First, let me know what you’ve been doing since your time in the NFL?
When I played I was working for Dow Chemical in the offseason. I went to the University of Virginia and got my degree in chemical engineering.
When I was released in September of ’86 due to injury, I just moved on and worked. I came from a working family – from Alabama – that’s what you did. I went to Ohio two weeks after I was released and worked for Dow.
Was the post-NFL transition difficult?
It was like anything else – you have transitions all through life. You do what you have to do – you just have to be responsible and live your life. I worked as a sales engineer for chemical companies then got involved in real estate when I went to Houston. I got a lot of experience at Dow – in accounting, production, research … it was good for me when I opened up my own business in real estate.
Stepping back – what brought you to Pittsburgh after the draft?
You have to ask the people in Pittsburgh! I wasn’t drafted – they signed me as an undrafted free agent. My best game in college was against West Virginia when they were ranked in the top 10 – so maybe they saw that game..
I had multiple offers but I had a soft spot for the Steelers. Many of my family members moved to Pennsylvania and worked in the steel mills. They would also come back to Alabama when I still lived there as Steelers fans. Alabama didn’t have any NFL teams of it’s own – except the University of Alabama! So you could choose your own NFL team really.
So that’s why I played for the Steelers – I had decided to be a fan of the Steelers after seeing my family cheer for them. And seeing my uncles in the stands cheering for me – I could hear them in the stands they were so loud! That’s how it started.
Any guys on the team help mentor you when you got there?
I was close to two-to-three guys there. Rich Erenberg and Abercrombie – they were tailbacks and I was a fullback, so it wasn’t unusual for us to be friends.
Me and Rich were close. We both started a company together in Houston . Rich’s dad was a finance guy and Rich learned a lot from him – he learned to be very aggressive as a business person and I learned a lot from him.
Stallworth was from Alabama – he was older – more seasoned. But he would make me feel at home – both being from Alabama. And I roomed with Calvin Sweeney – he was a nice guy.
What made you an effective fullback?
I led the team in rushing in the preseason but I didn’t get many chances to rush the ball once the season started. I mostly blocked after that.
I knew how to block already – before I got to Pittsburgh. My intensity – and I was anal about things too. It was more than just about hitting people – it is about physics. If I wanted to move a guy to the right of me I had to know how to turn them to the other side. It’s not just about how hard you hit someone – it’s about technique.
My best game was the last one in ’85 versus the Giants and Lawrence Taylor. He had no sacks that game – and they needed to win that game to make the playoffs. We were lame ducks – we were already out of the playoffs – but I played hard and showed what I could do. That was his MVP year too.
That’s my claim to fame! A lot of the coaches after the game told me I did a hell of a job. It was the highlight of my career. Lawrence Taylor was faster, stronger and bigger than me. But it’s hard to measure meanness. My kind of meanness was high – I wasn’t scared of him. I just had to use all of the skills I had as a weapon against a guy like him and stop him. I cut him one time, hit him when he jumped – mixed it up to play mental games with him too. Once someone is in the air they are defenseless – that’s just physics. So that’s how I played against him.
Any good memories of your time there that stand out?
We played the Colts the first game of the season and I played more in that game than any time during the season. Pollard was injured all preseason so they didn’t know how much he could go the first week, so I got a lot of playing time. It was crazy – I graduated college in May and started in my first NFL game that September! And I got more playing time in my first NFL game than I did my first college game.
Any funny experiences that season in Pittsburgh?
I don’t know why I didn’t get a lot of rookie hazing – maybe because I was so serious all of the time. They didn’t want to bother me! I didn’t know my school fight song – so when they asked the rookies to sing the song I told them I didn’t know the song. I was from Alabama and they only sang it at halftime! Well, they just looked at me then like I was crazy!
Really, the funniest memories were of Bubby Brister. I rented my townhouse out to him. I’ll let him tell most of those stories! But his mother did tell me once that if Bubby didn’t pay the rent I should call her. Well once he didn’t pay so I called her, and she sent me the money! I appreciated that. She was from Louisiana and I was from Alabama so I appreciated those good Southern values!
Were you frustrated becoming more of a blocker than runner?
In the Steelers’ offense, the fullback did run a lot. Pollard and Abercrombie both had a pretty equal number of carries. The offense was conducive to both the fullback and tailback getting carries. During the regular season they just didn’t give me the ball as much despite the fact I led them in rushing in the preseason. I played mostly on third downs – I came in as a blocking back. Abercrombie and Pollard were the backs on the first two downs and on third and longs me and Rich came in. I was the blocking back and he was more of a receiver.
What happened after that first season that caused you to get released?
I tore my hamstring in practice in preseason in ’86. I was the suicide guy on kickoffs – that’s how I made the team too. And in practice I ran down the field and hit a guy who was 50 pounds bigger than me and tore my hamstring.
I never had an injury in high school or college. I thought I was invincible. Even after I got injured I thought I’d just come back and play again. I was just waiting on the trainer to tell me when I could come back.
I remember at lunch Chuck Noll came up to me and asked me when I would be getting back on the field. I told him I was just waiting for the trainers to tell me I could – that I would come back right after. The next day I got the ok! I guess they had a meeting…
But about four-to-five plays into practice I pulled my hamstring again. It slowed me down – it’s hard to play fullback with one leg.
Any thoughts on the game today and life after the NFL?
Our Creator has a plan for everybody. Mine was to play one year of football and take those lessons I learned and use them later on in life. That’s what I did.
I thought I would have a son who would go on and play football too. I do have a son who is bigger than I was. But football isn’t for everybody. You either love it or hate it. It’s a game of a lot of struggle. You have to enjoy the struggles or you won’t be very good. I enjoyed them.
The game is different today too. I may not have been able to play today. I was a linebacker early in college and if we got our hands on the quarterback we wanted to take them out. You can’t win the game if you can’t throw any passes! Now, they protect the quarterback. It’s not a running back’s game any more. Back when I played the running backs were the stars. It was always the running backs.
Now, it’s about the quarterbacks and wide receivers. It’s a different game today. I loved playing – the comradery and excitement of playing. Today’s game is not really close .
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