Brad Sham, ‘Voice of the Cowboys’: Broadcasting a Season Like No Other

The Chicago Cubs have Harry Caray. The Los Angeles Dodgers have Vin Scully. The Dallas Cowboys have Brad Sham, who has cemented his name in the book of legendary broadcasters to ever call a sports franchise. Now in his 42nd season with the Dallas Cowboys, Brad Sham shares his love for America’s team week after week. 

Becoming the Radio Voice of the Cowboys:

Brad Sham began his journey with the Dallas Cowboys in 1976 when he was hired at KRLD (the flagship station), but being in the broadcast booth was not his primary job.  

“The biggest part of my job was doing a nightly call-in show and I was doing afternoon sports and whatever Frank Gliber [Sports Director at KRLD] didn’t have the time or inclination to do.” 

Sham would soon get an opportunity halfway through the ‘76 season as an analyst next to Verne Lundquist, radio voice of the Cowboys from 1967-1984. Sham would replace Chris Needham, who held the previous position at the time. 

“I was just mostly thrilled to be back in broadcasting and have a little taste of doing something else. [I] realized that was what i really most wanted to do. That was the main thing on my mind,” he said as he discussed the feelings he had during the first game next to Verne Lundquist.

The rest is history. Brad Sham would eventually take over the play-by-play position in 1984. Through the years, he has gotten the opportunity to call five Super Bowls, the 1998 Winter Olympics in Japan, many Cotton Bowls, and much more on such an impressive resume. He even made his acting debut in W. (2008), a feature film about George W. Bush.

Fast forward to today, the radio voice of the Cowboys, who is now almost finished with his 42nd season with the franchise, shared his thoughts over a unique 2020 NFL season. 

“I build a lot of what I do on forming relationships with the people.” Throughout the years, Brad Sham has gained a reputation in the organization of building relationships with the players and coaches during any given year. 

“It’s been crushing,” Sham replied as he reflected on how COVID-19 has impacted his game day preparations. “I’m starting to get a little relationship with [Mike] McCarthy, but I’ve only been around him like, two or three times, and that was back before the world shut down”. 

In a year with a totally new coaching staff and new players filling the locker room week after week, it’s crucial from a broadcasting standpoint, and especially to Mr. Sham, where you can truly hear the connection and care he has for this franchise. 

The Cowboys 2020 Season: 

In a difficult year, Brad Sham reflects on a Cowboys team that’s problems continue to worsen. One of the biggest stories of this season: injuries.

“I personally think the Cowboys have been hit harder than most. But, no team has escaped [injuries], and so you can’t use it as an excuse because everybody’s missing somebody,” said Sham.

Dallas injuries have piled up on both sides of the team, but when you lose your starting quarterback in the way Dak Prescott unfortunately went down, it is a recipe for disaster. With a record of 3-8, the Cowboys have not seen this bad of a season since 2015 when Tony Romo was injured for the majority of the season. 

Now in Week 13, the last time the Cowboys played was on Thanksgiving day. Dallas will have had a total of 12 days between that game and their upcoming battle against the Baltimore Ravens on Tuesday Dec. 8th.

“This extra time has been good not only to heal up more wounds, but I think emotionally they needed to be able to deal with losing Markus [Paul]. That will happen a little bit better with this extra time,” Sham replied when reflecting on the longer break.  

Cowboy players felt the impact of the sudden death of strength and conditioning coach Markus Paul after he suddenly collapsed at the Cowboy’s practice facility on the morning of Nov. 24th. While there are issues on the field that Dallas needs to fix before the Baltimore game, it was important for the team to take time to heal after such an unexpected death of a coach that meant so much to them. 

The Mike McCarthy Era and Beyond:

On the topic of issues so far under the first year in the Mike McCarthy era, the team finding their identity has been towards the top of that list. For the longest time, the Cowboys have been known for running the ball, but Dak Prescott was throwing the ball at least 40 times a game before his injury sidelined him.

“I don’t think that throwing the ball 40 times a game [is] a good idea, and I don’t think that was their idea. I think they did it partly because they were turning the ball over so much — and then their defense was horrible.”

“If you run it when you want to run it and you’re successful doing that, then you can throw it when you want to throw it. You’ll probably score some points, but if you can’t run the ball, you’re probably in big trouble and they’ve demonstrated that.”

“I think that the identity of the team going forward could very well be physical and running the ball. Now that’s not Mike’s history, but he’s got to coach this team and he knows that.”

While the year did not go as planned and with four games left of the season, the Cowboys can only use this time to have young players continue to gain experience. Obviously the goal is to always add on to the already impressive total of Super Bowl wins within the franchise. Brad Sham has been through the ups and downs with this team and he knows what being world champions again could feel like, but as much as he would love to experience another win, he wouldn’t consider the Cowboys a failure if they didn’t.

“As a broadcaster, what you want is for your team to be in contention. You want them to be playing meaningful games in the fourth quarter of the season, and if you do that on a regular basis, there’s a decent chance that you will win a Super Bowl or two along the way.”

“But if you never win one, that doesn’t make you a failure. I point to the Buffalo Bills. The Cowboys beat them twice in the Super Bowl, and those were the 3rd and 4th consecutive years the Bills went to the Super Bowl, and I absolutely refuse to accept that a team that goes to four consecutive Super Bowls as a failure,” Sham exclaimed. 

Although the Cowboys have not made it past the divisional round of the playoffs in 25 years, Brad Sham has seen and called many competitive seasons. 2020 is definitely a bump in the road, but as long as you have a broadcaster like Sham in the booth, it’s easier to digest any final score.

No matter what the result of the season is, for Cowboys fans, it’s a privilege knowing Brad Sham is representing the organization with the utmost class as the iconic radio voice of the Dallas Cowboys. 

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