Cowboys vs. Dolphins to kick off NFL preseason

The Dallas Cowboys and the Miami Dolphins kick off the 2013 National Football League preseason tonight in the NFL/Hall of Fame Game at Fawcett Stadium, the country’s best high school stadium. The annual preseason classic starts at 8:00 p.m. EDT and will be broadcast nationally by NBC’s “Sunday Night Football” and the radio call can heard along the Dial Global Sports radio network.

The game marks two interesting debuts. The Dolphins take the field for the first time with their newly designed uniforms. The sold-out crowd at Fawcett will also witness the first implementation of a new NFL policy that places handheld cameras inside NFL locker rooms. The fans on hand tonight will get a behind-the-scenes glimpse of the Cowboys and Dolphins locker room as the players prepare to take the field for pre-game introductions.

The Cowboys return to Canton for the fifth time. Dallas holds a 1-3 record in the Hall of Fame series. Their last appearance came in 2010 with a 16-7 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals. That game was preceded by an overtime loss, the only sudden death occurrence in Hall of Fame Game history, to the Cleveland Browns in 1999. Dallas’ two other appearances were against the Oakland Raiders in 1979 and the Chicago Bears in 1968.

This year’s contest marks the Dolphins’ fourth journey to Canton. Miami is 0-3 in previous visits. Miami suffered losses in the Hall of Fame Game to the Bears in 2005, St. Louis Rams in 2001, and the Philadelphia Eagles in 1978.

The game follows on the heels of yesterday’s enshrinement ceremony when the seven members of the Class of 2013 officially took their place among the greatest legends in the history of the sport. Three of the ’13 enshrinees have ties to tonight’s teams.

Guard Larry Allen is the 14th longtime member of the Cowboys franchise to be enshrined into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He starred for the team from 1994 to 2005 during which time he was named All-Pro seven times. Bill Parcells finished his Hall of Fame coaching career with four seasons in Dallas from 2003-06. He also spent time in the Dolphins front office after his coaching career as the club’s Executive Vice President of Football Operations from 2007-2010. Wide receiver Cris Carter closed out his playing career with the Dolphins in 2002.

This year’s game is not only the culminating event of the annual Pro Football Hall of Fame Enshrinement Festival, but as an exclamation point for the Hall of Fame’s 50th Anniversary Golden Reunion Celebration. A record 122 members of the Hall of Fame were in Canton over the weekend to celebrate the Hall of Fame’s 50th Anniversary. It is the largest gathering of Hall of Famers from one sport in one place at one time.

The Cowboys and Dolphins both possess rich football traditions that include multiple players, coaches, and contributors from their respective franchises earning election to the Hall of Fame. Allen was preceded in the Hall of Fame by 13 other longtime Cowboys: Troy Aikman, Tony Dorsett, Bob Hayes, Michael Irvin, Tom Landry, Bob Lilly, Mel Renfro, Deion Sanders, Tex Schramm, Emmitt Smith, Roger Staubach, Randy White, and Rayfield Wright.

The Dolphins have nine Hall of Famers: Nick Buoniconti, Larry Csonka, Bob Griese, Jim Langer, Larry Little, Dan Marino, Don Shula, Dwight Stephenson, and Paul Warfield.