 | |||||||||||||
| No. 73 | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Offensive tackle | ||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||
| Born | (1943-09-12)September 12, 1943 Little Rock, Arkansas, U.S. | ||||||||||||
| Died | January 5, 2022(2022-01-05) (aged 78) | ||||||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | ||||||||||||
| Weight | 265 lb (120 kg) | ||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||
| High school | Farmington (NM) | ||||||||||||
| College | Oklahoma | ||||||||||||
| NFL draft | 1965: 2nd round, 28th overall pick | ||||||||||||
| AFL draft | 1965: 2nd round, 15th overall pick | ||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||
| Awards and highlights | |||||||||||||
| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||
Ralph Eugene Neely (September 12, 1943 – January 5, 2022) was an American professionalfootball player who was anoffensive tackle for theDallas Cowboys in theNational Football League (NFL). He played 13 seasons and 172 games for the Cowboys from 1965 to 1977.
Neely was born on September 12, 1943, inLittle Rock, Arkansas.[1] His family moved toNew Mexico for the sake of his brother, who suffered fromasthma.[2] Neely attendedFarmington High School in New Mexico, where he was an All-Statetackle for two years (1960-61) infootball, and a standout All-Statecenter for thebasketball team.[3][4] He went to the state AA football championship game in 1960. He was also on the school’s baseball team and was ashot putter intrack and field.[5]
Neely was inducted into Farmington’s sports Hall of Fame in 1987. He was honored by Farmington during a ceremony in 2016 for his career and time at Farmington. He presented Farmington with a golden football as part of the NFL’s Super Bowl High School Honor Roll, Neely having played in four Super Bowls.[5] In 2014, he was inducted into the New Mexico Sports Hall of Fame.[6]
He was recruited by theUniversity of Oklahoma, where he playedcollege football under coachesBud Wilkinson andGomer Jones. Neely was a 261-poundtackle who played both ways, as a dominant performer on defense and an excellent blocker on offense. He was named theBig Eight sophomore lineman of the year and was a two-timeAll-American and an All-Conference selection in both 1963-64.[7][2] He earned his degree with a double major in accounting and finance.[2]
Neely was one of threeSooners stars who missed the 1965Gator Bowl game againstFlorida State University. Neely,fullback Jim Grisham andhalfbackLance Rentzel signed with professional teams before the game, and were ruled ineligible for the contest, which Florida State won 36–19 on the strength of fourtouchdown catches byFred Biletnikoff.[8][9][10]
In1965, he wasdrafted in the second round of both the1965 NFL draft (by theBaltimore Colts) and the1965 AFL draft (by theHouston Oilers).[11][12][13] On August 29,1965, the Colts traded his NFL contractual rights to theDallas Cowboys in exchange forBilly Lothridge and a fourth-round selection ( No. 54-Rod Sherman) in the1966 NFL draft.[14]
Neely accepted the Oilers contract offer (which also included rights to own a Houston gas station), but requested it be kept secret to remain eligible to play in theGator Bowl. When he learned that the Colts traded his rights to the Cowboys, he began negotiating with Dallas, and returned his check to the Oilers. Litigation ensued between the Oilers and Cowboys in regards to his rights.[15][16]
A rookie in1965, he joined the Cowboys just as they were beginning their ascent in theNFL, became an immediate starter atright offensive tackle and was named to theNFL All-Rookie team.[8] With great quickness for his size, he became a dominant player on the Cowboysoffensive line for 13 seasons.
One of the terms of the merger agreement between theNFL and theAFL was that the Neely contract dispute be resolved. In1966, the Cowboys finally agreed with the Oilers to send multiple draft choices (a first ( No. 23-Tom Regner), second (No. 49-Roy Hopkins) and two fifth round choices (No. 119-Willie Parker and No.127-Zeke Moore) in the1967 NFL draft), pay all of the court costs and to start the annual pre-season game theGovernor's Cup between the two teams.[17]
Neely was a four-timeAll-Pro and a two-timePro Bowler in1967 and1969.[18][19][20][21][22][23] In 1969, backup tight endRayfield Wright replaced an injured Neely at right tackle for three games.[24][1][25] In 1970, Neely was moved toright guard duringtraining camp, because of the improved play of Rayfield Wright at right tackle, in order for the team to have the best player combination possible in theoffensive line.[citation needed] Neely originally moved to right guard to replace an injured teammate.[8] He later replacedTony Liscio who had a back injury atleft offensive tackle during the fifth game of that season.[citation needed] The move became permanent and Neely manned the position until1977,[1] while continuing to be one of the NFL's premieroffensive linemen.
He was injured halfway into the Cowboys victorious1971Super Bowl season, when he fractured his left leg in an off-road motorcycle accident; forcing him to miss the last 7 games, the playoffs and the Super Bowl. Liscio came out of retirement to replace Neely.[26][27][28][1]
After moving from right to left tackle, Neely was not selected to the Pro Bowl or as an All-Pro again. The Cowboys president and general managerTex Shramm observed that Neely’s move to left tackle hampered his effectiveness, but he did it for the sake of the team. Shramm called Neely’s willingness to change positions to his personal detriment “‘one of the great sacrifices in sport…”[8]
In1977, Neely retired after the Cowboys wonSuper Bowl XII against theDenver Broncos.[29] He was selected to theNFL 1960s All-Decade Team,[30] though Neely has yet to join his bookend partner Wright, in thePro Football Hall of Fame or in theDallas Cowboys Ring of Honor.[31][32][33]
In 2018, theProfessional Football Researchers Association named Neely to the PFRA Hall of Very Good Class of 2018.[34]
Neely suffered a series of serious health problems during and after his playing career. He joined alawsuit against the NFL for the consequences ofhead trauma andconcussions suffered as a player, which settled in 2016.[35][36] Neely died on January 5, 2022, at the age of 78.[37] He was living withdementia and the effects ofchronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) prior to his death.[38]
His linemate Rayfield Wright similarly had numerous concussions as a player, suffered a long period of dementia as well as seizures later in his life, and joined the head injury lawsuit against the NFL. Wright died just a few months after Neely.[24]