Countdown to 2023 Enshrinement: Chuck Howley
Enshrinement
Published on : 7/28/2023
By Evan Rogers
Pro Football Hall of Fame
(Third in a series of features on the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Class of 2023)
If CHUCK HOWLEY'S parents had their way, he never would have stepped foot on the gridiron.
Early in high school, Howley and his older brother were waterboys for the Warwood High School football team. Their parents didn’t want them playing the brutish sport, so the young Howley brothers improvised and became student managers — the next-best-thing to being on the actual roster.
Howley recalled that during one game, Warwood’s head football coach ran out of players from the minute 14-member squad. Desperate times called for the services of Howley’s older brother to help Warwood finish the game. In his limited action, the elder Howley ran back a kickoff 90 yards – nearly scoring a touchdown.
“In a small town, you couldn’t keep something like that quiet, so mom and dad found out about it and were quite upset,” Howley later told an interviewer. “However, the following year my mother actually gave me permission to play football, so that’s where it started.”
As a junior in high school, Howley suited up at Warwood for the first time. After struggling his first season, Howley hit a growth spurt the next year and came in 35 pounds heavier as a senior. That season, Howley became an all-state fullback while also excelling in basketball, track and baseball.
Howley’s breakout season earned himself a spot on West Virginia University's football team. Under the instruction of head coach Art Lewis, Howley proved to be one of the most versatile position pieces for the Mountaineers, earning All-Conference honors at guard, center and linebacker. In 1957, Howley was named an All-American at center.
His athletic abilities carried over into several other sports at West Virginia. As a Mountaineer, Howley became the first — and only — five-sport letterman at WVU, competing in track, swimming, gymnastic and wrestling in addition to starring on the football field.
The Chicago Bears selected Howley in the first round of the 1958 NFL Draft in hopes of him becoming another All-Pro linebacker for the storied franchise. Instead, Howley struggled with injuries, and a torn knee ligament limited him to three games during his second professional season. Following the strenuous year, Howley retired from football and returned home to West Virginia to work in a service station pumping gas.
“I had proved a point; I could play pro football,” Howley said. “So, I quit and went into business.”
A year into working at the station, Howley decided to play in a West Virginia alumni game. During the exhibition contest, Howley’s once career-ending knee injury no longer seemed to hinder him. Howley wanted to make a return to the NFL, and the Bears traded him to the Dallas Cowboys, a franchise fresh off a winless expansion season.
During his first season in Dallas, Howley started all 13 games at linebacker and recorded one interception. By his sixth season with the Cowboys, Howley headlined one of the top defensive units in the NFL, Dallas’ “Doomsday Defense.” As a part of the terrorizing unit, Howley earned the label “a load of meanness” due to his intense playing style that featured spearing elbows and tooth-rattling tackles.
“I don’t know that I’ve seen anybody better at linebacker,” Hall of Fame head coach TOM LANDRY once said.
For many, Howley’s most notable achievement came in Super Bowl V against the Baltimore Colts.
In the defensive grudge match that featured 11 turnovers, Baltimore inched past Dallas with a last-second field goal, 16-13. Despite the defeat, Howley stole the show with a pair of momentum-altering interceptions to help him bring home Super Bowl MVP, becoming the first (and still only) member of a losing team to win the honor.
"I figured when you played against the best you had to calm down and be your best,” Howley said later. “You couldn't afford to have an off day."
As a testament to his ability to be in the right place at the right time, Howley said he relied on his “instincts” to make correct reads during game action, even if that meant being out of position. To his credit, the six-time Pro Bowler collected three interceptions across two Super Bowl appearances, tied for the most career interceptions in Super Bowls.
For the one-time waterboy turned standout linebacker, Howley always seemed to deliver when the brightest lights shined.
“There never was, and may never be, another player who is at his best in the biggest games like Chuck (Howley) was,” Hall of Famer and Cowboys owner JERRY JONES said. “His speed and athletic ability made him one of the most versatile defenders in his time.”
Evan Rogers is a student at the University of North Carolina and is an intern this summer at the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Pro Football Hall of Fame
(Third in a series of features on the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Class of 2023)
If CHUCK HOWLEY'S parents had their way, he never would have stepped foot on the gridiron.
Early in high school, Howley and his older brother were waterboys for the Warwood High School football team. Their parents didn’t want them playing the brutish sport, so the young Howley brothers improvised and became student managers — the next-best-thing to being on the actual roster.
Howley recalled that during one game, Warwood’s head football coach ran out of players from the minute 14-member squad. Desperate times called for the services of Howley’s older brother to help Warwood finish the game. In his limited action, the elder Howley ran back a kickoff 90 yards – nearly scoring a touchdown.
“In a small town, you couldn’t keep something like that quiet, so mom and dad found out about it and were quite upset,” Howley later told an interviewer. “However, the following year my mother actually gave me permission to play football, so that’s where it started.”
As a junior in high school, Howley suited up at Warwood for the first time. After struggling his first season, Howley hit a growth spurt the next year and came in 35 pounds heavier as a senior. That season, Howley became an all-state fullback while also excelling in basketball, track and baseball.
Howley’s breakout season earned himself a spot on West Virginia University's football team. Under the instruction of head coach Art Lewis, Howley proved to be one of the most versatile position pieces for the Mountaineers, earning All-Conference honors at guard, center and linebacker. In 1957, Howley was named an All-American at center.
His athletic abilities carried over into several other sports at West Virginia. As a Mountaineer, Howley became the first — and only — five-sport letterman at WVU, competing in track, swimming, gymnastic and wrestling in addition to starring on the football field.
The Chicago Bears selected Howley in the first round of the 1958 NFL Draft in hopes of him becoming another All-Pro linebacker for the storied franchise. Instead, Howley struggled with injuries, and a torn knee ligament limited him to three games during his second professional season. Following the strenuous year, Howley retired from football and returned home to West Virginia to work in a service station pumping gas.
“I had proved a point; I could play pro football,” Howley said. “So, I quit and went into business.”
A year into working at the station, Howley decided to play in a West Virginia alumni game. During the exhibition contest, Howley’s once career-ending knee injury no longer seemed to hinder him. Howley wanted to make a return to the NFL, and the Bears traded him to the Dallas Cowboys, a franchise fresh off a winless expansion season.
During his first season in Dallas, Howley started all 13 games at linebacker and recorded one interception. By his sixth season with the Cowboys, Howley headlined one of the top defensive units in the NFL, Dallas’ “Doomsday Defense.” As a part of the terrorizing unit, Howley earned the label “a load of meanness” due to his intense playing style that featured spearing elbows and tooth-rattling tackles.
“I don’t know that I’ve seen anybody better at linebacker,” Hall of Fame head coach TOM LANDRY once said.
For many, Howley’s most notable achievement came in Super Bowl V against the Baltimore Colts.
In the defensive grudge match that featured 11 turnovers, Baltimore inched past Dallas with a last-second field goal, 16-13. Despite the defeat, Howley stole the show with a pair of momentum-altering interceptions to help him bring home Super Bowl MVP, becoming the first (and still only) member of a losing team to win the honor.
"I figured when you played against the best you had to calm down and be your best,” Howley said later. “You couldn't afford to have an off day."
As a testament to his ability to be in the right place at the right time, Howley said he relied on his “instincts” to make correct reads during game action, even if that meant being out of position. To his credit, the six-time Pro Bowler collected three interceptions across two Super Bowl appearances, tied for the most career interceptions in Super Bowls.
For the one-time waterboy turned standout linebacker, Howley always seemed to deliver when the brightest lights shined.
“There never was, and may never be, another player who is at his best in the biggest games like Chuck (Howley) was,” Hall of Famer and Cowboys owner JERRY JONES said. “His speed and athletic ability made him one of the most versatile defenders in his time.”
Evan Rogers is a student at the University of North Carolina and is an intern this summer at the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
More of this series
- Countdown to 2023 Enshrinement: Rondé Barber
- Countdown to 2023 Enshrinement: Don Coryell
- Countdown to 2023 Enshrinement: Chuck Howley
- Countdown to 2023 Enshrinement: Joe Klecko
- Countdown to 2023 Enshrinement: Darrelle Revis
- Countdown to 2023 Enshrinement: Ken Riley
- Countdown to 2023 Enshrinement: Joe Thomas
- Countdown to 2023 Enshrinement: Zach Thomas
- Countdown to 2023 Enshrinement: DeMarcus Ware
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