Troy Aikman, full name Troy Kenneth Aikman, was a professional American football quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL). He was born on November 21, 1966, in West Covina, California (1993, 1994, and 1996). Before moving with his family to the small town of Henryetta, Oklahoma, where he excelled in high school, Aikman was raised in the Los Angeles suburb of Cerritos.
Coaches Jimmy Johnson of Oklahoma State University and Barry Switzer of the University of Oklahoma both sought him out and later hired him to coach for the Cowboys. Aikman then enrolled at the University of California, Los Angeles, where he was forced to sit out the 1986 season as a transfer student.
Why did Troy Aikman retire so early?
Aikman participated in his sixth straight Pro Bowl in 1996. The following season, he passed for more than 3,000 yards for the fourth time in his career, but the Cowboys were unable to advance farther in the playoffs. Over the following few seasons, a slew of injuries—most notably concussions—limited his performance, and in April 2001 he decided to retire. Aikman then started working as a football analyst on television. He was admitted to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2006.
