Charles LeClaire / USA TODAY Sports
Former Cowboys legend and Pro Football Hall of Famer Rayfield Wright died on Thursday, according to his wife Di Wright. He was 76.
Wright had been in the hospital for the last few days following a severe seizure. The Dallas star spent all 13 years (1967 to ’79) of his NFL career with the Cowboys. He played in 188 career games and won two Super Bowls.
The six-time Pro Bowler earned first-team All-Pro honors on three occasions (1971 to ’73) and was one of the first-team offensive tackles selected to the NFL’s All-Decade Team of the 1970s. Wright was enshrined into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2006.
When it came to defining what a great offensive lineman was, four-time Pro Bowl running back Calvin Hill—who also played with the Cowboys during Wright’s tenure—said Wright was the perfect example.
“In the 1970s, he [Wright] was the standard,” Hill said in a statement. “When you thought about offensive linemen, he was the guy that you automatically thought of.”
During the 1970s, the Cowboys finished with five 1,000-yard rushing seasons from their featured running back. Hill, who played in Dallas from 1969 to ’74, picked up two 1,000-yard seasons with the Cowboys.
Jim Porter, president of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, released a statement sharing the impact that Wright had on the lives of others.
“Over the past few weeks, it has become abundantly clear the love that so many Hall of Famers and others around the NFL felt toward Rayfield [Wright], his wife, Di, and the extended Wright family,” the statement read.
“His gentle nature away from the game belied his commanding presence on the field. All fans, especially those of the Cowboys, will remember fondly his dominance on the offensive line in the 1970s and how he took protecting Dallas quarterbacks as his personal mission. We will guard his legacy in Canton with equal tenacity.”
