DALLAS — Lee Roy Jordan, a ferocious, hard-hitting linebacker who anchored the Dallas Cowboys’ “Doomsday Defense” for 14 seasons, died on Aug. 30. He was 84.

Jordan died at a Dallas hospice facility from kidney failure, his son, David, told The Dallas Morning News.

The first player to be inducted into the Cowboys’ Ring of Honor by team owner Jerry Jones in 1989, Jordan played in 187 regular-season games for Dallas from 1963 to 1976 – including 154 consecutive starts at middle linebacker. He led the Cowboys to 10 playoff berths and three Super Bowls. The Cowboys won Super Bowl VI as Jordan, Bob Lilly and the rest of Dallas’ defense stifled the Miami Dolphins in a 24-3 victory.

Jordan was a five-time Pro Bowl selection and had 32 career interceptions, three of which he returned for touchdowns.

“With fearless instincts, leadership and a relentless work ethic, Jordan was the embodiment of the Cowboys’ spirit,” Jones said in a statement. “Off the field, his commitment to his community was the centerpiece of his life after retiring in 1976.

“His legacy lives on as a model of dedication, integrity and toughness.”

In college, Jordan was instrumental in leading Alabama to its first college football national championship under Paul “Bear” Bryant in 1961.

He finished fourth in voting for the Heisman Trophy as a senior, and made 31 tackles in the Crimson Tide’s 17-0 victory against Oklahoma in the 1963 Orange Bowl to complete a 10-1 season.

Jordan was the Cowboys’ first-round pick – and sixth overall -- in the 1963 NFL draft.

He was born on April 27, 1941, in the south-central Alabama town of Excel. His parents ran a farm with livestock and grew several kinds of crops. The family did not have electricity until Lee Roy was 12.

“A football game’s still like a day off to me,” he told The Los Angeles Times in 1975. “I grew up picking cotton.”

Jordan was the NFC’s Defensive Player of the Year in 1973. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1983.

In Peter Golenbock’s 1997 book “Cowboys Have Always Been My Heroes: The Definitive Oral History of America’s Team,” offensive lineman John Wilbur described Jordan as “a dirty, mouthy guy,” “the redneck of the team” and “the team snitch.”

“But I’ll tell you what,” Wilbur told Golenbock. “He was a hell of a guy to have on your team. He played hard and was a great team leader.”

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