West Virginia football will be retiring Chuck Howley’s No. 66, they announced on Wednesday.
Howley was recently inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame this year, and was the only five-sport lettermen in school history. Along with football, Howley competed in track, swimming, men’s gymnastics and wrestling.
Howley starred at WVU in football from 1955-1957, playing both offense and defense.
Howley was selected No. 7 overall, in the first round of the 1958 NFL Draft by the Chicago Bears. He played one season before suffering a serious knee injury, causing him to miss the next two seasons.
Howley would join the Dallas Cowboys in 1961, a place he would end up spending 12 seasons at. He was a six-time All Pro selection, compiling 25 interceptions, recovering 18 fumbles in his pro career for 191 yards, which ranked seventh on the NFL’s all-time list, while also sacking the quarterback 26 times.
Howley’s best performance came in Super Bowl V in 1971. Although the Cowboys lost the game, Howley was still named Most Valuable Player. It’s the only time a player on the losing team has ever been given MVP honors.
Howley was named to the inaugural West Virginia University Sports Hall of Fame class in 1991, as well as being a member of the Mountaineer Legends Society in their inaugural class in 2016. He was put into the Cowboys’ Ring of Honor in 1977.
This past August, he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio.
Howley will be the sixth number retired in WVU history, joining Major Harris (9), Ira ‘Rat’ Rodgers (21), Sam Huff (75), Bruce Bosley (77) and Darryl Talley (79).
Current Mountaineer Ja’Quay Hubbard wears 66 currently and he will be the last person to wear that uniform number, finishing his career in it before the number is permanently retired. The ceremony will take place on Nov. 4 in WVU’s game against BYU.
