Chuck Howley. Photo courtesy of Dallas Cowboys.
Chuck Howley played for the Dallas Cowboys before the days of high-dollar player contracts and glitzy team practice facilities. The All-Pro linebacker earned the appreciation of his coaches and fellow players through grit and determination, and now he has the honor he has long deserved — he was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and he’ll be officially enshrined Aug. 5 in Canton, Ohio.
Howley, now 86, suffers from late-stage dementia, so former teammates Roger Staubach, Cliff Harris, Charlie Waters, Bob Lilly, Lee Roy Jordan and Mel Renfro visited him to share the news.
Howley’s son Scott took his dad’s place on stage at the nationally televised NFL Honors ceremony, and when he stepped into the national spotlight, folks in Lake Highlands took to social media to send their congratulations. The Howleys, like many Cowboys players and coaches, lived in our neighborhood back when the team practiced at Forest and Abrams.
“Scott was in one of my classes at Northlake Elementary,” recalled Cindy Hulla. “I remember when [Mr. Howley] came to eat lunch with his son at school and autographed my lunch bag.”
Linda Sutton Thrasher remembered babysitting for the children of Dan Reeves, Lee Roy Jordan and other players, who would often bring the kids to one house while they all went out together.
“They came back and all the kids were having a great night running around playing and laughing,” she said. “We were all neighbors. Chuck Howley was on the corner at the end of Tanglevine. I loved all the babysitting money…75 cents an hour. Dad said I should charge them double, but I thought that was outrageous.”
“My sister, Cathy, worked for Chuck Howley Dry Cleaners at one time,” remembered Marsha Zapp Ammons. “Brought home one of Drew Pearson’s jerseys (torn, of course).”
Scott recalled those early days, and the way the team practiced on a field surrounded by a corrugated metal fence. There was no daycare onsite, so players would bring their children to practice and take turns watching each other’s kids.
“The camaraderie he had with his teammates really says it all,” Scott told WOWK TV. “He was very close with all of his teammates, and they still keep in touch with each other to this day. It’s like we have this whole extended family.”
It’s unclear how much Howley will recall about his visit by Staubach and the rest of the Cowboys alums, but Scott believes his dad understands and appreciates the gravity of honor.
“This has been a lifetime dream of his, to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. I mean it was the one thing that’s always sort of been on his bucket list, and I do think a part of him still would remember it and remember the significance of that moment.”
Howley, who played for the Cowboys from 1961-1973, remains the only player ever to be named Super Bowl MVP when his team didn’t win the game (the Cowboys won the next year). He’s a 6-time Pro Bowler named to the Sports Illustrated 1960s All-Decade Team.
When Howley was inducted into the Dallas Cowboys Ring of Honor in 1977, only Bob Lilly, Don Meredith and Don Perkins had earned the right to have their names displayed around Texas Stadium. At the ceremony, Coach Tom Landry gushed about Howley’s character and accomplishments.
“I don’t know of anyone who’s more deserving of this honor than Chuck Howley. Not only was he a great pro and a great team man, more important than that, he’s a great person. He did probably as much as anybody in helping Dallas build a great franchise.”
