For the only player in NFL history with five Super Bowl rings, turns out it was the sixth time that was the charm for Charles Haley.
The former Cowboys pass-rusher, who also starred with the 49ers, has finally made it to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, an announcement made Saturday on the eve of the Super Bowl in Phoenix.
Haley is one of eight new members in the 2015 Hall of Fame class, joining Jerome Bettis, Tim Brown, Junior Seau, Will Shields, Bill Polian, Ron Wolf and Mick Tingelhoff.
One of the finalists who didn't make the cut this year includes former Cowboys head coach Jimmy Johnson, who won two Super Bowls with the Cowboys following the 1992 and 1993 seasons.
While those seasons were highlighted by great offensive players, it was Haley who put the Cowboys' defense over the top.
Haley joined the Cowboys in 1992 in a trade from San Francisco. Many believe Haley was the difference-maker on defense that put that team over the hump. Emmitt Smith, Troy Aikman and Michael Irvin were already in place and leading a high-octane offense. But it was Haley's presence that proved to be a difference-maker.
Haley had six sacks in his first season but played a big role in the Cowboys having the No. 1 ranked defense in the NFL in 1992. In Super Bowl XXVII, Haley made a game-changing play when he sacked Bills quarterback Jim Kelly and forced a fumble, which was recovered in midair by Jimmie Jones for a touchdown. The Cowboys eventually pulled away for a convincing 52-17 win.
Haley had four sacks in 1993 but his most memorable moment came after a Week 2 loss to Buffalo, which dropped the Cowboys to 0-2. Haley emphatically slammed his helmet through a locker room wall at Texas Stadium and voiced his anger in the Cowboys' not having signed Emmitt Smith, who was two games into a contract dispute with Jerry Jones and the organization. Haley's comment "We can't win with a rookie," in reference to Smith's backup Derrick Lassic, might have been the final straw as the Cowboys and Smith came to terms the next week. Smith went on to have an MVP season and the Cowboys won another Super Bowl.
The Cowboys went back to the No. 1 defense in 1994 and Haley had his first double-digit sack season with the club with 12.5, including four in the season opener in Pittsburgh.
Haley had 10.5 sacks in 1995, battling through a bad back all season. He had a sack against the Steelers in Super Bowl XXX, which helped him earn his league-best fifth Super Bowl ring.
In three Super Bowls with the Cowboys, Haley had 2.5 sacks and he had 4.5 sacks in his five Super Bowl games played.
Haley was named into the Cowboys' Ring of Honor during the middle of the 2011 season.
