Ralph Eugene Neely (September 12, 1943 – January 5, 2022) was an American professional football player who was an offensive tackle for the

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 club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divis ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ma ...

(NFL). He played 13 seasons and 172 games for the Cowboys from 1965 to 1977.

Early years

Neely attended Farmington High School, where he was an All-State

tackle Tackle may refer to: * In football: ** Tackle (football move), a play in various forms of football ** Tackle (gridiron football position), a position in American football and Canadian football ** Dump tackle, a forceful move in rugby of picking ...

for two years in football, and a standout center for the

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

team. He was recruited by the

University of Oklahoma , mottoeng = "For the benefit of the Citizen and the State" , type = Public research university , established = , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $2.7billion (2021) , pr ...

, where he played college football under coaches

Bud Wilkinson Charles Burnham "Bud" Wilkinson (April 23, 1916 – February 9, 1994) was an American football player, coach, broadcaster, and politician. He served as the head football coach at the University of Oklahoma from 1947 to 1963, compiling a record of ...

and

Gomer Jones Gomer Thomas Jones (February 26, 1914 – March 21, 1971) was an American football player, coach, and college athletics administrator. He played college football as a center at Ohio State University from 1933 to 1935. After serving as an assis ...

. Neely was a 261-pound

who played both ways, as a dominant performer on defense and an excellent blocker on offense. He was named the Big Eight sophomore lineman of the year and was a two-time All-American and an all-conference selection in both 1963 and '64. Neely was one of three Sooners stars who missed the 1965

Gator Bowl The Gator Bowl is an annual college football bowl game held in Jacksonville, Florida, operated by Gator Bowl Sports. It has been held continuously since 1946, making it the sixth oldest college bowl, as well as the first one ever televised nati ...

game against Florida State University. Neely, fullback Jim Grisham and halfback

Lance Rentzel Thomas Lance Rentzel (born October 14, 1943) is a former American football flanker in the National Football League (NFL) for the Minnesota Vikings, Dallas Cowboys, and Los Angeles Rams. He played college football at the University of Oklahoma. E ...

signed with professional teams before the game, and were ruled ineligible for the contest, which Florida State won 36–19 on the strength of four

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone. In Americ ...

catches by

Fred Biletnikoff Frederick S. Biletnikoff (born February 23, 1943) is a former American football player and coach. He was a wide receiver for the Oakland Raiders in the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NFL) for fourteen seasons and l ...

Professional career

1965 Events January–February * January 14 – The Prime Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years. * January 20 ** Lyndon B. Johnson is Second inauguration of Lyndo ...

, he was drafted in the second round of both the

1965 NFL Draft The 1965 National Football League draft was held at the Summit Hotel in New York City on Saturday, November 28, 1964. The first player selected was Tucker Frederickson, back from Auburn, by the New York Giants. The draft was marked by the fail ...

(by the

Baltimore Colts The Baltimore Colts were a professional American football team that played in Baltimore from its founding in 1953 to 1984. The team now plays in Indianapolis, as the Indianapolis Colts. The team was named for Baltimore's history of horse breed ...

) and the

1965 AFL Draft The 1965 American Football League draft took place on November 28, 1964. Held via telephone conference call, it remains the only draft in major professional football history to be held without a central location. The NFL draft was held the same d ...

(by the

Houston Oilers The Houston Oilers were a professional American football team that played in Houston from its founding in 1960 to 1996 before relocating to Memphis, and later Nashville, Tennessee becoming the Tennessee Titans. The Oilers began play in 1960 a ...

). The Colts traded his NFL contractual rights to the

in exchange for

Billy Lothridge William Lamar Lothridge (January 1, 1942 – February 23, 1996) was an American football Punter, Safety and Quarterback in the National Football League for the Dallas Cowboys, Los Angeles Rams, Atlanta Falcons and Miami Dolphins. He ...

and a fourth-round selection in the

1966 NFL Draft The 1966 National Football League draft was held at the Summit Hotel in New York City on Saturday, November 27, 1965. The expansion Atlanta Falcons were awarded the first pick in each round as well as the final pick in each of the first five r ...

on August 29,

. Neely accepted the Oilers contract offer (which also included rights to own a Houston gas station), but requested it be kept secret to remain eligible to play in the

. When he learned that the Colts traded his rights to the Cowboys, he began negotiating with Dallas, and returned his check to the Oilers. Litigation ensued between the Oilers and Cowboys in regards to his rights. A rookie in

, he joined the Cowboys just as they were beginning their ascent in the

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the maj ...

, became an immediate starter at right offensive tackle and was named to the

all-rookie team. With great quickness for his size, he became a dominant player on the Cowboys

offensive line In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line, while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line. A numbe ...

for 13 seasons. One of the terms of the merger agreement between the

and the AFL was that the Neely contract dispute be resolved. In

1966 Events January * January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko. * January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo is ...

, the Cowboys finally agreed with the Oilers to send draft choices (a first, second and two fifth round choices in the

1967 NFL Draft The 1967 National Football League draft was conducted March 14–15, 1967, at the Gotham Hotel in New York City. It was the first common draft with the AFL, part of the AFL–NFL merger agreement of June 1966. This draft was delayed as new gui ...

), pay all of the court costs and to start the annual pre-season game the Governor's Cup between the two teams. Neely was a four-time

All-Pro All-Pro is an honor bestowed upon professional American football players that designates the best player at each position during a given season. All-Pro players are typically selected by press organizations, who select an "All-Pro team," a list t ...

and a two-time

Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (starting in 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's star players. The format has changed thro ...

er in

1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Canadian Confederation, Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 5 ** Spain and Romania sign an agreement in Paris, establ ...

and

1969 This year is notable for Apollo 11's first landing on the moon. Events January * January 4 – The Government of Spain hands over Ifni to Morocco. * January 5 ** Ariana Afghan Airlines Flight 701 crashes into a house on its approach to ...

. In

1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity of X (''Extreme''). Between 10,000 and 1 ...

, Neely started the season at

right guard Right Guard is an American brand of deodorant and shower gel that is manufactured and sold by Thriving Brands LLC. It is the second largest brand in the male deodorant category in the United States. Right Guard was introduced in 1960 by The Gi ...

, but soon took over for Tony Liscio at left offensive tackle, where he manned the position until

1977 Events January * January 8 – Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democrati ...

, while continuing to be one of the NFL's premier

offensive linemen In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line, while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line. A numbe ...

. He was injured halfway into the Cowboys victorious

1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses (Solar eclipse of February 25, 1971, February 25, Solar eclipse of July 22, 1971, July 22 and Solar eclipse of August 20, 1971, August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 1971 lunar eclip ...

Super Bowl season, when he fractured his left leg in an off-road motorcycle accident; and missed the rest of the year. In

, Neely retired after the Cowboys won

Super Bowl XII Super Bowl XII was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Dallas Cowboys and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Denver Broncos to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for the ...

against the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquar ...

. He was selected to the

NFL 1960s All-Decade Team This is a list of National Football League (NFL) players who had outstanding performances throughout the 1960s and have been compiled together into this fantasy group. The team was selected by voters of the Pro Football Hall of Fame at the end of t ...

, though Neely has yet to join his bookend partner

Rayfield Wright Larry Rayfield Wright (August 23, 1945 – April 7, 2022) was an American professional football player who was an offensive tackle for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL) for 13 seasons. He is a member of the Pro Football ...

, in the

Pro Football Hall of Fame The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame for professional American football, located in Canton, Ohio. Opened on September 7, , the Hall of Fame enshrines exceptional figures in the sport of professional football, including players, coac ...

or in the

Dallas Cowboys Ring of Honor The Dallas Cowboys Ring of Honor (RoH) is a ring that formerly existed around Texas Stadium in Irving, Texas and currently around AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, which honors former players, coaches and club officials who made outstanding contrib ...

Later life and death

In 2018, the

Professional Football Researchers Association The Professional Football Researchers Association (PFRA) is an organization of researchers whose mission is to preserve and, in some cases, reconstruct professional football history. It was founded on June 22, 1979 in Canton, Ohio by writer/hist ...

named Neely to the PFRA Hall of Very Good Class of 2018. Neely died on January 5, 2022, at the age of 78. He was living with

dementia Dementia is a disorder which manifests as a set of related symptoms, which usually surfaces when the brain is damaged by injury or disease. The symptoms involve progressive impairments in memory, thinking, and behavior, which negatively affe ...

and the effects of

chronic traumatic encephalopathy Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) is a neurodegenerative disease linked to repeated trauma to the head. The encephalopathy symptoms can include behavioral problems, mood problems, and problems with thinking. The disease often gets worse ov ...

(CTE) prior to his death.Widow of Dallas Cowboys great Ralph Neely says his final years were destroyed by CTE
/ref>

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Neely, Ralph 1943 births 2022 deaths People from Farmington, New Mexico Sportspeople from Little Rock, Arkansas Players of American football from Arkansas Players of American football from New Mexico American football offensive tackles Oklahoma Sooners football players All-American college football players Dallas Cowboys players Eastern Conference Pro Bowl players