First, can you let me know what you’ve been doing since your time in the NFL? What work/profession you got involved in and how you got started in that?
Due to my injury I received a settlement from the Steelers and temporarily retired from
football. Before leaving Pittsburgh in 1972, I served as Acting Assistant Principal at Rankin High School.
In 1975, when L. C. Greenwood was being courted by the World Football League, he
chose to stay with the Steelers, but encouraged me to join the new league. I made the team and helped lead the Birmingham Americans to the championship of the fledgling, World Football League. I was sidelined by a knee injury near the end of the season though and officially retired from football.
In addition to my degree in education, I also had considerable experience in construction. My dad, a construction contractor, asked me to return to Little Rock, Arkansas to help with a project for the Veterans Administration. That was the beginning of my 30 plus years of experience as a commercial construction project manager.
While working for Mosser Construction Company, I managed construction projects totaling nearly a billion dollars over a 20 year period. Two of my projects
received awards from the Ohio Chapter of Associated General Contractors: the Liquid
Crystal Research Institute at Kent State University and Founders Quadrangle at Bowling Green State University.
I also volunteered for Special Olympics while I was with the Steelers, and in Toledo I
volunteered with Habitat for Humanity.
I’ve been married 51 years, my wife Edith and I have two sons, four
grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. I also adopted a niece and nephew, when my brother’s wife died …
How hard was the post-NFL adjustment for you – some struggle with the adjustment. What made it easier and what did/do you miss most about playing?
It was a psychological downer, but I was too busy working to fully focus on the past. Before becoming a construction project manager, I worked as an acting assistant principal, a vocational skills instructor, a construction superintendent, a quality control supervisor for Chrysler Corporation, and an assistant director of a program designed to increase minority participation in construction trade unions.
I actually spent the majority of my project management career at Mosser Construction, which was the perfect niche for me. Right now I have best job title ever: “Paw”. That’s what my grandchildren and great grandchildren call me!
You were drafted by the Steelers in ’69 – were you surprised to be drafted by the Steelers? How did you find out you were drafted and what did you do once you found out?
L.C. and I were not just teammates, we were roommates for all four years in college. We also roomed together on the road while I was with the Steelers. After football was over, my wife counted the years until she could say we had spent more nights together than I’d spent with L.C.
He was a big influence during training camp; especially, when I got a bit homesick. He always talked me into hanging on. During camp, I told my wife everything was going well; but, there was one defensive tackle who had not yet made it to camp – I think he was holding out for more money. I thought he might be some serious competition. When Joe Greene arrived, I called her and told her he was the best natural-born football player I’d ever seen in my life. Chuck Hinton and Ben McGee were the old veterans of the defensive line. They were actually really friendly and supportive.
How did you and L.C. both react upon finding out you were both drafted by the Steelers, and how did that help both of your experiences in Pittsburgh as rookies, going there at the same time?
Despite his flamboyant gold shoes and his athletic strength and talent, L.C. was actually a fairly quiet person. When we were college roommates he read his Bible every night and used a picture of his high school sweetheart as a bookmark in that Bible. Like many guys, there were times when he played with pain. I can remember him purchasing a waterbed, because he was in so much pain. It was more comfortable than a mattress.
L.C. loved words. If you talked to him for an extended period of time, you would discover that he had an excellent vocabulary. That wasn’t by accident or just education. He regularly made an effort to learn and use new words.
What else can you tell us about LC as a player and person that fans may not know about? What would interest/surprise fans about how he approached playing and who he was outside of football?
He was also totally committed to golf. Despite his numerous back surgeries he never gave up the game. Greenwood truly loved his family. In addition to being loved by his adopted hometown of Pittsburgh, he was loved by his immediate family and the people of Canton, Mississippi, and in Canton, he was known for his barbecue. He never lost his faith and attended church even when he could barely stand. My wife and I attended the funeral that was held in Canton and it was truly an uplifting celebration of his life.
Who helped mentor you both – on and off the field– once you got to the Steelers? How did they do so – what did they show you that helped you most to adjust to the NFL game and life?
During our rookie year training camp, Joe Greene would stay after to practice and work with me and L.C. on pass rushing. There was one person who impacted me the more than anyone and I believe L.C. felt the same way about him that I did – Walt Hackett, the defensive line coach our rookie year. May God rest his soul, he was more than a coach – he was the true definition of a mentor. I literally played for Hackett. I gave my all for him. When he died, so did a piece of me.
That was Chuck Noll’s first Steelers draft and year coaching the team. What did he do to help turn around the team from your perspective – what did he do to turn things around and how did the other guys respond to him?
Chuck gave everyone a heads up regarding his expectations in an introductory letter we received after being drafted. He treated everybody fairly. He really believed in the importance of speed. It seemed that if two players were pretty much equal, in terms of skills, when it came time for cuts – the slower of the two would most likely be cut. Most of the players seemed to respond positively. There were maybe one, or two, who displayed a bit of attitude. They showed up late for meetings, despite the $500 fine and verbally disrespected Coach Noll. They were eventually traded.
Can you give a couple of fun stories – on or off-field – of your time in Pittsburgh? What plays stand out most to you and why – and what memories with teammates (fun or poignant) stand out most to you of your time in Pittsburgh?
In October 12, 1969, we played against Fran Tarkenton and the New York Giants. Greenwood and I were playing alternate quarters and special teams. Joe Greene got into a fight and was kicked out of the game. This meant I was playing all four quarters and special teams. At one point, I was so tired I asked team captain Ray May to call a time out and he did. Jim Shorter, a talkative cornerback, exaggerated what I said. He told everybody I said “Ray, if you don’t call time out, you’re going to be playing with 10 men!” Joe Greene still teases me about that game. In fact, Joe brought it up again in 2017 and we had a laugh about it, when we saw each other in Little Rock, Arkansas. We were attending a banquet, where Joe was a guest speaker when UAPB retired L. C. Greenwood’s jersey number.
My most poignant memory is when I accidentally injured a teammate, Don McCall, during a pre-season scrimmage. Needless to say it is ironic that the same type of injury would later end my Steeler career.
Off the field, my wife and I grew to love Pittsburgh. We had neighbors and friends that we truly enjoyed. For the first year or so in Pittsburgh, my young son was used to seeing guys my size, or larger. On a trip to the Giant Eagle grocery store, as he rode along in the grocery cart, he saw an employee spraying water on the vegetables. He started pointing and saying “Look a midget, a midget!” We were embarrassed because we had no idea he even knew the word midget and the man was a perfectly normal size guy!
While working at Rankin High School, I made friends with a biology teacher, named Timothy Jenkins. We maintained a long distance friendship until he passed away. When his wife, Dorothy, retired after more than 30 years of teaching high school in West Mifflin, Edith and I drove to Pittsburgh to join in the celebration. We still think there are no pizzas or hoagies like Pittsburgh pizzas and hoagies.
Who were some of the toughest guys you faced – in practice and in games? What made them so tough?
The toughest guys I encountered in games were Gene Hickerson, an offensive guard with the Cleveland Browns, and Ron Yary, an offensive tackle with the Minnesota Vikings. Gene was a blocker who stayed in front of you, no matter how you moved. He definitely protected the quarterback. Ron was exceptionally quick and he was excellent at slant blocking.
It was a deep defensive line even then- how competitive were all of you for playing time and was it frustrating not getting more reps? What were the coaches telling you?
In college, I was used to playing every time the defense hit the field. In the NFL, I was taking turns at tackle and spending a lot of time playing special teams. It was probably more of an ego adjustment than anything else. My feelings changed by the end of my rookie year.
How hard was it learning the team had traded you in ’71 after you were injured – what did they tell you about the trade and how did you respond?
It was hard learning about the 1972 trade; but, I wasn’t upset. I have loads of close relatives in Chicago and it would have been fun to play in front of family. The most traumatic part was going to Chicago for the physical. I laid on a table and the doctor did a 360o revolution of the leg that had been injured. Needless to say, the joint did not have full flexibility. I had spent months in a cast followed by rehabilitation. I’d elected casting rather than knee surgery; although the Steelers were reputed to have the best knee surgeon in the NFL. At that time there was no laparoscopic surgery and I could not envision going through the surgery. Fortunately, even though I’m past 70, today I do not have any knee problems.
What do you think about the way the NFL and players have changed over the years – anything you like and don’t like about the way things have changed?
The difference between then and now? Now being an NFL player seems to be a year-round job, in terms of training. We tended to start serious training two or three months before training camp. Most of us had full-time jobs during the off-season. There were not too many big salaries back then. I don’t like seeing players encounter the “pitfalls” that come with instant fame via intensive media and social media coverage. I am proud of players who use their money and celebrity to support good causes and help other people.
Read more by former Steelers via the book Steelers Takeaways: Player Memories Through the Decades. To order, just click on the book:
