National Football League

Cowboys fan favorite RB Robert Newhouse dead at 64

Published Jul. 22, 2014 10:03 p.m. ET

foxsports

Former Dallas Cowboys running back Robert Newhouse died Tuesday at the age of 64, a victim of heart disease.

Newhouse is well-remembered for his powerful thighs and his halfback pass thrown for a touchdown to Golden Richards in Super Bowl XII. He is remembered by those who knew him best as "kind and caring.''

"House was a great football player," NFL Hall-of-Famer and former Cowboys quarterback Roger Staubach told FOX4 on Tuesday. "Off the field, he was a great man, kind and caring, solid as a rock''

Newhouse suffered a stroke in 2010 and had been at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., working to recover. He passed there surrounded by his family.

Newhouse was a second-round pick of the Cowboys in 1972 and the University of Houston product and Texas native forged a 12-year career with the Cowboys that included three Super Bowl appearances and a Super Bowl title in 1977. He was primarily a fullback, blocking for stars like Tony Dorsett.

Newhouse retired from the Cowboys after the 1983 season as the fourth all-time leading rusher in team history with 4,784 rushing yards, 956 receiving yards and 31 touchdowns and went to work for the team. He is a member of the Texas Black Sports Hall of Fame and the University of Houston Athletics Hall of Honor.