SteelersTop story
Steelers legend Dick Hoak, a player and coach for 45 years, has died at 86
Hoak spent 45 years with the Steelers
- 86
- years old when he died Wednesday
- 45 years
- with the team as a player and coach
- 3,965
- rushing yards from 1961 to 1970
- 5 of 6
- Steelers Super Bowl titles he was part of
Sources: The Evening Sun, WKBN.com
Dick Hoak, a Jeannette native who spent 45 years with the Steelers, died Wednesday at 86. "Dick was part of the foundation of this organization," team president Art Rooney II said in a statement.
The Steelers took him in the seventh round in 1961 out of Penn State. He became running backs coach in 1972 under Chuck Noll, and his backs included Franco Harris, Rocky Bleier, Jerome Bettis and Willie Parker. He kept the job under Bill Cowher.
- Career: 5,417 yards from scrimmage and 33 total touchdowns
- 1968 Pro Bowl: 858 rushing yards at 4.9 per attempt
- Only coach to work under both Noll and Cowher
Hoak's Steelers career ran from 1961 to honors in 2025
- 1961The Steelers draft Hoak in the seventh round out of Penn State.
- 1970Hoak plays his last season as a Steelers running back.
- 1972Hoak becomes running backs coach under Chuck Noll.
- 2017Hoak joins the inaugural class of the Steelers Hall of Honor.
- 2025The Pro Football Hall of Fame gives Hoak an Award of Excellence.
Sources: The Evening Sun, WKBN.com, CBS Pittsburgh, WTAE
