Charles Louis Howley (born June 28, 1936) is an American former football player who was a linebacker 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, before playing 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 will be inducted in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2023. Early years Born and raised in Wheeling, West Virginia, Howley attended Warwood High School and graduated in 1954. He lettered in football, High school basketball, and baseball. In football, he was first-team all-state and all-OVAC as a senior. As a teenager he competed in gymnastics. He played college football at 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