Charles Haley

Charles Lewis Haley was born on January 6, 1964, and went on to become a standout NFL defender for the San Francisco 49ers and Dallas Cowboys. He started his pro career as a specialty outside linebacker before shifting to defensive end when his team moved from a 3–4 to a 4–3 scheme. Haley made history as the first player to win five Super Bowls—two with the 49ers (XXIII, XXIV) and three with the Cowboys (XXVII, XXVIII, XXX)—and started every one of those championship games. Only Tom Brady, with seven titles, has more rings. He earned a spot in the College Football Hall of Fame in 2011 and the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2015.

Growing up in Gladys, Virginia, Haley attended William Campbell High School in Naruna, where he played linebacker and tight end, earning defensive player of the year honors as a senior. He also helped the team win the Seminole District championship and picked up All-Region III and All-Group AA accolades, while playing basketball as an All-district selection.

Haley wasn’t heavily recruited out of high school, so he took the only Division I-A or I-AA scholarship offer he got, from James Madison University. As a freshman, he started at defensive end/linebacker, recording 85 tackles, 5 sacks, 6 passes defensed, and 4 forced fumbles. The next season, he moved to inside linebacker and led the team with 143 tackles and 4 sacks. As a junior, he again led the squad with 147 tackles, adding 3 sacks and 2 interceptions. For his final year, he switched to outside linebacker for the last four games, finishing with 131 tackles, 5 sacks, 3 blocked kicks, and an interception. A two-time Division I-AA All-American, he set a school record with 506 career tackles, along with 17 sacks and 3 interceptions. He was also a member of James Madison’s Xi Delta chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity.

The 49ers picked Haley in the fourth round (96th overall) of the 1986 NFL draft, after his stock fell due to an initial 4.8-second 40-yard dash time—though a 49ers scout later clocked him at 4.55. Playing outside linebacker in a 3–4 defense, he finished second among rookies with 12 sacks and made the NFL All-Rookie team. The following year, he worked as a designated pass rusher, tallying 25 tackles and 6.5 sacks. In 1988, he became the starting left outside linebacker, posting 69 tackles and 11.5 sacks, earning NFC Defensive Player of the Month for October and his first Pro Bowl nod.

He followed with 57 tackles and 10.5 sacks in 1989. In 1990, he had 58 tackles, 9 passes defensed, and a league-third 16 sacks, winning UPI NFC Defensive Player of the Year and consensus All-Pro honors. His relationship with the 49ers soured in 1991 after safety Ronnie Lott was left unprotected under Plan B free agency, but Haley still tied for the team lead with 7 sacks. From 1986 to 1991, he led the 49ers in sacks every season and won Super Bowls XXIII and XXIV.

On August 26, 1992, his clashes with head coach George Seifert led to a trade to the Cowboys for a 1993 second-round pick and a 1994 third-rounder.

With Dallas, Haley moved to right defensive end in a 4–3 scheme, recording 39 tackles, 6 sacks, and a team-leading 42 quarterback pressures in 1992, helping the defense jump from 17th to first overall. In 1993, he made headlines by smashing a hole in the locker-room wall after a loss to the Bills, frustrated that the team hadn’t signed holdout running back Emmitt Smith. The Cowboys then signed Smith, rebounded from an 0–2 start, and won the Super Bowl.

Haley finished that year with 41 tackles, 4 sacks, and 3 forced fumbles, but back problems began requiring surgeries. After a lumbar microdiscectomy in the offseason, he bounced back in 1994 with 68 tackles, 12.5 sacks, and 52 pressures, then briefly retired after a playoff loss to the 49ers before returning on a new contract. He earned another UPI NFC Defensive Player of the Year award and consensus All-Pro honors, often cited as the missing piece that made the Cowboys a Super Bowl contender.

In 1995, he had 10.5 sacks and 33 pressures in the first 10 games before a ruptured disk sidelined him; he still started Super Bowl XXX just six weeks after back surgery, notching a sack, 3 pressures, and 5 tackles. The next season, the team limited him to about 30 plays per game, but he appeared in only a handful of contests before being deactivated with a back injury. He retired after that season due to his back issues and his youngest daughter’s health.