Chuck Howley’s 1971 Topps Card
Strange things often happen in sports.
On Sunday, when the past Super Bowl Most Valuable Players were honored before the championship contest one of the players remains unique in the history of football.
It occurred during Super Bowl V between the Dallas Cowboys and the Baltimore Colts on Jan. 17, 1971.
Chuck Howley was a linebacker for the Cowboys, who was honored from his home on Sunday, was selected as the MVP after intercepting two passes and recovering a fumble. Not a bad afternoon.
As a result of his post-game award, Howley became the first to do three different things in football history with one of them being the most unusual.
Howley was the first non-quarterback and first defensive player to win the MVP. Both of those feats have been duplicated several times, but the other item sets him apart from all of the other MVPs.
He is still the only player from a losing team to be named the Super Bowl’s top performer.
Super Bowl V
Dallas led early 6-0 on a pair of field goals by Mike Clark, but the Colts tied the contest on a 75-yard touchdown pass from Johnny Unitas to John Mackey.
Duane Thomas gave the Cowboys a 13-6 lead at halftime after a 7-yard scoring pass from Craig Morton.
The game stayed that way until the final period when the Colts tied it at 13-13 on a 2-run by Tom Nowatzke.
In the end, it came down to a 32-yard field goal attempt with five seconds left. Jim O’Brien, who missed an extra point in the first half, made the kick put Howley in his unique place in the annuals of football.
Started in Chicago
Howley was drafted in the first round by the Chicago Bears in 1958 and he stayed there through the 1959 season.
After sitting out the 1960 season, he was traded to the Cowboys where he would finish his career at the end of 1973. He finished with 25 interceptions and 18 fumble recoveries.
With Dallas he would be a six-time Pro Bowl selection and eventually help the Cowboys win Super Bowl VI over the Miami Dolphins 24-3. Roger Staubach was named the MVP of that game.
He was placed into the Cowboys Ring of Honor in 1977.
The back of Chuck Howley’s 1971 Topps Card
The 1971 Topps Card
Many of the Topps football cards from 1971 feature a lot of information about the players.
The front of the card designates him as an All-Pro because of the red and blue border, but the back is packed with facts.
There are plenty of stats, but one can also find out that he married his high school sweetheart and many items about his time in college at West Virginia.