Charles Louis Howley (born June 28, 1936) is an American former football linebacker who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 15 seasons, primarily with the Dallas Cowboys. He spent his first two seasons with the Chicago Bears, who selected him seventh overall in the 1958 NFL Draft, and played the remainder of his career for the Cowboys. Recognized as an original member of the Doomsday Defense, Howley received six Pro Bowl and five first-team All-Pro selections, while appearing in two consecutive Super Bowls and winning Super Bowl VI. Howley was also named the MVP of Super Bowl V and is the only player on a losing team to receive the award. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2023.
Early years
Howley was born and raised in Wheeling, West Virginia. He initially enrolled at Wheeling Central Catholic High School, before transferring to Warwood High School. He lettered in football, basketball, and baseball. He graduated in 1954.
In football, he was first-team all-state and all-OVAC as a senior. As a teenager he also competed in gymnastics.
College career
Howley accepted a football scholarship from West Virginia University in Morgantown, where he was a three-time All-Southern Conference selection and the conference player of the year in 1957. At WVU, Howley joined the Mu Mu chapter of the Sigma Chi Fraternity.
Howley played guard and center during his three years at varsity, in which the Mountaineers compiled a 21–8–1 record, including a 21–7 victory over Penn State, West Virginia's last until 1984. He played in the East-West Shrine Game and the Senior Bowl, which helped him get noticed by the Chicago Bears. He also was in the College All-Star Game in August 1958, a 35–19 win over the defending champion Detroit Lions.
He is the only athlete in school history to letter in five sports: football, track, wrestling, gymnastics, and swimming. He won the Southern Conference one-meter diving championship.
Howley was inducted into the West Virginia Sports Hall of Fame, the Texas 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.
Professional career
Chicago Bears (1958–1959) Howley was selected seventh overall in the 1958 NFL draft by the Chicago Bears, playing for two seasons before retiring after what appeared to be a career-ending knee injury he sustained in August 1959, at training camp in Rensselaer, Indiana. He played just three games late in that season and was inactive in 1960. He returned to West Virginia that year to take a job running a filling station, planning to permanently retire from professional football.
Howley decided to make a comeback in 1961 following a West Virginia alumni game. The Bears traded his rights to the Dallas Cowboys in exchange for second (#20-Steve Barnett) and ninth (#118-Monte Day) round draft choices in the 1963 NFL draft.
Dallas Cowboys (1960–1973) 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.”
Although Howley started in 1961 and 1962 as a strongside linebacker, in 1963 he switched to weakside linebacker. At the conclusion of the 1963 season, Howley was named to The 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 in .
Howley played with the Cowboys for 165 games over thirteen seasons, in two NFL championship games and two Super Bowls. He was also named most valuable player of Super Bowl V, after intercepting two passes and forcing a fumble in the Cowboys' 16-13 loss to the Colts, 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.
The following season, Dallas made it back to Super Bowl VI, and Howley recorded a fumble recovery and a 41-yard interception in the Cowboys 24-3 win over the Miami Dolphins.