First off, can you let me know what you started doing with yourself after your playing days?
I was picked up in the expansion draft after the Patriots released me. That was when Cincinnati was coming in to the league, and I was invited to go to camp with them. It was an opportunity to meet Paul Brown then. I spoke to him, but after a while I decided it was time for me to retire – so I retired in 1968.
What did you do after that?
I went back to my hometown and started coaching at my alma mater – Missouri Valley College. Then I coached high school football at Liberty High School in Missouri – I did that for 30 years.
Were there coaches that most influenced your coaching style?
I’m always grateful for the time coaches spent with me over my career. So many spent so much time with me. Volney Ashford at Missouri Valley – I owe a lot to him. He got me started – helped me to understand what it took to be a good football player. Those Missouri Valley teams had a number of good players. We went to a number of bowl games during my time there, including the Tangerine Bowl.
Do you remember how you learned about being drafted by the Steelers in 1959?
Oh yeah! Back then each team drafted 30 players – there were only 12 teams then! I was the 28th draft choice of the Steelers!
I found out over the holiday. I was definitely surprised. I was home for Christmas and was sitting at a local cafe’ when one of the owners came over and said “Congratulations!” I asked him “What for?” and he told me I was drafted! I said “What? You’re pulling my leg!” But then he got the newspaper out and it was right there – it said I was the 28th pick of the Pittsburgh Steelers!
What did you do when you found out?
I called the Steelers! I spoke to Fran Fogerty there. They mailed the contract to me – I signed it and mailed it back and went in as a rookie.
But in 1960 when I went back, I found out I was drafted into the military. I had to go home then leave for Fort Riley, Kansas. That’s when I got a letter from the Patriots – it was their first year in the AFL and they offered me a contract.
Why did you decide to play for them after the military instead of the Steelers?
Well, they called me, and I told them I was under contract already with the Steelers. I called Fran Fogerty and told him I got an offer from the Patriots. He was silent for a long time. “What did they offer you, Ron?” he asked. I told him, then there was another long silence, then he said “Good luck, Ron!” So I called the Patriots back and signed a contract with them.
Were there guys in Pittsburgh that helped you as a rookie? How, if so?
Yes they did. Gary Glick and Dean Derby both helped me. Mike Henry too – before he left for Hollywood to play Tarzan. He was a Hell of a specimen!
And I really appreciated the Defensive Backs Coach Harry Gilmore. He really taught me the basics of how to be an NFL defensive back. No one had coached me like that before. They just didn’t have that kind of expertise at Missouri Valley.
What did he show you that helped so much? It clearly helped, having 30 interceptions in your eight-year career. That includes what still remains the single season interception record for the Patriots (11 – in 1964).
He showed me techniques – footwork and how to backpedal and tackle. He broke it down for me – where to place my feet and how to stay within reach of a receiver.
What memories stand out most to you today of your time in Pittsburgh?
One that stands out most was when I was notified of getting drafted and having to leave Pittsburgh for the military. I was devastated. I just completed a full year and felt like I was part of the team. Then I had to leave. I was heartbroken, really.
When they heard I was drafted, the veteran players came up to me to offer me their condolences, I guess you can say. Bobby Layne was one of those guys. That meant so much to me that those veteran players did that.
I also wasn’t acquainted withe the razzing they did of rookies then. At mealtime in camp, rookies all had to sing their school songs. What a joke that was! I got up – I had never really learned our school song at Missouri Valley, so instead I started singing a country music song “Hey Joe, where’d you find that pearly-girly? Where’d you get that jolly-dolly?” Well, when Bobby Layne heard it he loved it! He made me sing a country music song at every meal after that! It felt like harrassment!
Any on-field memories stand out?
My interception that season against the Cardinals was a highlight – I intercepted King Hill that game.
But to be honest it was all a highlight. I had never flown before I played for Pittsburgh. I traveled to games on buses before then. Every day was new like that – every day had something new.
Do you still watch football today – do you root for the Patriots or the Steelers?
Oh yes I still watch! I like them both – I just still love the game. Of course they make a lot more than we did then!
What does making the Patriots 35th Anniversary Team mean to you?
It’s funny. In June I went to the Patriots Hall of Fame ceremony where they inducted Tom Brady. It was quite the shindig. I never got a chance to meet Tom, but a few of us that are left were there for the ceremony.
It’s been 60 years and I still have the Patriots interception record. And more importantly, 61 years later, I still have my wife!
Read more by former Steelers via the book Steelers Takeaways: Player Memories Through the Decades. To order, just click on the book:
