Chuck Howley
A Dallas Cowboys linebacker who became the only player from a losing team to be named Super Bowl MVP.
Born 1936 (age 90)·American football player·Birthday: June 28·The Silent Generation
Biography
Chuck Howley's football story is one of fierce resilience. A first-round pick whose career with the Chicago Bears was nearly ended by a knee injury, he was traded to the fledgling Dallas Cowboys, where he became the defensive cornerstone of the team's rise. With startling speed and diagnostic intelligence, he anchored the original 'Doomsday Defense' as a linebacker, earning five First-Team All-Pro honors. His defining moment came in Super Bowl V, a sloppy game the Cowboys lost to the Baltimore Colts. Yet Howley's two interceptions and a fumble recovery were so dominant that he was unanimously voted the game's Most Valuable Player, a stark and singular honor. He returned the next year to help Dallas win Super Bowl VI, cementing his status as one of the sport's most complete defensive players.
The Silent Generation
1928–1945
Born between the Depression and the end of WWII. Too young to fight, old enough to remember. They became the conformist middle managers of the 1950s — and the civil rights leaders who quietly dismantled Jim Crow.
Chuck was born in 1936, placing them squarely in The Silent Generation. The events that shaped this generation — world wars, depression, and rapid industrialization — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Chuck Was Born
The biggest hits of 1936
#1 Movie
San Francisco
Best Picture
The Great Ziegfeld
Chuck's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1936Born
Jesse Owens wins four golds at the Berlin Olympics
Gas: $0.19/galPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"The Way You Look Tonight" — Fred AstaireBest Picture: The Great Ziegfeld
1941Started school
Pearl Harbor attack brings the US into WWII
Gas: $0.19/galHome: $3,060Min wage: $0.30/hrPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"Chattanooga Choo Choo" — Glenn MillerBest Picture: How Green Was My Valley
1949Became a teenager
NATO founded; Mao proclaims the People's Republic of China
Gas: $0.27/galHome: $7,450Min wage: $0.40/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Riders in the Sky" — Vaughn MonroeBest Picture: All the King's Men
1952Could drive
Queen Elizabeth II ascends the throne
Gas: $0.27/galHome: $8,350Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Blue Tango" — Leroy AndersonBest Picture: The Greatest Show on Earth
1954Could vote
Brown v. Board of Education desegregates US schools
Gas: $0.29/galHome: $8,925Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Little Things Mean a Lot" — Kitty KallenBest Picture: On the Waterfront
1957Turned 21
Sputnik launches the Space Age
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $10,550Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"All Shook Up" — Elvis PresleyBest Picture: The Bridge on the River Kwai
1966Turned 30
Star Trek premieres on television
Gas: $0.32/galHome: $14,200Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"The Ballad of the Green Berets" — SSgt Barry SadlerBest Picture: A Man for All Seasons
1976Turned 40
Apple Computer founded; US bicentennial
Gas: $0.59/galHome: $29,300Min wage: $2.30/hrPresident: Gerald Ford"Silly Love Songs" — WingsBest Picture: Rocky
1986Turned 50
Challenger disaster; Chernobyl nuclear meltdown
Gas: $0.86/galHome: $66,600Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"That's What Friends Are For" — Dionne & FriendsBest Picture: Platoon
1996Turned 60
Dolly the sheep cloned
Gas: $1.23/galHome: $99,700Min wage: $4.75/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Macarena" — Los del RioBest Picture: The English Patient
2006Turned 70
Twitter launches; Pluto reclassified as dwarf planet
Gas: $2.59/galHome: $174,700Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: George W. Bush"Bad Day" — Daniel PowterBest Picture: The Departed
2016Turned 80
Donald Trump elected president; Brexit vote
Gas: $2.14/galHome: $181,700Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Love Yourself" — Justin BieberBest Picture: Moonlight
2026Age 90 today
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Named Super Bowl V MVP after recording two interceptions and forcing a fumble, the only MVP from a losing team.
- Won Super Bowl VI as a starting linebacker for the Dallas Cowboys the following season.
- Selected to six Pro Bowls and named First-Team All-Pro five times during his career.
- Was a key member of the Cowboys' original 'Doomsday Defense' that propelled the team to its first Super Bowls.
Did You Know?
He was a champion rodeo rider in college at West Virginia University.
The Cowboys acquired him from the Bears for only a draft pick and two players after his knee injury.
He intercepted 25 passes in his career, a high number for a linebacker.
He did not attend the ceremony to receive his Super Bowl V MVP award, having it mailed to him instead.
“A knee injury isn't the end; it's just a different starting line.”
