Gold Jacket Spotlight: Chuck Howley took unique path to football immortality

CHUCK HOWLEY grew up a typical kid in Wheeling, W.Va., dabbling in every sport accessible to him — from the high school standbys of baseball, basketball, football and wrestling to the less traditional swimming and gymnastics.

Filling out a 6-foot-3, 228-pound frame at West Virginia University, Chuck became the only person in the history of Mountaineers athletics to letter in five sports: track, wrestling, swimming, gymnastics and, of course, football. He was a three-time all-conference selection and the conference player of the year in 1957 on the gridiron.

His tremendous athletic ability and rare combination of size, speed and agility drew the attention of legendary coach George Halas, who selected him in the first round of the 1958 NFL Draft (seventh overall) and envisioned Chuck as another in what would become a lengthy history of dominant Chicago Bears linebackers.

Chuck’s path to NFL greatness, recounted this week in the Gold Jacket Spotlight, would not come easily nor directly, however.

Chuck suffered a knee injury in training camp of his second season, 1959, and despite coming back late in the year and appearing in three games, he would miss the entire 1960 season as well. 

The lingering injury would end Chuck’s career — at least that’s what he and his friends and family thought at the time. Back home in West Virginia, Chuck ran a family gas station and started to live a regular life outside of football.

But like other great athletes, Chuck wondered whether to give the game one more shot. Running a gas station wasn’t as interesting as chasing down runners and creating havoc for opposing offenses.

“I went back because I decided there were better things to do than run a gas station,” Howley said after putting his shoulder pads back on.

In 1961, Howley used the West Virginia University alumni game as an avenue to retest his abilities, and in particular, his surgically repaired knee. Both got passing grades.

Showing he could still compete at a high level, Chuck rejoined the NFL — this this time with the Dallas Cowboys. The franchise had obtained his rights in a trade with Chicago that netted the Bears two picks in the 1963 NFL Draft.
Chuck would go on to play 13 seasons with the Cowboys, earning six selections to the Pro Bowl and five AP All-Pro honors.

A participant in two Super Bowls and a Super Bowl VI winner, Howley shined in big matchups. His landmark accomplishment rests not in winning a Super Bowl, however, but rather as a member of the losing side.

A standout in Super Bowl V with two interceptions and a forced fumble in the Cowboys’ 16-13 loss to the Baltimore Colts, Chuck remains the only person to earn game MVP honors who did not play on the winning team.

Chuck finished his career with 180 regular-season games played, 25 interceptions, 26 sacks (an unofficial statistic at the time) and 18 fumble recoveries. Only Hall of Famer JACK HAM created more turnovers from the outside linebacker position.

Scott Howley, representing his father at Enshrinement Week events this past August, thanked the Cowboys for seeing a future in the sport that included Chuck.

“At the time he believed his football career was over, but their belief in his potential allowed him to make a remarkable comeback,” Scott said from the Enshrinement speech podium. “Their willingness to take a chance on him enabled dad to reach new heights and fully realize his talent. In fact, Coach (Tom) Landry once remarked, ‘I don't know that I've seen anybody better at linebacker than Howley.’”