Chuck Howley's No. 66 to be Retired

Wednesday afternoon, the West Virginia University Department of Intercollegiate Athletics announced Chuck Howley's No. 66 will be retired during the Brigham Young game on Nov. 4 with an on-field presentation with Howley’s son, Scott, and his family is planned during. His No. 66 will permanently be displayed on the façade of Milan Puskar Stadium’s Diversified Energy Terrace with the other five retired numbers.

He is a member of WVU’s inaugural 1991 WVU Sports Hall of Fame class, joining the likes of Sam Huff, Ira Rodgers and Jerry West in that famous first class. He is also an inaugural member of the Mountaineer Legends Society, which began in 2016, and was also enshrined in the famous Dallas Cowboys Ring of Honor in 1977.

Howley is a letter winner in track, swimming, men's gymnastics, wrestling and football, marking the first and last Mountaineers to win letters in five different sports. He was a sprinter and weight man on the track team, a trampolinist in gymnastics, won the Southern Conference 1-meter diving championship in swimming and competed on Steve Harrick's Mountaineer wrestling team as a heavyweight.

Howley played under the direction of Art "Pappy" Lewis for three season, compiling a 21-8-1 mark including a 21-7 victory over Penn State in 1955 - the last time West Virginia defeated the Nittany Lions until 1984.

Howley began his collegiate career left guard on offense and middle guard on defense before switching to center and linebacker in 1956 before moving back to guard for his senior season in 1957. He also kicked off and was occasionally used as a punter as well.

Howley received All-America recognition as a senior, captained the All-Southern Conference team and was awarded the Jacobs Blocking Trophy, presented to the top blocker in each college football conference.

He out-polled West Virginia All-American basketball player Hot Rod Hundley and nationally known amateur golf champion Bill Campbell to be named the state's Amateur Athlete of the Year for 1957.

Howley played in three college all-star games -- the East-West Shrine Game, the College Football All-Star Game and the Senior Bowl.

The Chicago Bears selected Howley in the first round of the 1958 draft (No. 7 overall), making him just the third Mountaineer football player at the time to be selected in the first round by an NFL organization.

The Warwood, West Virginia native was selected 11th overall in the 1958 draft by the Chicago Bears but after one season, Howley suffered a season-ending injury during training camp, which kept him sidelined for two seasons.

In 1961, Dallas Cowboys head coach Tom Landry reached out to Howley, moved him to outside linebacker and became a staple of the legendary "Doomsday Defense."

In 13 seasons with Dallas, he registered 24 interceptions, 26 sacks, and was selected to six Pro Bowls and earned six consecutive All-Pro selections. Howley also became the fourth player in franchise history to be inducted into the Dallas Cowboys Ring of Honor (1976).

Howley played in the 1967 NFL championship game against the Green Bay Packers, known as the “Ice Bowl” which is considered to be one of the most memorable games in NFL history.

Despite losing Super Bowl V in 1971 against the Baltimore Colts 16-13, Howley still earned MVP honors, marking the first and only time in Super Bowl history a player on a losing team won the award.

In 1972, the Cowboys again reached the Super Bowl, this time defeating the Miami Dolphins. Howley had another outstanding game with a 41-yard interception return, but quarterback Roger Staubach won the MVP award that year.

On August 5, 2023, Howley reached the pinnacle of his illustrious career when he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio.

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