Chuck Howley

Chuck Howley retired from professional football after 15 games over two seasons (1958-59) with the Chicago Bears following a knee injury that also cost him the entire 1960 season. 

Still passionate about the game, Howley decided to test his knee and play in an alumni game at his alma mater, West Virginia University, in 1961. The positive result ignited a spark to give the game one more try at the highest level. 

“I went back (to pro football) because I decided there were better things to do than run a gas station,” Howley told a reporter years later. 

Neither he nor the Dallas Cowboys, who obtained his rights from the Bears for two future draft picks, regretted the decision. 

Fully healed, Howley became a model of durability in his second round in the NFL. He missed only four regular-season contests from 1961 to 1972, anchoring an outside linebacker position for 176 games, a figure that included 11 playoff starts from 1966-1971 as the Cowboys reached two Super Bowls and the first two NFL Championship Games. 

In Super Bowl V, Howley intercepted two passes and forced a fumble in the 16-13 loss to the Baltimore Colts. He was selected as the game’s Most Valuable Player and remains the only player from the losing team to receive that award. 

The next season, the Cowboys won the Super Bowl with a 24-3 victory over Miami. Howley intercepted another pass and recovered a fumble as the “Doomsday Defense” held the Dolphins to 185 total yards. 

Howley played one game in 1973, but a knee injury he sustained late in the 1972 season on a low block effectively ended his career. 

In 180 career regular-season games, Howley intercepted 25 passes, registered 26 sacks (according to later compilation) and recovered 18 fumbles, which he returned for 191 yards – a total that still ranks seventh on the NFL’s all-time list. 

Howley was named first-team All-Pro in five consecutive seasons (1966-70) and was selected to six consecutive Pro Bowls (1966-71). He was elected to the Cowboys Ring of Honor in 1977.