| No. 42 | |
|---|---|
| Position: | Running back |
| Personal information | |
| Born: | December 8, 1939 Jeannette, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Height: | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) |
| Weight: | 195 lb (88 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school: | Jeannette |
| College: | Penn State |
| NFL draft: | 1961 / round: 7 / pick: 90 |
| Career history | |
As a player: | |
As a coach: | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| Stats at Pro Football Reference | |
Richard John Hoak (born December 8, 1939) is an American former professional football player and coach for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). He played for the Steelers as a running back. Hoak played college football for the Penn State Nittany Lions, and was selected by the Steelers in the seventh round of the 1961 NFL draft. He played for the Steelers from 1961 to 1970, and then became the longest tenured coach in the team's history, from 1972 to 2007.
Hoak was born on December 8, 1939, in Jeannette, Pennsylvania. [1] Hoak was a star quarterback, and defensive back, at Jeannette High School. He led Jeannette to a Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League (WPIAL) 3A title in 1956. He was named All-State and All-WPIAL. [2] [3]
Hoak additionally played three years on Jeannette's basketball team, leading the team in scoring as a senior and setting a single game scoring record (39 points). He was named All-WPIAL in basketball, as well as to the All-Section basketball team. Hoak also earned three letters in track. He graduated in 1957. [3]
Hoak attended Penn State University, where he played varsity football for the Nittany Lions from 1958 to 1961. As a sophomore he played halfback and safety, and continued as a running back as a junior. He was playing quarterback, as well as safety, by his senior year. [3] [4] As a junior in 1959, Penn State won the first Liberty Bowl (7–0 over Alabama). [5] [6] Penn State was again in the 1960 Liberty Bowl, winning 41–12 over Oregon. Hoak was named the game's most valuable player (MVP) passing for two touchdowns, running for two touchdowns, and intercepting two passes. [3] [7]
As a senior in 1960, he was voted the Nittany Lion's MVP by his teammates and by the Penn State Quarterback Club. [3] Over his three-year career he had 767 rushing yards and 251 receiving yards, scored eight touchdowns, and had a 55.8% pass completion rate. [4] He graduated in 1961 with a bachelor's degree in social studies. He roomed with Jim Ragano his freshman year at Penn State.[ citation needed ]
Chosen by the Steelers in the seventh round of the 1961 NFL draft (90th overall), [8] Hoak had an impressive career, amassing 3,965 rushing yards in 1132 attempts (3.5 avg) with 25 touchdowns. He also caught 146 passes for 1,452 yards (9.9 avg) and 8 touchdowns. [9] He was named to one Pro Bowl (1968) [10] and led the team in rushing three times.[ citation needed ] He retired after the 1970 season as Pittsburgh's number 2 all-time rusher, and is currently eighth all time in rushing yards out of all Steelers (as of the 2025 season). [11] [12] [13]
After a highly successful playing career, Hoak was hired by then-coach Chuck Noll as the Steelers' running backs coach in 1972, and served in that position for 20 seasons. [2] [12] He passed on the head coaching job with the USFL's Pittsburgh Maulers when offered it in 1983 because it would have been disloyal to the Rooneys (the Steelers ownership family). [14] Noll retired in 1991, [15] and Hoak was the only one of Noll's assistants retained under his successor, Bill Cowher. [16]
During his tenure, the Steelers rushed for over 30,000 yards (the only team to do so in this time period) and led the league in rushing yards three times. [17] He was the position coach for Steeler greats Franco Harris and Jerome Bettis. Harris and Bettis are the first and second all-time Steeler leading rushers, Hoak being number eight on that list (through the 2024 season). [12] [13] On January 1, 2007, Hoak announced his retirement after 45 seasons with the team: 10 as a player and 35 as a coach. [18] [12]
Hoak has the distinction of being the only coach to work for both Chuck Noll and Bill Cowher. At the time of his retirement, he had been a Steeler for 742 of the franchise's 1,057 games and had been involved in every title game and playoff victory during its 74 seasons up to that point in time. [17] Over his 35 years as a Steeler’s coach, the team won five Super Bowls and numerous AFC Championships. [3]
The Pro Football Hall of Fame is honoring Hoak with its 2025 Award of Excellence. [12] In 2024, he was inducted into the National High School Football Hall of Fame. [2] In 2018, he was inducted into the Jeannette City School District Hall of Fame. [19] In 2017, Hoak was inducted as an inaugural member of the Steelers Hall of Honor. [20] [14] In 1968, he received the Dapper Dan Award. [3]
Hoak lives in Hempfield, Pennsylvania. Hoak's wife, Lynn, died March 9, 2019.