New Richmond High School welcomed back distinguished alumnus and NRHS Sports Hall of Fame member Dwayne Woodruff on Oct. 2 as part of the Super Bowl High School Honor Roll initiative recognizing schools and communities that contributed to Super Bowl history.
Woodruff, a 1975 graduate of New Richmond, was a three-sport star at New Richmond and led the Lions to the 1974 Clermont County League championship. He went on to play college football at the University of Louisville and had an 11-year career in the NFL as a cornerback for the Pittsburgh Steelers, where he accumulated 37 interceptions after being drafted in the sixth round in 1979.
As a rookie in 1979, he played in all 16 games and won a Super Bowl ring with the Steelers in Super Bowl XIV. He made at least 10 starts in nine of his 11 seasons with the Steelers, including 1982 when he was named Pittsburgh Steelers Team MVP. During two of his 11 seasons with the Steelers, Woodruff was rated as the fastest player in the NFL.
Woodruff and his wife, Joy, have shared their success with Dwayne’s hometown by sponsoring the Dwayne Woodruff Scholarship, which gives $2,000 annually to a deserving New Richmond High School graduate. This year’s recipient, also honored at halftime of the Oct. 2 win over Amelia, is James Mahan.
Woodruff was back in town as part of the NFL’s campaign to hand out a commemorative Wilson Golden Football for every player or head coach who graduated from their school and was on an active Super Bowl roster. Nearly 3,000 players and head coaches, and more than 2,000 high schools, will be recognized.
Woodruff presented the commemorative ball to his high school football coach, Ron Bird.
Bird coached at New Richmond High School for 33 years and coached the 7th grade team for an additional 14. In his presentation, Woodruff credited Bird with being the inspiration for much of the success he was able to achieve.
Among Woodruff’s other accolades, the University of Louisville named its academic center within the Howard Schnellenberger Football Complex after Woodruff in 2007. Woodruff’s No. 10 jersey was retired by Louisville and now hangs in Papa John Stadium. Woodruff played for the Cardinals from 1976-78 and collected 161 career tackles, while intercepting three passes. He recorded a career-best 97 tackles in 1977 as the Cardinals advanced to the Independence Bowl.
While playing football during the day for the Steelers, Woodruff prepared for his life’s work at night and obtained his Juris Doctor from Duquesne University School of Law and became a founding member of the law firm Woodruff & Flaherty, P.C. (now Flaherty Fardo, LLC) out of Shadyside in Pittsburgh.
While in law school, Woodruff was nicknamed “The Judge” by Steelers owner Art Rooney and 15 years after his retirement from pro football, Woodruff lived up to his nickname and became Judge Dwayne Woodruff after being elected to the Common Pleas Court of Allegheny County. He was a candidate for the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, but lost in the 2015 primary election
Woodruff is married to Joy Maxberry Woodruff. They are the parents of three children: Jillian, an Ob/Gyn physician, Jenyce, an attorney, and John, a law student at the Duquesne University School of Law.
Woodruff and his wife are currently chairpersons of the “Do The Write Thing” in Pittsburgh. The program is an initiative of the National Campaign to Stop Violence (NCSV). The Do the Write Thing Challenge gives middle school students an opportunity to examine the impact of youth violence on their lives in classroom discussions and in written form by communicating what they think should be done to change our culture of violence.
In addition to the ceremony, the NFL Foundation will provide the schools with a new character education curriculum and the opportunity to apply for grants of up to $5,000 to help support and grow their football programs. The NFL Foundation has invested $1 million towards the campaign.