Richard Lee Maegle (born Moegle; September 14, 1934 – July 4, 2021) was an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player who was a halfback in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL) for the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners and nicknamed the Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member ...

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. Founded in 1933 P ...

, and

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. T ...

. He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

Rice University William Marsh Rice University, commonly referred to as Rice University, is a Private university, private research university in Houston, Houston, Texas, United States. Established in 1912, the university spans 300 acres. Rice University comp ...

, where he was a consensus All-American in 1954.

Early life

Moegle attended Taylor High School, where he played football and basketball. He accepted a football scholarship from

and attended as a 16-year-old freshman. His play was limited in his sophomore season (1952), after he was lost with a hand cut he suffered trying to open a classroom window that was stuck. In 1953, he teamed up with fullback Dave "Kosse" Johnson (the nation's second leading rusher), to win a share of the

Southwest Conference The Southwest Conference (SWC) was an NCAA Division I college athletic conference in the United States that existed from 1914 to 1996. Composed primarily of schools from Texas, at various times the conference also included schools from Oklaho ...

title with the

University of Texas The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 students as of fall 2 ...

, while registering 833 rushing yards with a 7.3-yard average, which led the nation. In the 1954 Cotton Bowl Classic against

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

, Moegle was involved in one of college football's most famous plays. With

Rice Rice is a cereal grain and in its Domestication, domesticated form is the staple food of over half of the world's population, particularly in Asia and Africa. Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice)—or, much l ...

leading 7–6, Moegle broke through on a

sweep Sweep or swept may refer to: Cleaning * Sweep, the action of using a brush to clean * Chimney sweep, a worker who clears ash and soot from chimneys * Street sweeper, a person's occupation, or a machine that cleans streets * Swept quartz, a cle ...

from Rice's five-yard line, and was running down the sideline in front of Alabama's bench on his way to a touchdown. Alabama's Tommy Lewis, without putting on his helmet, jumped off the bench and tackled Moegle. Seeing what happened, referee Cliff Shaw awarded a 95-yard touchdown on the play, and Rice went on to win the game 28–6. Moegle finished with 265 rushing yards, which was a Cotton Bowl Classic record until the 2008 game when

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

's Tony Temple rushed for 281 yards. He finished with game records of 265 yards on 11 carries for an average of 24.1 yards per attempt and 3 touchdowns. Moegle and Lewis later appeared on ''

The Ed Sullivan Show ''The Ed Sullivan Show'' is an American television variety show that ran on CBS from June 20, 1948, to March 28, 1971, and was hosted by New York City, New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan. It was replaced in September 1971 by the ''CB ...

'' to talk about the play. As a senior in 1954, he rushed 905 yards and led the nation in punt returns. He finished his college career after setting 26 school records, including career touchdowns (22), interceptions in a game (3) and total points in a season (72). In 1979, he was inducted into the

College Football Hall of Fame The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and interactive Tourist attraction, attraction devoted to college football, college American football. The National Football Foundation (NFF) founded the Hall in 1951 to immortalize the players ...

. In 1970, he was inducted into the Rice Athletic Hall of Fame. In 1980, he was inducted into the

Texas Sports Hall of Fame The Texas Sports Hall of Fame recognizes sportsperson, athletes, coach (sport), coaches, and administrators who have made "lasting fame and honor to Sports in Texas, Texas sports". It was established in 1951 by the Texas Sports Writers Association ...

Professional career

San Francisco 49ers

Moegle was selected by the

in the first round (10th overall) of the

1955 NFL draft The 1955 NFL draft was held January 27–28, 1955 at the Warwick Hotel in New York City. This was the ninth year that the first overall pick was a bonus pick determined by lottery. With the previous eight winners ineligible from the draw, onl ...

. He entered the league as a 20-year-old rookie and was moved between the offense and the defense, but still recorded 6 interceptions. In

1956 Events January * January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan after 57 years. * January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian Missionary, missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, E ...

, he became the starter at

safety Safety is the state of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings The word 'safety' entered the English language in the 1 ...

, posting 6 interceptions. In

1957 Events January * January 1 – The Saarland joins West Germany. * January 3 – Hamilton Watch Company introduces the first electric watch. * January 5 – South African player Russell Endean becomes the first batsman to be Dismissal (cricke ...

, he posted 8 interceptions. The next year, he played in only 4 games after injuring his knee against the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The team plays its ...

. In

1958 Events January * January 1 – The European Economic Community (EEC) comes into being. * January 3 – The West Indies Federation is formed. * January 4 ** Edmund Hillary's Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition completes the thir ...

, he played in 8 games. On March 13,

1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Janu ...

, he was traded to the

in exchange for a first-round draft choice (#6- Jimmy Johnson).

Pittsburgh Steelers

, he was named the starter at safety and registered 6 interceptions. On December 21, he was traded to the

in exchange for

offensive tackle Offensive may refer to: * Offensive (military), type of military operation * Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative * Fighting words, spoken words which would have a tendency to cause acts of violence by the ...

Dick Klein and safety Bill Butler.

Dallas Cowboys

After being acquired by the Cowboys in part for being a famous player in the state of Texas, he was named the starter at safety in

1961 Events January * January 1 – Monetary reform in the Soviet Union, 1961, Monetary reform in the Soviet Union. * January 3 ** United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces that the United States has severed diplomatic and cons ...

. At the end of the season, he had surgery on his right foot. On July 30,

1962 The year saw the Cuban Missile Crisis, which is often considered the closest the world came to a Nuclear warfare, nuclear confrontation during the Cold War. Events January * January 1 – Samoa, Western Samoa becomes independent from Ne ...

, he was waived after re-injuring his foot in

training camp A training camp is an organized period in which military personnel or athletes participate in a rigorous and focused schedule of training in order to learn or improve skills. Athletes typically utilise training camps to prepare for upcoming events ...

Personal life

During his playing days, his last name was spelled "Moegle"; because it was constantly mispronounced, he changed his name to "Maegle" to be more phonetically correct in 1962. He was a color announcer for the

Houston Oilers The Houston Oilers were a professional American football team that played in Houston, Texas, from its founding in 1960 Houston Oilers season, 1960 to 1996 Houston Oilers season, 1996. The Houston Oilers began play as a charter member of the Ame ...

and a manager of the Tidelands and Tides II hotels. He died on July 4, 2021, at his home in Houston, Texas.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Moegle, Dickie 1934 births 2021 deaths People from Taylor, Texas Players of American football from Williamson County, Texas American football halfbacks American football defensive backs Rice Owls football players San Francisco 49ers players Pittsburgh Steelers players Dallas Cowboys players All-American college football players College Football Hall of Fame inductees Western Conference Pro Bowl players