State Your Case: Ralph Neely

Ralph Neely was the most expensive offensive tackle in NFL history. And he was worth it.

Neely was a consensus All-America tackle at Oklahoma in 1964. He became the 15^th overall pick of the Houston Oilers in the 1965 AFL draft and the 28^th overall pick of the Baltimore Colts in the NFL draft.

It was the height of the signing war between the two leagues and Neely agreed to a contract with the Oilers before the Gator Bowl, which made him ineligible for the final game of his college career. But when Baltimore traded his rights to Dallas, Neely wanted out of his AFL deal and negotiated an NFL contract with the Cowboys.

Neely played his rookie season in Dallas while the Cowboys and Oilers squabbled in court over the legality of his contracts. When the two leagues merged in 1966, a Neely solution was part of the agreement. The Cowboys were required to send the Oilers four draft picks in 1967 when the two leagues went to a common draft.

Counting the deal with the Colts, Neely cost the Cowboys a player and five draft selections — their punter Billy Lothridge plus a first-round pick, a second, a fourth and two fifths. In return, Neely gave Dallas a cornerstone blocker on one of the NFL’s finest offensive lines and most successful teams over the next 13 seasons.

Neely also gave the Cowboys one of the most underrated blockers in the history of the game.

Neely was one of three offensive tackles named to the 1960s NFL all-decade team but is the only one still without a bust in Canton. Forrest Gregg and Bob Brown have long since been awarded gold jackets by Canton. But Neely is in his 44^th year of eligibility now and is still waiting for his career to be discussed by the Hall of Fame selection committee a single time.

His career certainly is worthy of that discussion.

Neely became a walk-in starter for the Cowboys at right tackle in 1965 and was selected to the NFL all-rookie team. He earned second-team all-pro acclaim in his second season and then first-team acclaim in each of his next three years.

But after three years on the bench, transitioning from tight end to tackle, the Cowboys decided it was time to move Rayfield Wright into the starting lineup. The Cowboys opted to keep Wright on the same tight-end side of the line at right tackle. Neely agreed to move to the left side in what Cowboys president Tex Schramm called “one of the great sacrifices in sport.”

Neely was never again an all-pro selection in his final eight seasons and never went back to another Pro Bowl. He went to two of those in the 1960s.

Neely’s individual glory may have ended but not his team glory. The Cowboys went to the playoffs in 11 of his 13 seasons as a starter. They won nine NFC East titles and appeared in eight NFC championship games. Dallas went to four Super Bowls and won two Lombardi Trophies.

The Cowboys achieved those heights with three different starting quarterbacks – Don Meredith, Craig Morton and Roger Staubach. But no matter who was taking the snaps, the blocking front was always rock solid whether Neely lined up on the right side or the left. The Cowboys led the NFC in offense seven times and in scoring four times during his career. They also led the NFC in rushing four times.

Neely started 168 games over his 13-year career and the Cowboys won 72.2 percent of them. Over on the right side, Wright developed into a Pro Bowl, an all-pro and, finally, a Hall of Fame tackle. Neely is deserving of the same recognition.