ (27) | 20.5 | 1986 | NYG | |
| J.J. Watt (23) | 20.5 | 2012 | HOU | |
| J.J. Watt (25) | 20.5 | 2014 | HOU | |
| 18 | Mark Gastineau (24) | 20.0 | 1981 | NYJ |
| Harvey Martin (26) | 20.0 | 1977 | DAL | |
| Derrick Thomas+ (23) | 20.0 | 1990 | KAN | |
| DeMarcus Ware (26) | 20.0 | 2008 | DAL |
Generated 7/12/2021.
“UNOFFICIAL” CAREER DALLAS COWBOYS SACK LEADERS
| Rk | Player | From | To | Sk ▼ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | DeMarcus Ware | 2005 | 2013 | 117.0 |
| 2 | Harvey Martin | 1973 | 1983 | 114.0 |
| 3 | Randy White | 1975 | 1988 | 111.0 |
| 4 | Too Tall Jones | 1974 | 1989 | 106.0 |
| 5 | George Andrie | 1962 | 1972 | 98.5 |
| 6 | Jethro Pugh | 1965 | 1978 | 96.5 |
| 7 | Bob Lilly | 1961 | 1974 | 95.5 |
| 8 | Jim Jeffcoat | 1983 | 1994 | 94.5 |
| 9 | Greg Ellis | 1998 | 2008 | 77.0 |
| 10 | Larry Cole | 1968 | 1980 | 59.0 |
Generated 7/14/2021.
So there you have it. Much to my surprise, it was actually Al Baker of the Detroit Lions who set the single season sack record in his rookie season while Harvey Martin recorded a total of 20 in 1977. That isn’t good enough for the NFL record but it does tie DeMarcus Ware for the single season franchise record. Unlike Ware though, Harvey Martin accomplished that feat in only 14 games! In fact, Harvey Martin is one of only 2 players not named Deacon Jones who managed to record 20 sacks or more in a 14 game season according to this new unofficial data. While that does mean that contrary to popular belief Harvey Martin is not the sack king, his accomplishments are still quite impressive. Thanks to this updated information, we can paint somewhat of a picture of just how good some of these players actually were.
Why does Harvey Martin only show 20 sacks in 77 when he single season sack record was 23?
This was published in the Dallas newspaper & announced at the game when he accomplished such a milestone!
1977
According to the Cowboys’ stats, Martin is unofficially credited with a total of 114 sacks, leading the Cowboys in sacks seven times during a nine-year period, with a high total of 23 sacks in 1977.