Cowboys Country

Rayfield Wright Remembered: Michael Irvin on Death of Cowboys 'Brother'

Multiple generations of Cowboys knew "Big Cat'' - including fellow Hall of Fame member Michael Irvin.

Mike Fisher

FRISCO - The Dallas Cowboys lost one of the NFL's all-time greats this past week as legendary Hall of Fame offensive tackle Rayfield Wright passed away at the age of 76.

Multiple generations of Cowboys knew "Big Cat'' - including fellow Hall of Fame member Michael Irvin.

Irvin took to Twitter to offer not only his condolences to the family and friends of the Hall of Fame offensive tackle, but to also share a photo of the two of them, beaming - as both are so well-known for doing - while attending a party together.

“Thought and prayer for the family and friends of this great man,” Irvin wrote. “RIP my HOF teammate Rayfield Wright.”

Obviously, they were not literally Cowboys teammates, as Wright’s NFL career ended a full decade before Irvin’s began. But he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame just one year before Irvin received the same honor in Canton.

Plus, Cowboys are Cowboys. And HOF'ers are brothers.

Wright was a dominant offensive tackle who was athletic enough to have been initially considered a tight end. He was also a college star in track and field and at 6-6, 260, was considered a pro basketball prospect by NBA scouts.

But during the Cowboys’ dominance in the 1970s, "Big Cat'' was as individually dominant as anybody else on those star-studded rosters.

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Wright served as the starting right tackle for Dallas in six NFC championship games and he played in the Super Bowl five times. He was a six-time Pro Bowler and a six-time All-Pro selection and a two-time Super Bowl champ.

Wright is in the Cowboys Ring of Honor, and as team owner Jerry Jones said, "Rayfield Wright was the epitome of what it takes to be a Hall of Famer. His grit, his agility, his passion, his charisma and his love for football, the community and his family always shined through. … He will be deeply missed.''

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Mike Fisher
MIKE FISHER

Mike Fisher - as a newspaper beat writer and columnist and on radio and TV, where he is an Emmy winner - has covered the NFL since 1983 and the Dallas Cowboys since 1990, is the author of two best-selling books on the Cowboys.

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