If the goal is to play for an NFL championship in February, it wouldn’t hurt to have a West Virginia linebacker in your defense.
The three linebackers on the all-time West Virginia NFL team – Sam Huff, Chuck Howley and Darryl Talley – played in a combined 14 NFL title games. Unfortunately, they have only two championship rings to show for it – Huff winning in 1956 with the New York Giants and Howley in 1972 with the Dallas Cowboys.
Huff lined up for eight years at middle linebacker for the Giants and played for the NFL title in six of those seasons. After his Giants beat the Chicago Bears in 1956, there were a pair of championship game losses to both the Baltimore Colts (1958-59) and Green Bay Packers (1961-62) and a final loss to the Bears in 1963. Huff went on to play five more seasons for the Washington Redskins and now has a bust in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Howley lost three NFL title games before finally winning his championship ring in 1972 against the Miami Dolphins. His Cowboys lost back-to-back games in the pre-merger era to the Green Bay Packers in 1966 and 1967 and once in the Super Bowl to the Baltimore Colts in 1971. Howley became the only player off a losing team to win Super Bowl MVP honors in that one. He went to six Pro Bowls and was a five-time first-team all-pro.
Talley lost four consecutive Super Bowls with the Buffalo Bills in the 1990s – to the New York Giants in 1991, Washington in 1992 and Dallas in both 1993 and 1994. He played 14 seasons and went to two Pro Bowls.
Here is the all-time West Virginia NFL team:
QB—Jeff Hostetler, 12 seasons, 94 TD passes, 1991 Super Bowl champion
HB—Tom Woodeshick, Pro Bowl, 10 seasons, 3,577 rushing yards, 126 catches
FB—Joe Marconi, Pro Bowl, 11 seasons, 2,771 rushing yards, 136 catches
WR—Joey Porter, 9 seasons, 295 receptions, 31 touchdowns
WR—James Jett, 10 seasons, 256 receptions, 30 touchdowns
TE—Antony Becht, 11 seasons, 188 receptions, 21 touchdowns
T—Joe Stydahar, Hall of Fame
T—Solomon Page, 6 seasons, 58 starts
G—Rich Braham, 12 seasons, 142 starts
G—Al Baisi, 2 Pro Bowls, 4 seasons, 22 games (1940s)
C—Bruce Bosley, 4 Pro Bowls, 14 seasons, 156 starts
DE—Renaldo Turnbull, Pro Bowl, 8 seasons, 46 sacks
*-DE—Bruce Irvin, 10 seasons, 52 sacks
DT—John Thornton, 10 seasons, 123 starts, 28 sacks
DT—John Browning, 9 seasons, 96 starts, 28 sacks
OLB—Chuck Howley, 6 Pro Bowls, 15 seasons, 1971 Super Bowl MVP
MLB—Sam Huff, Hall of Fame
OLB—Darryl Talley, 2 Pro Bowls, 14 seasons, 39 sacks, 12 interceptions
CB—Jerry Holmes, 10 seasons, 25 interceptions
CB—Aaron Beasley, 9 seasons, 24 interceptions
S—Tom Keane, Pro Bowl, 8 seasons, 40 interceptions
S—Tom Pridemore, 8 seasons, 21 interceptions, 13 fumble recoveries
K—Mike Vanderjagt, Pro Bowl, `1999 NFL scoring champion
P—Todd Sauerbrun, 3 Pro Bowls, 13 seasons, 889 punts, 44.1-yard average
KR—Adam “Pacman” Jones, Pro Bowl, NFL PR champ in 2006, KR champ in 2014
ST—Ron Wolfley, 4 Pro Bowls, 10 seasons, ST ace for Cardinals, Browns, Rams
*-Still Active
