Dicky Maegle obit

Former Rice football legend, NFL great Dicky Maegle passes away

 

He was not on the list.

Former Rice University All-American football player Dicky Maegle passed away Sunday at the age of 86, the school announced Tuesday in a press release.

Maegle was part of some memorable Rice teams in the 1950′s, helping lead the Owls to a 28-6 win over Alabama in the 1954 Cotton Bowl. In that game, Maegle rushed for 265 yards on 11 carries with three touchdowns. That 265-yard performance is still the current Rice football record for most rushing yards in a game. Maegle also holds current Rice records in average yards per carry in a season (7.31 in 1953) and average yards per carry in a career (6.6).

After starring at Rice, Maegle was drafted by the San Francisco 49ers with the tenth overall pick in the 1955 National Football League Draft. In the NFL, Maegle excelled as a defensive back, intercepting 28 passes in 73 games. He became the first player in Pittsburgh Steelers history to intercept three passes in a game, was named to the Pro Bowl as a rookie in 1955, and was All-Pro in 1956 and 1957. In his NFL career, Maegle played with the 49ers, Steelers, and Dallas Cowboys before retiring in 1962.

n 1970, Maegle was part of Rice’s inaugural class of inductees into the Rice Athletics Hall of Fame. In 1979, he became the fourth Rice player to be inducted into the National Football Foundation College Football Hall of Fame. And then in 1998, Maegle joined such football legends as Jim Brown, Bobby Layne, Darrell Royal, and Doak Walker as the inaugural inductees into the Cotton Bowl Hall of Fame.

Maegle was known as Dicky Moegle during his time at Rice, when he also played basketball for the Owls. He made the decision later in his career to change the spelling of his name to the more phonetically-accurate “Maegle.”

According to the Rice University press release, his funeral services will be held Monday at Geo. H. Lewis & Sons in Houston.

In 1953, he teamed up with fullback Dave "Kosse" Johnson (the nation's second leading rusher), to win a share of the Southwest Conference title with the University of Texas, while registering 833 rushing yards with a 7.3-yard average, which led the nation. In the 1954 Cotton Bowl Classic against Alabama, Moegle was involved in one of college football's most famous plays. With Rice leading 7–6, Moegle broke through on a sweep from Rice's five-yard line, and was running down the sideline in front of Alabama's bench on his way to a touchdown. Alabama's Tommy Lewis, without putting on his helmet, jumped off the bench and tackled Moegle. Seeing what happened, referee Cliff Shaw awarded a 95-yard touchdown on the play, and Rice went on to win the game 28–6. Moegle finished with 265 rushing yards, which was a Cotton Bowl Classic record until the 2008 game when Missouri's Tony Temple rushed for 281 yards. He finished with game records of 265 yards on 11 carries for an average of 24.1 yards per attempt and 3 touchdowns. Moegle and Lewis later appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show to talk about the play.

He was a color announcer for the Houston Oilers and a manager of the Tidelands and Tides II hotels

Some of his key teammates, coaches and other personnel include: Red Strader, Y. A. Tittle, Billy Wilson, Joe Perry, Hugh McElhenny, Frankie Albert, Bob St. Clair, Earl Morrall, Tony Morabito, John Brodie, Victor Morabito, Josephine Morabito, Louis Spadia, Phil Bengtson, R. C. Owens, Abe Woodson, Jerry Mertens, Marv Matuszak, Leo Nomellini, John Henry Johnson, Tom Tracy, Frank Varrichione, John Reger, Ernie Stautner, Tom Landry, Tex Schramm, Clint Murchison Jr., Don Meredith, Eddie LeBaron, Dick Bielski, Don Perkins, Chuck Howley, Billy Howton and Bob Lilly.