JMU Great Charles Haley Named to Super Bowl 50 Golden Team

CANTON, Ohio – Last August, former James Madison All-American Charles Haley was enshrined into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and the five-time Super Bowl champion was recognized on the "Super Bowl 50 Golden Team," the Pro Football Hall of Fame Board of Selectors announced Thursday.

"The Super Bowl 50 Golden Team is an amazing list of incredible individuals," Pro Football Hall of Fame Executive Vice President Joe Horrigan said in an NFL press release. "Each name conjures up memories of some of the sport's greatest games showcased on its biggest platform, the Super Bowl stage. Unforgettable individual performances like Lynn Swann's acrobatic catches in Super Bowl X or Joe Montana's come-from-behind game winning drive in Super Bowl XXIII are forever etched in the collective memories of football fans and celebrated as some of the most inspiring moments in the history of the National Football League."

The list includes 22 Pro Football Hall of Famers, three Associated Press Most Valuable Players, one active player, and eight selections came from the Pittsburgh Steelers. Haley was one of two defensive ends named to the list, along with Reggie White (Green Bay Packers).

A four-year letterwinner for the Dukes from 1982-85, he was twice named an Associated Press All-American. As a senior, Haley was named the Richmond Touchdown Club's Defensive Player of the Year and a First Team AP I-AA All-American.

He is JMU's all-time leader in total tackles with 506 and led the Dukes in tackles twice in his career, recording 143 in 1983 and 147 in 1984. Haley had a career-high 22 tackles at Shippensburg during the 1983 season, currently tied for the eighth-highest, single-game total in Madison history. A three-time JMU Defensive MVP, he was also named the JMU Male Athlete of the Year in 1985-86. Haley graduated from JMU in 1987, and in 1999, the Athletic Department named the Defensive MVP award after him.

Haley became the first player in JMU history selected in the National Football League Draft when he was selected by the San Francisco 49ers in the fourth round of the 1986 draft. He immediately made an impact, playing in 16 games as a rookie, recording 12.0 sacks. He played 12 seasons in the NFL, seven with the 49ers in two different stints and five with the Dallas Cowboys.

He earned five Super Bowl rings (two in San Francisco and three in Dallas), the only player in NFL history to have played on five Super Bowl champion teams. A five-time Pro-Bowler and two-time First Team All-Pro selection, Haley finished his career with 100.5 career sacks, including a career-high 16 in 1990, the first year he was honored as an All-Pro. He was also a two-time NFC Defensive Player of the Year and played on 10 division championship squads during his 12-year career.

A native of Gladys, Va., Haley was inducted into the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame in 2006.

Complete Super Bowl 50 Golden Team:
Offense: Joe Montana (QB); Franco Harris, Emmitt Smith (RB); Jerry Rice, Lynn Swann (WR); Jay Novacek (TE); Art Shell, Forrest Gregg (OT); Gene Upshaw, Larry Allen (OG); Mike Webster (C).

Defense: Reggie White, Charles Haley (DE); Joe Greene, Randy White (DL); Lawrence Taylor, Jack Ham (OLB); Jack Lambert, Ray Lewis (ILB); Mel Blount, Deion Sanders (CB); Ronnie Lott, Jake Scott (S).

Specialists: Adam Vinatieri (K); Desmond Howard (PR/KR); Ray Guy (P).

Coach: Chuck Noll

Calendar