Ex-cowboys Ware, Howley make Hall
PHOENIX — The 2023 Class of the Pro Football Hall of Fame saw a pair of Cowboys elected who were dominant defenders during their playing careers but as soft-spoken as you can get away from the field.
Demarcus Ware, the Cowboys' all-time sack leader, and Chuck Howley, the first linebacker who made wearing No. 54 legendary, were part of a nine-man class announced Thursday night.
Pampa, Texas native, linebacker Zach Thomas, who played 13 NFL seasons, including one with the Cowboys, was also selected .
Ware, Howley and Zach Thomas join a new class of Hall of Famers that also includes first-time finalists Joe Thomas and Darrelle Revis and return finalist Ronde Barber. Senior candidates Joe Klecko and Ken Riley, along with coaching candidate Don Coryell, also got voted into the Hall and will be inducted in Canton, Ohio, this summer.
Darren Woodson, the Cowboys' all-time leading tackler and a finalist for the first time since he was eligible for the Hall of Fame, didn't get in.
Ware, ninth in NFL history with 138½ sacks, finished a 12-year career as one of the dominant pass rushers in his era. He was also a nine-time Pro Bowler with four All-pro selections.
“He was the face of the Dallas Cowboys' defense,” Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said in introducing Ware.
Ware led the NFL in sacks in 2008 and 2010 and was named to the All-2000 decade team. After spending nine seasons in Dallas, Ware was released in a cost-cutting move.
But Ware signed with Denver and helped the Broncos to a Super Bowl title in 2015.
Everything Ware wanted to accomplish — individual awards, a title and now the Hall of Fame honor — speaks to what he didn't believe was possible when the Cowboys made him a first-round pick in 2003 out of Troy.
Ware was never one to boast about what he could or couldn't do. He let others speak for him, but when Ware did talk, his voice was quiet.
“I always said my pads talk,” Ware said. “My pads did the talking. I don't have to be rambunctious and talk. Now putting this yellow jacket on, being part of the Hall of Fame, it talks. I don't have to say anything.”
Ware thought he was a first-ballot Hall of Famer and missed out last year after being a finalist. He didn't express any disappointment and instead kept a beaming smile and an upbeat attitude about the Hall of Fame process.
Ware knew his time would come, so he remained supportive of the process.
Now Ware doesn't have to be so quiet. He can talk proudly about a career that began with the coach who believed in his abilities, Bill Parcells, and an owner and general manager in Jones who had a vision for what he could bring.
Ware was a vicious defensive end coming out of college and only moved to outside linebacker to maximize his quickness off the ball and power when he pushed against tackles and tight ends.
When you think about the standards for pass rushers in Cowboys' history, Ware's name is among the top of the list of great players.
Howley wasn't a Cowboys draft pick. In fact, he was working at a gas station in West Virginia, thinking his career was over following a knee injury he suffered while playing for the Chicago Bears. After playing in an alumni football game at his alma mater, West Virginia, Howley felt he could play football again.
The Cowboys worked a trade for Howley, and coach Tom Landry believed in moving Howley from strongside linebacker to weakside linebacker during his career. Howley played 15 NFL seasons, 13 with the Cowboys, and provided stability in the middle of the field. He was named to six Pro Bowls and five All-pro teams. In Super Bowl V, his two interceptions and a fumble recovery earned him the MVP award. The Cowboys lost to the Colts in Super
Bowl V, but it was hard to ignore the work of Howley.
In reality, the heartbreak of that loss for the Cowboys was just another of hard luck losses. Howley was part of a Cowboys team that lost in the famed Ice Bowl the 1967 NFL championship game. Dallas was defeated by Green Bay in what was then called the coldest game in league history.
Like Ware, Howley rarely spoke about his accomplishments. He rarely said why he was good. There were few discussions about how he was a five sport letterman in high school. From 1967to-1972, he compiled 17 interceptions.
“We had to find out through the newsreels,” Howley's son Scott said. “He's humble. Very private. I asked him about the Ice Bowl one time. He said, ‘It was cold.' It took a lot to get him to elaborate on anything.
“We picked up things by listening to what other people would share. He really wasn't one of those people who talked about himself.”
Howley and Ware won't have to speak about themselves. There is no need to pump up their accomplishments.
The gold jacket, the bust and ring will say it all.
“It's been a career goal of his,” Scott Howley said. “To have it happen, it's just surreal.”