THE 1963 PITTSBURGH STEELERS

THE GUEST OF HONOR - A TRIBUTE TO DICK HOAK
by Jack Henry

Mrs. Regina Hoak has the rare quality of being able to bide her time. Up until now she has not seen her son play for the Pittsburgh Steelers. But today she is in the stands and she certainly has drawn the brass ring. It happens to be Dick Hoak Day and tributes to the painstaking halfback will pour in from all directions. It is also United Steelworkers' Day and Mrs. Hoak's husband is a former steelworker.

On top of everything else today's game is with the hated Cleveland Browns which should bring out the biggest pro football crowd in district history. Evidently it is Mrs.Hoak's reasoning that it pays to wait for the blue-plate special.

In recognition of Mrs. Hoak's caution in waiting to see if pro football is here to stay, students of heredity will conclude that Dick Hoak comes by his patience honestly. They deserve a passing grade for this observation since the 23-yearold halfback has taken his entire National Football League career in stride and temperament wise has not changed one iota since serving an apprenticeship of eight years at Jeannette High School and Penn State University.

Hoak was an early-round selection by the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1961 but Coach Buddy Parker in his customary Trader Horn style had dealt away sufficient choices the year before that the lofty draft ranking wasn't quite what it appeared to be.

Frankly I can't recall any wholesale rush to organize Dick Hoak Fan Clubs nor was there a steady drum-beat of ballyhoo bv press, radio or television to mark the occasion. Unfortunately those that did presume to make any predictions at all, declared flatly that Hoak probably wouldn't make the grade.

To tell the truth, percentages were riding with these gloomy guessers because in professional ranks the biblical contention often holds up that many are called, but few are chosen. It is typical of Hoak that such disparagement did not anger him one whit. He told me that he fully intended to quit pro ball in his very first week of practice at the preseason camp at Slippery Rock.

The veterans had not even arrived for the drills when many of the rookies began to have second thoughts and reckoned it was a waste of time to stay. Hoak started thinking along these lines and so did his buddy, highly touted Fred Martino of Syracuse. Martino did quit, but before Hoak acted he decided to phone his older brothers in Jeannette, Doll and Charley. They thought over his problem and resorted to Herbert Asquith's celebrated approach in advising the kid to wait and see.

The brothers' view was shared by their dad, Bill Hoak, who had experienced sandlot football ups and downs many years earier. The Hoak family obviously dislikes operating on impulse and Master Richard fell in line. The result has been a steady flow of constant dividends for at this time Hoak is one of the top rushers in the league.

He has consistently found that he can hold his own with such better publicized ball carriers as Green Bay's Jim Taylor, Philadelphia's Timmy Brown, St. Louis Cardinals' Joe Childress and Green Bay's Tom Moore in battling for the runnerup spot to the incomparable Jimmy Brown.

Why is this so? Hoak is hardly a Monster of the 'Midway at 5 feet 10 and 190 pounds. He doesn't own the blinding speed of a Buddy Young nor the flare of a Jon Arnett. He can't be expected to run over tacklers like a Bronko Nagurski nor break away on breathtaking runs like an Ollie Matson.

What he does have, though, is the willingness to pay attention to instruction, to block far above average, to fit harmoniously into the unit, to stay in peak condition and to execute each and every assignment in a way designed to ease a coach's occupational ulcer. That is a combination of versatility impossible to brush off.

Buddy Parker, not a man much given to fantasy, contends that Hoak is a throwback to Indiana University's onetime gift to the Detroit Lions, Hunchy Hornschmeyer. This is a recollection that other NFL coaches echo.

In short, the Jeannette Jack of All Trades has fully justified the assurance of Frank Patrick that the Pittsburgh team was on the right track in drafting him so high.He has even more fully justified the time that mercurial Bobby Layne spent in giving him pointers on the tricks of the pro trade.

Hoak was a quarterback for the old Pitt Panther star Markley Barnes during his varsity years at Jeannette High School. However at Penn State Rip Engle and Joe Paterno used him in two positions. For part of his Nittany Lion tenure he operated out of a halfback spot when Richie Lucas and Al Jacks were employed as the signal callers. In his senior year he was switched back to quarterback to alternate with the surprising Galen Hall.

Today's guest of honor rates Pitt's Mike Ditka of Aliquippa as the toughest defensive player he faced as a collegian and incidentally brackets another Pitt end, Ronnie Delfine, not far behind Iron Mike.

In his pro service he regards Pitt's Joe Schmidt of Brentwood, Penn State's Andy Stynchnla of the Washington Redskins and Cleveland's Bill Glass as tops. His renewal of rivalry with Ditka in the pros is yet to come.

Next to his high ranking among NFL ground gainers the biggest surprise that has come Hoak's way since turning pro was when he discovered that the Blond Bombshell Bobby Layne had decided to listen to Parker's advice to step out of competition. The dedication he has shown thus far is an indicator that when the time comes to retire, the coaching fraternity will be proud to admit him to the inner circle.

Article from the programme for November 10th 1963.