PHILADELPHIA -- Former Temple offensive lineman Jim Cooper was inducted into the City All Star Chapter of the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame in a ceremony at Rhawnhurst Caterers on Thursday evening, April 6. Cooper played four seasons for the Owls under head coach Wayne Hardin from 1973-76.
Temple had three consecutive winning campaigns during Coopers' tenure on North Broad Street, posting a 9-1 record in 1973, an 8-2 mark in 1974 and a 6-5 record in 1975.
Cooper and teammate Joe Klecko were both selected in the sixth round of the 1977 NFL Draft after concluding their careers in Cherry & White. Klecko was picked by the New York Jets and Cooper was the choice of the Dallas Cowboys.
As a rookie, Cooper earned a Super Bowl rings as the Cowboys defeated the Denver Broncos, 27-10, in Super Bowl XII on January 15, 1978. He would eventually play ten seasons in Dallas under legendary head coach Tom Landry. The Philadelphia native and Cardinal Dougherty graduate played in two Super Bowls and five NFC Championship games while blocking for future Hall of Famers Tony Dorsett and Roger Staubach.
