Friday, May 11, 2001

Cowboys adding Hayes to Ring of Honor

By RAY BUCK
c.2001 Fort Worth Star-Telegram

IRVING, Texas — The Dallas Cowboys have called a news conference for Thursday at Texas Stadium, where they are expected to announce that “Bullet” Bob Hayes will become the team's 11th inductee into the Ring of Honor.

The 2 p.m. news conference will be at the Stadium Club.

Hayes still holds several Cowboys receiving records more than a quarter-century after a legendary career (1965-74) in which the former Olympic gold-medal sprinter redefined his position in the NFL with world-class speed.

Hayes, 58, nearly lost a battle with prostate cancer and other internal complications in March.

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said several times over the past two months that he planned to re-evaluate the merits of putting Hayes into the Ring of Honor, and make it a priority this off-season.

Hayes' quiet plea for acceptance into the Ring of Honor has been a center of controversy for many years, while the players' accomplishments on the field have been weighed against his drug and legal problems off the field. In 1978, Hayes served jail time on a drug conviction.

He also reshaped the game. But while his contributions to the NFL are obvious, Hayes has never made it into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Hayes, who lives in Jacksonville, Fla., is expected to be at Texas Stadium on Thursday. He was in Dallas last month when he was the honoree at a benefit luncheon held at the Ramada Plaza Hotel. Part of those proceeds went toward paying his medical bills.

Tony Dorsett, Chuck Howley, Lee Roy Jordan, Bob Lilly, Don Meredith, Don Perkins, Mel Renfro, Roger Staubach, Randy White and Tom Landry precede Hayes into the Ring of Honor. It has been seven years, White and Dorsett in 1994, since someone has joined the elite group.