Q&A: Dick Hoak

Dick Hoak has five Super Bowl rings as an assistant coach for the Steelers. He also was a running back for the Steelers and has been with the organization for 45 years, the past 35 as a coach. He was hired by Chuck Noll in 1972, and was the only coach retained by Bill Cowher in 1992.

As part of the 100th anniversary of the WPIAL, The Tribune-Review is honoring past football stars, who went on to fame, fortune and achievement in college and the pros.

Hoak, a 1957 Jeannette graduate, was a seventh-round draft pick of the Steelers in 1961 and played there until 1970. He ranks 12th in Steelers history for career touchdowns with 33, third in rushing attempts with 1,132 and fifth in yards rushing with 3,965.

For the past 10 years, Hoak helped coach Jerome Bettis to what eventually should become a Hall of Fame career.

Hoak played college football at Penn State for Rip Engle, and was the team's MVP in 1960. He played quarterback and running back at Penn State.

At Jeannette, Hoak was the team's quarterback and helped it win the 1956 WPIAL Class AAA title.

Friday, Hoak and teammates from that 1956 team will be honored before Jeannette's game against Washington. Jeannette defeated Charleroi, 16-13, in that title game.

Q: What are your memories about playing high school football in the WPIAL?

A: I have a lot of good memories. One of the biggest memories was (the) game in Latrobe when we played Charleroi for the WPIAL championship. The game was supposed to be played at Pitt Stadium, but for some reason they had a scheduling conflict and it was played here.

Q: What do you remember about the game• Jeannette won it on a Jim Burzio field goal.

A: I remember a lot of things about the game. We were all nervous going into the game. We played against Myron Pottios. Later on, he and I were both drafted by the Steelers and played together. During the opening kickoff, we kicked to them and we had a defensive end named Wayne Tucci. He hit their return man and knocked him out. After that, it was, 'OK. Let's play.' The kid never came back into the game. I've been around a lot of football and that was one of the hardest hits I think I can remember.

Q: You were part of five Super Bowl titles with the Steelers. How does that WPIAL championship rank?

A: It was fun. When we played, we were the best of that time. We probably couldn't compete with these kids today, but for our time, we were the best.

Q: Talk about Friday night when Jeannette will honor that championship team and you get recognized before the game?

A: I'm looking forward to it. A lot of the guys are still around, and we're expecting a good turnout. The entire senior class is coming back. I haven't seen a lot of those guys. It's going to be fun.

Q: People talk about another game that year. The Greensburg Salem game when you guys stopped them four times inside the one to protect that perfect season.

A: They threw a pass and one of their receivers, Bob Mitinger, got behind us, but he fell down at the 1-yard line. They got four cracks and didn't score, and then we took the ball and marched 99 yards, scored a touchdown and ate up much of the clock. Back then, we didn't throw it a lot. We won, 14-6.

Q: What's the biggest difference between today's players and when you played?

A: Today's players are bigger, faster and everything else. They're on all those vitamins, and we were on a sandwich or an apple. There is no question today that the athletes are much better. It's all relevant. We were the best of our time. Could we beat these guys today• Probably not. I don't know if we could beat any of them. For our time, we were pretty good.

Q: You played quarterback in high school. What was that like?

A: It was fun. I played quarterback in college as a freshman, and then I played running back my sophomore and junior years, and then back to quarterback my senior year.

Q: What are your memories about playing at Penn State?

A: I have a lot of fond memories. I played for a coach before Joe Paterno, Rip Engle. Joe was as assistant coach. That was four great years.

Q: Talk about the history at Jeannette and playing for legendary coach A. Markley Barnes?

A: It all started with Markley. Mr. Barnes went way back. The 1932 team was undefeated, but didn't get to play for the championship because of the Gardner Points (Jeannette was a co-champion with New Castle and Johnstown.) He won two more titles (1939 and 1956) and he had a program that every other year you were going to go 8-2, 9-1 or 10-0. We were one of the smallest schools and we competed. We played against McKeesport and Johnstown, teams like that. They'd get 100 kids out and we'd get 40 out. We'd play them even or beat them. I remember hearing a McKeesport coach say, "I'd rather have the 40 kids from Jeannette than the 100 kids I have." We all grew up together. We'd play baseball together, basketball together. We went to school together. That's the way it was.

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