5 Lesser-Known Facts From Storied 49ers-Cowboys Rivalry You May Not Have Known
ARLINGTON (CBS SF) -- One of the most storied rivalries in the National Football League will be renewed Sunday when the San Francisco 49ers and the Dallas Cowboys square off at AT&T Stadium in Arlington for the 2014 regular season opener.
The two teams, which each have five Super Bowl trophies apiece (second only to Pittsburgh Steelers with six) have often had to beat each other in some intense playoff games to get to the top.
While the teams' star players and memorable contests have been well-documented, here are some lesser-known facts about this rivalry.
Infrequent Rivals
Aside from those years they faced each other in the playoffs almost yearly, the Cowboys and 49ers haven't really played each other at all that much. Since their first meeting in 1960 (a 26-14 Niner win), the teams have only met 33 times due to the rotating division schedules.
Who's Got The Edge?
Against each other right now, neither team. Aside from the five Super Bowl championships each team has, they go into Sunday's matchup with a 16-16-1 series record. Dallas has won the last three meetings.
Cowboys fans can point to eight NFC championships versus the Niners' six NFC titles. Dallas also has the same 8-6 edge in number of Super Bowl appearances.
Crabtree Homecoming
Wide receiver Michael Crabtree, one of the players the 49ers are counting on to come up big Sunday used to sell hot dogs and water bottles at the Cowboys old home, Texas Stadium in Irving.
According to 49ers reporter Taylor Price, The alum of Texas Tech and Dallas' Carter High School, used to sell his wares quickly in order to go down to the front row and get football gloves, towels and other gear from his favorite Cowboys players: Michael Irvin and Deion Sanders.
Traitorous Players
Some of the best players in this rivalry played on both teams. Terrell Owens, Charles Haley, Deion Sanders and Ken Norton Jr. crossed over, with Haley even going from Niners to Cowboys and back to Niners again.
Haley, Sanders and Norton Jr. each won a Super Bowl with both teams.
Stadium Issues
While the 49ers toiled away for decades at Candlestick Park, the Cowboys played in not one, but two brand new stadiums during that time. The 49ers moved from old Kezar Stadium to a reconfigured Candlestick in 1971, the same year the Cowboys moved into the newly-built Texas Stadium in Arlington. In 2009, the Cowboys moved into the new Cowboys (now AT&T) Stadium, while the 49ers still had five more seasons to go in the deteriorating 'Stick.
The 2014 49ers have finally gotten their new home, Levi's Stadium, which cost $1.27 billion to build, the third most-expensive NFL stadium ever built. AT&T Stadium carried a price tag of $1.3 billion. The most expensive ever constructed: Metlife Stadium in New York at $1.6 billion.
