Category: Steelers

First, can you let readers know what you are up to these days?

Would you believe I was working with the Alameda City Transit as a bus operator. I was doing that for ten years and recently put in my retirement notice. I’ll be sixty-five in January and decided to retire and enjoy the years I have left.

How is your health?

I went through some tough health issues the past two years – I didn’t think I’d make it. I had cancer in my lungs but it’s in remission now. I’m drawing on my social security and NFL pension plan and enjoying life on a daily basis.

Continue reading “Ocie Austin, Steelers Safety, 1970-1971”

First, can you let readers know what you are doing today and how your health is.

My knees are bad – I can’t walk well. I need a walker to get around now. But I feel fine when I’m sitting down and laying down.

Is this a football injury – and is the NFL helping you now?

I’m not getting help from the NFL – I talked to some guy in California but they said it’s because of an injury I had when my knee gave out fishing and it pinched my spinal cord – so they think it was because of that, but my knees were bad before then, so I don’t know…

Continue reading “Ben McGee, Steelers Defensive Lineman, 1964-1972”

First, can you let readers about your work with the California athletics department?

First it is amazing to be back at my alma mater where I developed from an eighteen year old kid into a responsible adult. Currently, I am the Assistant Director of Football Student Development. I assist our football student athletes with any academic issues that may arise on campus i.e tutoring, dorms, class conflicts.

Are you looking to get into coaching? if so, is there a particular aspect of coaching that interests you most and that you find yourself imparting on the athletes you work with?

The field of coaching has been gaining a great amount of interest for me. I have done some volunteer work assisting defensive backs and special teams on the high school level, I also talk to the DB’s here at Cal every chance I get to discuss small things that could potential help their techniques out. Clean technique, and having a tough attitude can make an ordinary athlete extraordinary.

Continue reading “Chidi Iwuoma, Steelers Cornerback, 2002-2006, 2006”

First, can you tell readers what you are doing with your time these days?

I am CEO of HPC Foodservice which is a broadline foodservice distributor  based in Connecticut. I’ve been here for almost thirty-two years. I’m also on a couple of industry and charity boards.

You came to the Steelers as an undrafted free agent in 1972. How did you decide to try out with the Steelers and what do you think convinced them to keep you on the roster?

My decision to sign with the Steelers wasn’t really difficult.  I had a number of teams that wanted to sign me and I selected the Steelers because Lionel Taylor, the receIvers coach, had come to Northwestern and watched me practice and spent time talking to me and actually called and wanted to sign me, not some scout that I had never met.

Continue reading “Barry Pearson, Steelers Wide Receiver, 1972-1973”

First, can you let readers know what you are doing with yourself these days?

I moved to Iowa after my time in Pittsburgh – it’s my home state so I wanted to come back. I have a recreation center and a lake nearby and a professional golf course in my back yard.

I’ve had the chance now to get  involved  in community and state boards – a hospital board, golf committee, the Iowa Golf Association….things I couldn’t do as a coach and I’m really enjoying it!

Continue reading “Kent Stephenson, Steelers Offensive Line Coach, 1992-2000”

First, can you tell readers what you are doing with yourself these days?

I’ve been working for the same company for twenty-five years. It’s a construction company and we do stone quarry and asphalt sales. I’m the sales manager for the company’s asphalt sales. I used to be in the coal business in the 70’s – we stripped and brokered coal.

You were drafted by Philadelphia but played only one year there before being traded to Pittsburgh. How did that happen?

Pittsburgh had a new coach – Bill Austin. He hired Tom Fletcher from Missouri as one of his coaches – and Fletcher knew me from my playing days there as well. So, Pittsburgh was working out a trade with Philadelphia involving Gary Ballman and Earl Gros. Fletcher told Austin they should have Philadelphia “throw me into the deal, and they did.

It was the best thing that happened to me.

Continue reading “Bruce Van Dyke, Steelers Offensive Lineman, 1967-1973”

First, can you let readers know how you got involved in the financial industry and what exactly you are doing there?

I always wanted to work in finance and banking and had an internship at a commercial bank the first two off-seasons of my NFL career.  It was on the operations side of the business and I wasn’t thrilled about it.  After my fourth year (second in Pittsburgh), I went through a Series 7 and sales training program at one of the big brokerage firms.  I liked the business, but wasn’t crazy about all the cold calling.

Since my playing days, I have done business development for an asset management firm, a private bank, and an investment bank.  I am currently doing business development for Constellation Wealth Advisors (www.cwallc.com), an independent private wealth advisory firm based in Menlo Park, CA and New York, NY where I’ve been for nearly two years.

Continue reading “Steve Bono, Steelers Quarterback, 1987-1988”

First, can you tell readers what made you decide to start trying to get into coaching and how it’s been going so far at Nebraska?

When I retired we moved to California and I immediately started to coach the o-line at my alama mater high school (Esperanza) in Anaheim.  That led to me coaching the o-line at a junior college in Huntington Beach called Golden West.

My wife and I decided to move our kids and raise them in the Midwest.  Before we moved to Nebraska I tried to initially get in the door with the Huskers but certain entities that no longer occupy their position with the Huskers would not give me the time of day.  I had always consulted and trained athletes since I retired and kept doing this on top of coaching my sons third through fifth grade football team as well as doing radio for the Huskers here in Lincoln.

Continue reading “Brenden Stai, Steelers Offensive Lineman, 1995-1999”

First, can you let readers know how you are doing these days?

Well, I am coming off hip replacement and incapacitated right now but thanks to technology I can still teleconference and participate in the eleven-to-twelve community boards I sit on.

I’m the one-in-a-hundred guy who has had complications from the surgery. I had seven operations on my one leg and the scarring created complications and some paralysis. From here I go to physical therapy actually.

Continue reading “John Brown, Steelers Offensive Lineman, 1967-1971”