DALLAS — Two wrongs were made right over the weekend in Canton, Ohio.
Former Dallas Cowboys safety Cliff Harris and wide receiver Drew Pearson were inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Harris went in as part of the Centennial Class in 2020 to commemorate the NFL's 100th season, and Pearson was the senior inductee from the 2021 class.
Harris and Pearson were the only members of the NFL 1970s All-Decade first-team to not be inducted into the Hall of Fame. For Cowboys fans of that era, it was an injustice worse than the defensive pass interference called against Benny Barnes in Super Bowl XIII.
With their induction comes the optimism that other former Cowboys will get their fair shot, and it also clears a backlog of deserving candidates.
Here are four former Cowboys who ought to be considered for the 2022 class:
1. LB Chuck Howley — The six-time Pro Bowler and five-time first-team All-Pro has the rare distinction of being the only Super Bowl MVP to date to have played on the losing team. However, Howley got his elusive ring the next year in Super Bowl VI when the Cowboys crushed the Miami Dolphins 24-3 at Tulane Stadium.
The 6-3, 225-pound Howley made impact plays for Dallas from 1961-73, but he was with the Chicago Bears for three seasons prior. From 1958-59, Howley was coming into his own in Chicago, but a knee injury derailed his time with the Bears.
For his career, Howley has 25 interceptions, including two returned for a touchdown, and 18 fumble recoveries, one of which was returned for a score.
2. S Darren Woodson — Woody has been a five-time semifinalist, and it seems inevitable that he will get in given that he has been a semifinalist for the past three years. Woodson is the Cowboys' all-time leader in career tackles, was a five-time Pro Bowler, and a four-time first-team All-Pro. His Super Bowl rings are also worthy of discussion given that his rookie year was 1992.
Originally a defensive end at Arizona State, the Cowboys were able to move the 6-1, 219-pound defender to the backend, and Woodson even had the athleticism to play the slot in nickel situations.
The fact the Cowboys secondary has been pedestrian at best since his departure after the 2003 season is another endorsement for why he should get in.
3. DE Harvey Martin — "Beautiful" Harvey Martin is another case where his not being in his own team's Ring of Honor hurts his Hall of Fame candidacy. Nevertheless, Martin had 114.0 career sacks unofficially (sacks did not become an official stat until 1982), and even set the Cowboys' single-season mark at 20.0 in 1977, the year Dallas brought "Doomsday in the Dome" against the Denver Broncos, 27-10, at the Superdome for Super Bowl XII.
Martin earned four Pro Bowls and a first-team All-Pro in his career and he also tallied two safeties, two interceptions, and six fumble recoveries in his 158 games with Dallas from 1973-83.
4. OLB DeMarcus Ware — Fans wanted Ware to rush the passer, but Hall of Fame coach Bill Parcells wanted him to be a linebacker, and he was as close as the Big Tuna could get to replicating Lawrence Taylor. Ware notched 138.5 career sacks with 117.0 of them coming with the Cowboys from 2005-13.
In what was a turning point in the franchise, kind of like how Pudge Rodriguez had to leave the Texas Rangers to win a World Series with the Florida Marlins, Ware played for the Denver Broncos from 2014-16 and got his Super Bowl ring there with a victory in Super Bowl 50.
Ware has it all: nine-time Pro Bowler, four-time first-team All-Pro, two-time NFL sack champion, member of the NFL 2000s All-Decade team, and a Super Bowl champion. It should be hard for voters to say no to Ware.
Of the four listed here, which Cowboys legend do you see making it to Canton first? Share predictions with Mark on Twitter @therealmarklane.