First, let me know what you’ve been up to since your time in the NFL?
Well, I’m out here in Alameda, California – been here for 30 years. I had a number of injuries after my first season in Pittsburgh and my wife and I talked about my career and sat down – we were ready to do something different. I had three concussions and the doctors told me that I was risking my health if I played any longer.
I had hoped my career would go for a longer time – but I was just told I was risking too much damage.
What did you do after football?
I went to work for the Pennsylvania State Civil Service – I was there for 14 years as the director of hiring and employment, then I was offered a job to work for Chevron – they had merged for Gulf Oil – and wanted my wife and I to move here to Alameda. I guess they gave me an offer I couldn’t refuse!
I talked to my family – I had four kids – and they also offered my wife a job too. I worked for them for 25 years and my wife ended up working for them in their communications department for 35 years. It’s been a happy life, but I still do miss the thrill of football.
How has that post-NFL adjustment been – especially at the beginning?
Well it’s funny, my neighbor out here ended up being Morris Bradshaw who played for the Raiders for a number of years. He introduced me to a number of other Raiders and I ended up having a lot of close friends with those guys. They’d tease me a lot about how our teams beat each other up – but I became good friends with a lot of those old Raiders players.
But it was very difficult in the beginning. When I left I still felt I had a lot in me and that if I could have played longer, I could have taken my game to another level. I almost went to the Olympics – I chose football instead. I thinkI could have been a very good player if I could have played longer. But, I thank God that I had a chance to play – I enjoyed the tradition of the Steelers.
You were drafted by New Orleans first – how did you end up with the Steelers?
I was an All-American at Indiana State – I broke all of the rushing records there. My coach told me then that New Orleans was very interested in me. But that was the year of the strike – I ended up missing a year of football because of that. The next season Pittsburgh called me – Dan Rooney and Chuck Noll told me they needed another running back. They had Preston Pearson – Rocky was still hurt – so they needed another guy, They saw my speed and wanted me to come in.
Anyone help you the most in Pittsburgh as a young player?
Sam Davis – he helped me a lot. He was sort of my role model. And Jon Kolb – I called him Superman because he was built like him. They always encouraged me and pushed me to play hard. They said they knew I gave 1,000 percent.. Jon – I didn’t know it at the time – but he said he was watching me the whole time because of the effort I gave.
Any memories stand out most to you?
Right before the last preseason game versus the Giants at old Shea Stadium – well – the team had a tradition. They would embroider the names on the back of the jerseys of the players that made the team. They’d put them in everyone’s duffel bag and and put them in the lockers. If you saw your name sewed on you knew you already made it.
Well, I stood in front of my duffel bag and started to pray, then I closed my eyes and put my hands in the bag and started feeling around – to see if I could feel my name on the jersey. It’s a big name! Well, I finally felt it and I started crying and laughing – then all of the veterans came up to me and gave me a hug. They said they were praying for me – talking about how hard I worked.
They had such a great tradition in Pittsburgh – it was very different than when I was in New Orleans. There’s no other team like Pittsburgh – they played old-fashioned football and had such great traditions.
Any other memories stand out?
We were playing the Vikings in Three Rivers when I had a kick return for a touchdown. We were losing and Chuck sent me out there to return a kick. There were two of us back there. I’m not sure what happened – the kick was deep and I was looking up in the lights. I wasn’t aware is I was in the endzone – we were supposed to kneel down if it was in the endzone and have the offense just start on the 20. I ran and went right, then left, then up the middle and saw the kicker there. I said there was no way I was going to let him catch me!
When I came off the field Chuck told me it was one of the most fantastic runs he had ever seen. When you get a compliment from Chuck you know you did good! L.C. and Joe Greene talked about how fast I was.
I led the team in kickoff returns that year. We were just one win I think away from winning the conference and making the playoffs.
Any funny memories off the field?
Ernie Holmes was my roommate in training camp. There wasn’t a bed big enough for him – he was so big his feet hung off the end of the bed! I used to tease him about it. I was 6’1″ but he was so big he called me “Little Guy”.
He had such a huge appetite. We weren’t far from Burger King in Latrobe. Ernie would tell me that after curfew at 10 p.m. we were going to bust out, take my car, and go to Burger King! I did tell him once that I thought this could get us cut from the team, but he told me “Look little man, they won’t cut us and I need some hamburgers!” I was too scared to say no! He’d get four of their biggest hamburgers – and that was after our big meals in the cafeteria!
After camp was over, Dick Hoak told me that he knew we thought we were bring tricky, but he saw every move we were making. He told me he knew I was working hard and didn’t want to be the one to do me in!
Ernie did get us in trouble once – he made us late getting to the training table and Chuck had us, in full gear, run four times around the field in 100-degree heat. Camp was vicious at times – Chuck was very serious about those things.
What do you remember most about those tough camps?
We’d have running drills – two guys on offense and two on defense. You had to run through the blocks and cut left or right – and that was against guys like Joe and Ernie so the lineman were not winning many of their battles. I was fast enough to avoid some of the bigger hits and knew when to go down – a lot of the guys didn’t know how to take a hit.
After that season, how did the departure of the team go – what happened?
I couldn’t train in the offseason – I had three concussions – once I couldn’t remember some things for two weeks. The doctors told me I should sit out a year. I told the team I couldn’t play – they were upset. They wanted me to stay on but they understood. I think they were afraid I’d go play for someone else the following year!
It was the right decision – I have four kids and eight grandkids. God blessed me – I have a good life and am in good health. And I’ve had no problems since with my head,
It was a tough decision to stop playing. My wife is the one who finally talked some sense into me. I cried for a couple of weeks after I told the team though. It was hard watching games knowing I could still play.
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