Ralph Neely career stats & wikipedia page
https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/N/NeelRa00.htm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ralph_Neely

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January 6 2022
https://www.aol.com/sports/former-cowboys-pro-ralph-neely-041837524.html
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Neely played 13 seasons in the NFL, all
with the Cowboys from 1965-77. He was
a full-time starter in Dallas from Day 1
after the Cowboys traded for his contrac-
tual rights following his Round 2 selection
by the Baltimore Colts in 1965.

He played his first 5 seasons at right tackle
before transitioning to left tackle, where he
protected Roger Staubach's blindside.

By the time he retired after the 1977 season,
Neely had started in 168 of the 172 games
he played. He made 2 Pro Bowls in addition
to his 3 All-Pro honors and is a member of
the Pro Football Hall of Fame's All-1960s
team.

He played in 4 Super Bowls, including Cow-
boys wins over the Dolphins after the 1971
season and Broncos after the 1977 season.
The Super Bowl XII win over the Broncos was
the final game of his career.

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Follow-up:

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January 15 2022

Widow of Cowboys great Ralph Neely says his final
years were destroyed by CTE (Chronic Traumatic
Encephalopathy)
https://www.abqjournal.com/2461683/neelys-wife-says-battle-with-nfl-for-benefits-grueling.html
---

~~~
Aside: See the following article for details on CTE,
a progressive brain condition that's thought to be
caused by repeated blows to the head and repeated
episodes of concussion. It's particularly associated
with contact sports, such as boxing or American
football. Most of the available studies are based on
ex-athletes.
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/chronic-traumatic-encephalopathy/
End Aside
~~~

As a result of playing football, Ralph Neely had de-
mentia, a bad back, a bad neck, replaced knees, a hip
and a shoulder, scoliosis of the spine, and by the end
he was in so much pain he told his wife he no longer
wanted to live.

“He said he would do it all over again,” said Neely’s
widow, Janis, in a phone interview.

On Jan. 6, one of the greatest players in the history
of the University of Oklahoma and the Dallas Cowboys
died. Ralph Neely – Arkansas-born, Farmington High
School alumnus and 2014 inductee into the New Mex-
ico Sports Hall of Fame, was 78.

Few could could have known the price that Neely paid
to play football, and the lengths he went to be compen-
sated by the NFL as part of its settlement with the for-
mer players who dealt with the effects of CTE.

Both Neely and former Dallas Cowboys running back
Dan Reeves, who also recently died, were members of
the NFL’s greatest generation that essentially started
what is now the most successful pro sports league in
America against the best interests of their health.

As that generation enters the final stages of their lives,
so many of them are in terrible shape. Ralph Neely’s
brother, Richard, said Reeves was also suffering the
effects of CTE.

Neely played for the Dallas Cowboys from 1965 to
1977, and is a member of the NFL’s 1960s All-Decade
team. He was a member of two Super Bowl winning
teams, was an All-Pro four times and an All-American
at Oklahoma.

In the end, Neely’s original desire was to have his re-
mains available to be studied by the UT-Southwestern
medical center for the affects of CTE and concussions.

Janis said, however, there was some confusion in the
paperwork process and that Ralph’s remains will not
be available for research.

The intent was there, and while Ralph Neely didn’t want
football to be stopped he wants people to know exactly
what they are getting into if they play.

“He wanted all of the cards on the table,” Janis said. “He
didn’t want anyone [the NFL] to shy away from the respon-
sibilities. He didn’t want the game to be stopped, but he
did hate to see kids play rough.”

Richard said his brother even once played a game against
the St. Louis Cardinals and that he was not aware of any-
thing until he was on the plane ride home. “It was one of
the highest-graded games of the season,” he said.

That’s just the way it was then.

Janis said her husband began to show the effects of the
toll of the game between five to 10 years ago.

The hardest part was Ralph was aware of it. She said he
knew something was wrong. Despite his best attempts to
hide it, Janis knew her husband had dementia.

Ralph was one of the ex-players who joined the lawsuit
against the NFL to receive compensation as a result of
suffering concussions and head trauma.

The case was settled in April 2016, and it was estimated
it would cost the league about $1 billion.

If you are a player in that suit who expected some money,
the required lengths to receive that money are so great a
lot of the plaintiffs simply gave up.

Janis feels that was the long-term plan by the NFL’s attor-
neys; to set up a system so draining and difficult, that she
believes that the ex-player or his family will simply stop
taking the necessary steps to see their part of the settle-
ment.

“It took years and years of fighting it,” Janis said. “The NFL
had a listing of doctors we could see, and we did that. A
year later they said some of those doctors weren’t quali-
fied.

“It was testing after testing. One series of tests lasted all
day. We did everything multiple times, and sent the same
questionnaire forms back. I was the one who did the leg
work and would beat the tables and threaten to go to the
media.

“Our attorney was really concerned that many of these
people would simply pass away before it was ever finished.
The family would get the money, but the guy who played
would never see it.”

Last year, Ralph received the money.

“There was real satisfaction there. It was worth it,” Janis
said. “(The NFL) was going to pay come hell or high water.
I was not going to give up. It was something he deserved.
He deserved a lot more from the Cowboys, but that’s for
another discussion.”

Despite the compensation, there was not much that could
be done about Ralph’s condition.

He was struggling mentally and physically. He would need
a walker, which he hated. If he was sitting down, he was
OK. But once he started to try to walk around, he was out
of breath.

On Dec. 23 last year, he went to the hospital. “He quit eat-
ing on December 27,” Janis said. “He had never before men-
tioned wanting to die at all, but it got to be too much for him.
He was in so much pain.”

Ralph came home on Jan. 2, and just three days later he
was gone.

“He didn’t watch [football] much any more because for him
it was work, but he loved the game,” Janis said. “He really
did love the game. It created so much for him. He just didn’t
want anyone to go through what he went through.”

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On Thursday, January 6, 2022 at 8:23:36 AM UTC-6, observer wrote:

..> Ralph Neely career stats & wikipedia page
..> https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/N/NeelRa00.htm
..> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ralph_Neely
..>
..> ---
..> January 6 2022
..> https://www.aol.com/sports/former-cowboys-pro-ralph-neely-041837524.html
..> ---
..>
..> Neely played 13 seasons in the NFL, all
..> with the Cowboys from 1965-77. He was
..> a full-time starter in Dallas from Day 1
..> after the Cowboys traded for his contrac-
..> tual rights following his Round 2 selection
..> by the Baltimore Colts in 1965.
..>
..> He played his first 5 seasons at right tackle
..> before transitioning to left tackle, where he
..> protected Roger Staubach's blindside.
..>
..> By the time he retired after the 1977 season,
..> Neely had started in 168 of the 172 games
..> he played. He made 2 Pro Bowls in addition
..> to his 3 All-Pro honors and is a member of
..> the Pro Football Hall of Fame's All-1960s
..> team.
..>
..> He played in 4 Super Bowls, including Cow-
..> boys wins over the Dolphins after the 1971
..> season and Broncos after the 1977 season.
..> The Super Bowl XII win over the Broncos was
..> the final game of his career.
..>
..> *--- --- ---*