Five Cowboys legends are among the former players named as candidates for the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Class of 2025 as part of the Seniors category.
A roster of 182 nominees was pared down to just 60 names by a specially-chosen screening committee. A separate panel will incrementally whittle the list further over the coming weeks, and three Seniors will be presented as finalists later this fall.
To be eligible for the Seniors category, a player’s final game had to have come in the 1999 season or before.
Among the notables still in the running for Canton: Jim Plunkett, Roger Craig, Mark Clayton, Sterling Sharpe, Billy “White Shoes” Johnson, L.C. Greenwood, Tommy Nobis, Lester Hayes, and Steve Tasker.
Here’s a look at the five Cowboys greats who will continue on this year as gold-jacket hopefuls in the Seniors category.
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OL Ralph Neely (1965-1977)
Oct 9, 1977; St. Louis, MO, USA; FILE PHOTO; Dallas Cowboys tackle Ralph Neely (73) in action against the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Herb Weitman-USA TODAY Sports
Neely was drafted by both the NFL’s Baltimore Colts and the AFL’s Houston Oilers in 1965. The Little Rock, Ark. native and Oklahoma product planned to stay in the South and play for Houston… until the Colts traded his rights to the Cowboys. (Resolving the dispute between the two Texas teams over Neely actually became a sticking point in the merger between the two leagues.) Over his 13 seasons in Dallas, Neely went to two Pro Bowls, played in four Super Bowls (winning two), and was named a first-team All-Pro three times. He died in 2022 after battling dementia and the effects of CTE.
DE Ed ‘Too Tall’ Jones (1974-1978, 1980-1989)
4 Jan 1986: Defensive lineman Ed Too Tall Jones of the Dallas Cowboys (right) works against Los Angeles Rams offensive lineman Jackie Slater during a playoff game at Anaheim Stadium in Anaheim, California. The Rams won the game, 20-0.
At 6-foot-9, the nickname was a little obvious. Jones was the first overall pick in 1974’s draft, even though head coach Tom Landry had no idea what position he should play. After finally finding a home at left defensive end, all “Too Tall” did was dominate the league… until he abruptly retired from football at 28 years old to take up professional boxing. After just six bouts (all wins, five of them by knockout) he returned to the Cowboys for reasons he never publicly shared. Amazingly, he was even better in his second stint, playing another ten years and going to three Pro Bowls. The league began charting pass knockdowns as a stat because of Jones. Only two Cowboys have played in more games.
DE Harvey Martin (1973-1983)
Malcolm Emmons-USA TODAY Sports
Martin should be in the NFL record books as the all-time single-season sacks leader, having notched a staggering 23 of them in 1977 (and over just a 14-game schedule, to boot). But sacks weren’t an officially-kept stat then, leaving the feat that earned him Defensive Player of the Year honors largely lost between the cracks of football history. The third-round draft pick out of East Texas State went on to four Pro Bowls over his Cowboys career and was co-MVP of Super Bowl XII, along with Randy White. After retiring in 1983, he went on to a brief second career in pro wrestling. Martin passed away on Christmas Eve 2001, of pancreatic cancer.
LB Lee Roy Jordan (1963-1976)
MIAMI, FL – JANUARY 18: Lee Roy Jordan #55 of the Dallas Cowboys tackles Franco Harris #32 of the Pittsburgh Steelers during Super Bowl X January 18, 1976 at the Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida. The Steelers won the Super Bowl 21-17. (Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images)
If Jordan had played in a different era, he would likely be widely regarded as one of the best defenders to ever play the game. The sixth overall pick by Dallas in the 1963 draft, the undersized Alabama product was the first Cowboys rookie to ever start a season opener at linebacker. He was a mainstay in the middle of the original “Doomsday” defense for 14 seasons, earning five Pro Bowl berths and a Super Bowl ring. When he retired after the 1976 season, he was the Cowboys’ all-time leader in tackles. Jordan was a Hall finalist in 1988; the following year, he became the first member of the Cowboys Ring of Honor to be inducted by Jerry Jones.
DB Everson Walls (1981-1989)
LOS ANGELES Ð AUGUST 13: Everson Walls #24 of the Dallas Cowboys stands on the field during a NFL game against the Los Angeles Raiders on August 13, 1988 at the LA Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Allen Dean Steele/Getty Images)
An undrafted free agent out of Grambling State, most thought Walls was too slow to play in the NFL, yet by Week 5 of his rookie season, he was starting. He finished that season with a record 11 interceptions. He played nine seasons in Dallas and led the league in picks in three of them. Perhaps unfairly, the four-time Pro Bowler is often remembered as the defender Dwight Clark beat to make “The Catch.” Walls went on to also play with the Giants and Browns, but he has always remained a Cowboy at heart. At 47, he made the incredible choice to donate a kidney to close friend and former Dallas teammate Ron Springs. He was a semifinalist for the Hall in 2023; Walls has called his exclusion “something I struggle with mightily.”
