Cornell Green, five-time Pro Bowl defensive back on the Cowboys' original Doomsday Defense, dies at 86

Cornell Green, a defensive back who never missed a game in 13 seasons with the Dallas Cowboys and helped form the franchise's original Doomsday Defense, has died at 86, the team announced Wednesday.

The Cowboys did not give a cause of death.

"Cornell was a true trailblazer having never played football in college, yet becoming a multi-time Pro Bowler, All-Pro and NFL Super Bowl champion," the team said. "Cornell remarkably never missed a game in 13 seasons, becoming one of the best and most dependable teammates to ever wear the star."

A basketball star who chose football

Born in Oklahoma City and raised in California, Green starred in basketball at El Cerrito High School. After two years at a California community college he moved on to Utah State, where he still holds the school record with 1,067 career rebounds and ranks sixth with 1,890 points.

The Chicago Zephyrs, the franchise that became today's Washington Wizards, drafted him in the fifth round of the 1962 NBA draft. Instead he accepted an invitation to the Cowboys' training camp that year and made the roster.

182 straight games

Green played in all 182 regular-season games from 1962 through 1974, plus 15 playoff games. After starting three games as a rookie, he started 167 of 168 the rest of the way, spending eight seasons at cornerback before moving to safety for his final five.

He made five Pro Bowls, was a first-team All-Pro in 1966 and 1967 and won a Super Bowl with the 1971 team, the first championship in Cowboys history. His 34 interceptions are tied for fifth-most in franchise history and he was later named to the team's 25th anniversary squad.

After his playing days, Green stayed in the game as a scout for the Cowboys and later the Denver Broncos.