The Amazing Story of an Indian Muslim Data Geek who "Saved?!" the Dallas Cowboys
By Lubna Qureishi

 

With five SuperBowl's under their belt, the Dallas Cowboys have long been known as “America’s Team”. However — believe it or not — they were once the laughingstock of the NFL. When the Cowboys were founded in 1960, many of their players were past their prime.

To say the Cowboys had a rough start would be an understatement. In 1960 they were 0-11-1.

Gil Brandt, the Cowboys’ Director of Player Personnel, and coach Tom Landry knew the team needed a better player evaluation process.  At the time, scouts relied on “gut instinct”, often adding subjective and unhelpful statements like “that guy is as strong as an ox” to a scouting report. Players at smaller colleges and historically black colleges were not even considered.

Enter Salam Qureishi

After seeing how IBM brought technology into sports during the 1960 Olympics, the team turned to the now multinational tech company to see if they could help. IBM assigned the project to one of their best statisticians at the time — Abdus Salam Qureishi, my father, a proud Muslim immigrant from India.

At that time, my father hadn't quite grasped American culture — or the appeal of football — just yet. He didn't even know what a football looked like. Even common phrases stumped him. When his boss once encouraged my father to close a deal, telling him to “bring home the bacon”, he looked for a local grocery store to do just that.     

The "Cowboys' Indian"

Just as his relationship with the Cowboys began, its success was in doubt. Dad didn’t fit into their culture of alcohol and wild parties, preferring tea and classical poetry. The team wasn’t sure how someone who didn’t understand the fundamentals of the game could help. Some even called him “ The Cowboys’ Indian.” An editorial cartoon stereo-typically and ridiculously depicted him as a magic carpet-riding, turban-wearing holy man. However, slurs like that weren’t going to sway him, nor Brandt. They supported each other and persevered.

Strength in Numbers

Despite the learning curve, dad turned to his greatest strength to tackle the project, numbers. While Brandt and the Cowboys taught him the intricacies of football, Dad created a system that analyzed players based on nine variables, including mental alertness, character, and competitiveness. In 1964 he tested out his system, spending an intense Thanksgiving weekend outside of IBM’s secretive machine room as programmers used punch cards to assemble the raw data from scouts. After multiple false starts (pun intended), he scored. Though no one realized at the time that years later, watching the Cowboys on Thanksgiving would become an American tradition. 

The Cowboys embraced the system from the top down. It was the first time a professional sports team used such an approach, and it worked! Scouts now had a methodical process for evaluation. Looking beyond the star players at major colleges, even smaller schools were considered. Scouts still had to make judgements but would do so systematically. Among the hidden gems that my father’s system uncovered were future Cowboy greats from unexpected places: Jethro Pugh from Elizabeth City State College, Rayfield Wright from Fort Valley State University, and Calvin Hill from Yale.

Before Moneyball

The Cowboys went on to become one of the most successful franchises in all of sports worldwide, going to the playoffs 20 straight years.

Without knowing it at the time, my father helped pioneer the modern analytics movement that uses data in an unbiased system of evaluation, what we call, “moneyball.” But he also learned to make new friends and embrace many aspects of American culture, including football. Every step of the way, he had my mother beside him, adding her own cultural imprint as she wore a sari to Candlestick Park to cheer on our hometown 49ers.

After success with the Cowboys, dad went on to start his own company, focus on his children’s education, and support the community, playing a key role in the establishment of the Muslim Community Association in Santa Clara, my local masjid.

In 2019, Gil Brandt was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame and invited my family. Dad’s health prevented him from going ( duas appreciated) but I went to Canton to represent him. Brandt couldn’t have been more gracious, even tolerating my 49ers fandom. During his speech, he personally thanked Abdus Salam Qureishi, bringing me to tears, and helping me reflect on dad’s unique contribution to America. 

(Lubna Qureishi is a UPF Board member, and author of a book in development about her father and her family’s journey. – linkedin.com)