 Signed photo of Howley with theDallas Cowboys | |||||||||||
| No. 54 | |||||||||||
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| Position | Linebacker | ||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||
| Born | (1936-06-28)June 28, 1936 (age 89) Wheeling, West Virginia, U.S. | ||||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | ||||||||||
| Weight | 228 lb (103 kg) | ||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||
| High school | Warwood (Wheeling) | ||||||||||
| College | West Virginia (1954–1957) | ||||||||||
| NFL draft | 1958: 1st round, 7th overall pick | ||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||
| Awards and highlights | |||||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||||
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Charles Louis Howley (born June 28, 1936) is an American former professionalfootball player who was alinebacker for 15 seasons in theNational Football League (NFL), primarily with theDallas Cowboys. He spent his first two seasons with theChicago Bears, who selected him seventh overall in the1958 NFL draft, and played the remainder of his career for the Cowboys. Recognized as an original member of theDoomsday Defense, Howley received sixPro Bowl and five first-teamAll-Pro selections, while appearing in two consecutiveSuper Bowls and winningSuper Bowl VI. Howley was also named theMVP ofSuper Bowl V and is the only player on a losing team to receive the award. He was inducted into thePro Football Hall of Fame in 2023.
Howley was born and raised inWheeling, West Virginia. He initially enrolled atWheeling Central Catholic High School, before transferring toWarwood High School. Helettered infootball,basketball, andbaseball. In football, he was first-team all-state and all-OVAC as a senior. As a teenager he also competed ingymnastics.[1] He graduated in 1954.[2]
Howley accepted a football scholarship fromWest Virginia University inMorgantown, where he was a three-time All-Southern Conference selection and the conference player of the year in 1957.[3] At WVU, Howley joined the Mu Mu chapter of the Sigma Chi Fraternity.
Howley playedguard andcenter during his three years at varsity, in which the Mountaineers compiled a 21–8–1 record, including a 21–7 victory overPenn State, West Virginia's last until1984. He played in theEast-West Shrine Game and theSenior Bowl, which helped him get noticed by theChicago Bears.[4] He also was in theCollege All-Star Game in August 1958, a 35–19 win over thedefending championDetroit Lions.[5]
He is the only athlete in school history to letter in five sports: football,track,wrestling,gymnastics, andswimming. He won theSouthern Conference one-meterdiving championship.
Howley was inducted into theWest Virginia Sports Hall of Fame, theTexas Sports Hall of Fame, the West Virginia University Athletics Hall of Fame, the Ohio Valley Athletic Conference Hall of Fame and the West Virginia University Academy of Distinguished Alumni.[6] On November 4, 2023, West Virginia retired his number 66.
Howley was selected seventh overall in the1958 NFL draft by theChicago Bears, playing for two seasons before retiring after what appeared to be a career-ending knee injury he sustained in August1959, at training camp inRensselaer, Indiana.[7] He played just three games late in that season and was inactive in1960.[8] He returned to West Virginia that year to take a job running agas station, planning to permanently retire from professional football.
Howley decided to make a comeback in1961 following a West Virginia alumni game. The Bears traded his rights to theDallas Cowboys in exchange for second (#20-Steve Barnett) and ninth (#118-Monte Day) round draft choices in the1963 NFL draft.[8][9]
Dallas had gone 0–11–1 in their inaugural season prior to acquiring Howley, but he was still eager to play for the new team. "I went back because I decided there were better things to do than run a gas station," he said. "Also, I thought it would be a unique opportunity to play for Dallas, a team that was just getting started.”[10]
Although Howley started in1961 and1962 as astrongside linebacker, in1963 he switched toweakside linebacker. At the conclusion of the 1963 season, Howley was named toThe Sporting News All-East NFL team for the first time. Howley holds the record for the second-most interceptions by a linebacker in a season with six, which he accomplished in1968.[11]
Howley played with the Cowboys for 165 games over thirteen seasons, in twoNFL championship games and twoSuper Bowls. He was also namedmost valuable player ofSuper Bowl V, after intercepting two passes and forcing a fumble in the Cowboys' 16–13 loss to theColts, making him the first defensive player and non-quarterback to receive the honor. To date, he is also the only player from the losing team to win the award. Howley stated that he did not care about the award, which meant nothing to him since Dallas had lost, and only accepted the honor because it included the awarding of a brand-new station wagon that he could give to his wife as a gift.[12]
The following season, Dallas made it back toSuper Bowl VI, and Howley recorded a fumble recovery and a 41-yard interception in the Cowboys 24–3 win over theMiami Dolphins.[13]
During his career, Howleyintercepted 25 passes, returning them for 399 yards and twotouchdowns. He finished with more than 100 yards in interception returns for both the1968 and1971 seasons. He also recovered 18 fumbles, returning them for 191 yards and onetouchdown. He is second in Cowboys' history with his 17 fumbles recovered. His 97-yard return of a fumble during a game against theAtlanta Falcons on October 2, 1966, is still the second longest in Cowboys history. He also had a large number of tackles andquarterback sacks, but these statistics were not compiled until after Howley's career ended so his unofficial sack total is 26.5 according to theDallas Cowboys with a career-high of 5.5 sacks in1965. Howley was named first-teamAll-Pro five times in his career, was a six-timePro Bowler and was named to the All-Eastern Conference team in1963.[14]
Howley suffered a left knee injury from a crackback block byCharley Taylor in the win over rivalRedskins late in the1972 regular season.[15] He missed theplayoffs and retired in June.[16][17] In 1973, he made a brief return to the team and appeared in one game, before retiring for good.[18] His thirteen seasons for the Cowboys ties him for the second longest tenure in franchise history. In 1977, Howley was inducted into theRing of Honor atTexas Stadium, the fourth player to receive that honor. He also was inducted into theTexas Sports Hall of Fame.[19]
In 2007, he was among the 17 finalists to be seniors candidates for thePro Football Hall of Fame. On August 17, 2022, he was announced as one of the three finalists nominated by the senior committee for induction in the 2023 Hall of Fame class.[20] On February 9, 2023, Howley was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame[21] and was formally enshrined on August 5, with his son Scott delivering a speech on his behalf.
Howley married Nancy on June 28, 1958.[22]
Following retirement, he ran a uniform rental business in Dallas.[23] In 1977, Howley founded Happy Hollow Ranch, a cattle and quarter horse operation nearWills Point, Texas.[24]
Howley currently suffers from late-stage dementia.[25][26]