Legendary Cowboys LB Chuck Howley named Hall of Fame senior finalist

Howley has been in the Ring of Honor for over 40 years and holds one rare NFL accolade all to himself; he’s now one step away from Canton. | From @ToddBrock24f7

A Cowboys legend who holds the rarest of NFL distinctions is one step closer to Canton.

Linebacker Chuck Howley, who played for Dallas from 1961 to 1973 and has already been in the franchise’s Ring of Honor for over four decades, is now a Senior finalist for the Pro Football Hall of Fame, it was announced Wednesday. Jets defensive lineman Joe Klecko and Bengals quarterback Ken Riley advanced as well, out of a group of 12 senior candidates.

Howley started his pro career with the Chicago Bears in 1958. A first-round pick out of West Virginia, he retired after just two seasons following a training camp injury in 1960 and returned home to a blue-collar job running a filling station. But when he decided to make a gridiron comeback in 1961, the Bears traded Howley’s rights to the Cowboys, who were just a year old at that time.

“I went back because I decided there were better things to do than run a gas station,” Howley said. “Also, I thought it would be a unique opportunity to play for Dallas, a team that was just getting started.”

It proved to be a brilliant decision.

Howley played 165 games for the Cowboys over the next 13 seasons, earning six Pro Bowl nods and being named a first-team All-Pro five times. He helped the franchise win its first title in Super Bowl VI, recovering a fumble and an interception in the 24-3 win over Miami as part of the smothering “Doomsday” defense.

But it was the year prior, in Super Bowl V, that Howley put his name in the record books in a most unique way.

Despite the Cowboys’ 16-13 loss to the Colts in an error-filled contest, it was Howley who won the game’s MVP award after picking off two Baltimore passes. He was the first non-quarterback to win Super Bowl MVP honors and remains to this day the only player from a losing team to receive the accolade.

In typical Howley fashion, he said afterward that the only reason he accepted the MVP award was because it came with a brand-new station wagon. He gave it to his wife as a gift.

Howley, now 86, still ranks second in Cowboys history with 17 fumble recoveries over his career and has the franchise’s second-longest fumble return, a 97-yarder versus Atlanta in 1966.

The Cowboys inducted Howley into their Ring of Honor in 1977, just four years after he retired for the second time.

It will now be up to the Hall of Fame’s full selection committee- in January- to decide whether his achievements are enough to finally put him in Canton with the Class of 2023. Howley needs 80% approval for enshrinement.

Cowboys defensive back Everson Walls was among the nine Senior semifinalists who did not advance to the finalist round this year. Running back Dan Reeves, a longtime teammate of Howley’s in Dallas before going on to a lengthy head coaching career, is still a semifinalist in the Coach/Contributor category.

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