Ron Cook
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
The call came last week from Grand Prairie, Texas.
“Ron, this is Joe Greene … “
I had dialed up Greene — the greatest Steeler of all — to talk about his Hall of Fame teammate Jack Ham, who will be among those honored Saturday at the Pro Football Hall of Fame induction ceremony during its 60th anniversary celebration. Ham was enshrined in 1988 after doing a lot of the heavy lifting that helped the Steelers win four Super Bowls in the 1970s. He was a six-time first-team All-Pro and was selected to the NFL’s 1970s All-Decade team, its 75th Anniversary team and its 100th Anniversary team.
“I’ll talk to you about Jack under one condition,” Greene said. “You have to convince him to come back to the Hall of Fame.”
I told Greene I tried and failed with Ham.
Greene talked to me, anyway.
“Jack was a great cover guy, for one thing,” he said. “But you also couldn’t get outside the edge on him because he was great against the run.”
Sounds like the ideal outside linebacker, right?
“Jack could do it all,” Greene said.
My favorite Ham story was told often over the years by fellow linebacker, Andy Russell. He said the Steelers defensive players would watch game tape at Three Rivers Stadium and see Ham make what was, for him, a typically great play. The players would rise out of their seats in the dark film room and give him a standing ovation.
I love that story.
“In the 1970s,” Hall of Fame teammate Mel Blount said, “there was no better linebacker than Jack Ham.”
Ham was best-known for his cerebral approach to football.
Technically perfect, Greene said.
“He was very, very in tune to the game. He played a smart, smooth, intelligent game. He always was where he was supposed to be, seemingly with the least amount of effort.”
Fundamentally sound, Blount said.
“You watch film on Jack and watch the way he tackled people. To me, that was his strength, the way he could come up and fundamentally make tackles.”
All of that talk is nice, but it short-changes Ham when it came to another part of his game.
“Jack Ham had tremendous athletic skills,” Blount said. “I think he could have been good at baseball or basketball or whatever. He was just a tremendous athlete.”
Ham finished his career with 25.5 regular season sacks, 32 interceptions and 21 fumble recoveries. He had three more sacks and five more interceptions in postseason games. Two of those interceptions came in the 24-13 win in Oakland in the 1974 AFC championship game, a win that many consider the greatest in franchise history. The Steelers followed it up with a 16-6 win against Minnesota in Super Bowl IX, the first of their four Super Bowl wins.
“What do I remember about those interceptions?” Greene asked. “Both were very timely. Very timely.”
A foot injury forced Ham to miss the playoff ramp-up to the Steelers’ final Super Bowl in the 1970s, their 31-19 win against the Los Angeles Rams in Super Bowl XIV after the 1979 season. He never felt like he was the same player after that injury and retired after the 1982 season. He still lives in Sewickley Heights and works in the coal business.
Ham also does radio color commentary for Penn State football. He just signed a new three-year contract and will begin his 24th season when Penn State plays West Virginia on Sept. 2 at Beaver Stadium. He was an All-American at Penn State in 1970 and was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1990.
As for why Ham won’t go back to Canton, Ohio, for the Pro Football Hall of Fame ceremonies?
“Yeah, please ask him that,” Greene said. “He’s not as shy and bashful as I am, and I go back every year.”
I did ask Ham.
“I don’t enjoy that,” he said. “That’s not fun for me. I’m 74 years old. I’m going to do things I enjoy.”
Clearly, Ham has moved on from what he did on the football field.
“I don’t have a trophy room in my house. I don’t have any of that kind of stuff. That was a part of my life that I loved. I loved playing. But as Chuck Noll always said, ‘You’ve got to get on with your life’s work.'”
It was at that point Ham offered a little friendly advice to not just me, but also Greene.
“Don’t try to figure me out,” he said. “It’s just me.”
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