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 Van Dyke with thePittsburgh Steelers in 1973 | |||||||||
| No. 66, 61 | |||||||||
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| Position | Guard | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born | (1944-08-06)August 6, 1944 (age 81) Lancaster, California, U.S. | ||||||||
| Listed height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | ||||||||
| Listed weight | 255 lb (116 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school | Fort Osage(Independence, Missouri) | ||||||||
| College | Missouri (1962-1965) | ||||||||
| NFL draft | 1966: 12th round, 174th overall pick | ||||||||
| AFL draft | 1966: 15th round, 133rd overall pick | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
| Awards and highlights | |||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||
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Bruce Van Dyke (born August 6, 1944) is an American former professionalfootball player who was aguard for eleven seasons in theNational Football League (NFL) for thePhiladelphia Eagles,Pittsburgh Steelers,[1] and theGreen Bay Packers. He playedcollege football for theMissouri Tigers.
Van Dyke grew up inBuckner, Missouri, and attendedFort Osage High School inIndependence, Missouri. He playedcollege football at theUniversity of Missouri, where he was a two way starter, playing on both the offensive and defensive lines under head coachDan Devine. As a first-team All-Big Eight Conferencedefensive tackle in 1965, Van Dyke played on Tigers teams that went a combined 21–8–2 from 1963 to 1965. The1965 Missouri squad, on which he served as a captain, finished the year ranked sixth nationally, with a win over theFlorida in the 1966 Sugar Bowl. Van Dyke was selected to play in the Hula Bowl in 1966, and was inducted into the University of Missouri's Intercollegiate Hall of Fame in 2001.
Van Dyke was selected in the 12th round of the1966 NFL draft by thePhiladelphia Eagles and in the 15th round of the1966 AFL draft by theKansas City Chiefs. He signed with the Eagles and played there his rookie year. The following season he was traded to thePittsburgh Steelers where he played right guard for the next seven seasons. His first year with the Steelers the team had won only one game. In 1972 Pittsburgh finished the season with an 11–3 record and won theAFC Central title. In week 8 of the 1972 Steelers season Van Dyke was named A.P. Offensive player of the week after a 40–17 win over theCincinnati Bengals. That same year the Steelers made their first playoff appearance since the 1947 season and won their first franchise playoff game beating theOakland Raiders 13–7. During that game, one of the most memorable plays in both Van Dyke's career and NFL history occurred. Trailing 7–6 with 22 seconds left in the game,Franco Harris scored the winning touchdown on the final play of the game. This play, of course, is known as theImmaculate Reception. In 1974, Van Dyke was traded to theGreen Bay Packers, where he was reunited with his former college coach Dan Devine. While in Green Bay, he switched to left guard and retired from football after the 1976 season. In 2008, Van Dyke was named to thePittsburgh Steelers Legends team.