Rayfield Wright, Hall of Fame offensive lineman for Dallas Cowboys, dies at 76

Dallas Cowboys Hall of Fame offensive tackle Rayfield Wright died Thursday, his wife Di told the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He was 76.

The three-time All-Pro and member of the Hall’s All-Decade team for the 1970s had been hospitalized for several days after a severe seizure, the Hall reported.

Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones released a statement honoring Wright, calling the six-time Pro Bowl lineman the “epitome” of a Hall of Famer.

“His grit, his agility, his passion, his charism and his love for football, the community and his family always shined through,” Jones said in the statement. “Rayfield was champion on and off the field. He remained an important part of the Cowboys family long after his playing days ended, and he will be deeply missed.”

Wright’s journey to his 2006 Pro Football Hall of Fame enshrinement was as unusual as it was prolific.

In retrospect, his 13 Cowboys seasons, two Super Bowl titles and three straight first-team All-Pro selections seem an obvious resume for a Hall of Famer. But Wright didn’t make his high school football team until senior year. Football was just one of three sports he competed in during college, and it wasn’t his strongest. The eventual NFL stalwart at right tackle played tight end, safety, defensive end and punter for Fort Valley State.

He planned to sign an NBA contract the Cincinnati Royals offered, the Hall said.

Then the Cowboys called.

Wright became one of five 1967 rookies to make the team among 137 training camp invites. He transitioned from tight end to tackle in 1969, where he’d play for the Cowboys through 1979 and earn the nickname “Big Cat” for the quickness and range that seemed to defy his size. Wright likened his job protecting Hall of Fame quarterback Roger Staubach to the Secret Service guarding the president.

The president said Wright was “absolutely the best.”

“Rayfield was a big, strong guy that was able to transfer his size and strength from tight end to tackle,” Staubach told the Associated Press. “He also had such quick feet that he was able to deal with some of the faster defensive ends and even the linebacker blitzes.

“If he got beat, I don’t remember it.”

Wright was enshrined in 2006 after 22 years of eligibility. In his enshrinement speech, he said he prayed at 10 years old that God would “just give me the ability that I could do something, that I could help my mother and my grandmother, and I could help other people.”

“It takes courage to dream your dream,” he added in the speech. “Defeat is possible and is a challenge to do better next time. Be satisfied you gave the game everything that you had, and remember this: Don’t be afraid to travel the road less traveled because Larry Rayfield Wright did, and you can, too.”

Pro Football Hall of Fame president Jim Porter said the Hall of Fame flag will fly at half-staff through Wright’s service next Friday.

“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, his wife, Di, and the extended Wright family,” Porter said. “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.”

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Cowboys Hall of Fame OL Rayfield Wright dies at 76