Home > News > Possible Dallas Cowboy Hall of Fame inductees for 2005

November 19, 2004

Two former Dallas Cowboy have made the semifinals for induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame 2005, Michael Irvin and Charles Haley. Both are in their 1st year of eligibility and both are well deserving players. The only question is, 'Can the Hall of Fame selection committee put their obvious bias aside and vote one or both of these 2 players into the hall of fame.' Due to the obvious shun that Cowboy players receive from the Hall of Fame selection committee, it would not surprise me at all to see both Irvin and Haley on the outside looking in come next August.

Charles Haley was the defensive catalyst of the Cowboys dynasty during the 1990s and catapulted the Cowboys to 3 Super Bowl victories. Haley came to the Cowboys after the 1991 season from the San Francisco 49ers after having already won two Super Bowls with the 49ers. In 5 years with the Cowboys (1992 - 1996), Charles was able to add 3 more Super Bowls to his resume and is the only player in NFL history with 5 Super Bowl rings. He retired after the 1996 season due to back injuries but did return in 1999 to play with the 49ers for a few games late in the season before finally calling it quits for good. He finished his career with 100.5 sacks. More than just his sacks, Haley brought a team leading presence to a young Cowboy team in 1992. Haley was not able to match his sack numbers in Dallas to his early numbers in San Francisco but he did create havoc from his defensive end position and was considered the major player addition that put the Cowboys in position to win 3 Super Bowls in 4 years.

Michael Irvin was the last 1st round pick by Tom Landry, not a bad one either. The Cowboys and Tom Landry drafted Michael Irvin in the 1st round of the 1988 NFL draft. After 3 average years, Irvin exploded in 1991, along with his young quarterback Troy Aikman, to lead the league with 93 catches, 1,523 yards, and 8 TD's. Michael Irvin went on to smash every Cowboy receiving record, minus receiving touchdowns still held by Bob 'The Bullet' Hayes. He also set a league record with 8 consecutive games going over 100 yards receiving. Irvin's career ended early in the 1999 season after only 4 games when he hit the turf at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia head first. He was temporarily paralyzed by the impact and retired at the end of the season. When Irvin retired, he was the Cowboys all time leading receiver with 750 catches for 11,904 yards and 65 touchdowns and 3 Super Bowl rings in 12 years.