| Profile | |
|---|---|
| Positions | Center,linebacker |
| Personal information | |
| Born | (1933-01-21)January 21, 1933 Cleveland, Ohio, U.S. |
| Died | January 14, 2013 (aged 79) Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. |
| Career information | |
| High school | Cleveland (OH) East |
| College | John Carroll |
| Career history | |
| |
| Awards and highlights | |
| |
Richard Walker (January 21, 1933 – January 15, 2013) was an Americanfootball coach and player. He has worked at the professional, college and high school levels. He coached on twoSuper Bowl-winning teams with thePittsburgh Steelers of theNational Football League (NFL).[1]
Walker is a native ofCleveland, Ohio. He attended Cleveland'sEast High School, where he playedfootball.[2] Walker playedcollege football atJohn Carroll University in nearbyUniversity Heights, Ohio. He played four years (three as a starter) atcenter andlinebacker for the Blue Streaks, including playing all 60 minutes of every game in his junior and senior seasons. He was a three-timeletterman. He graduated from John Carrol University in 1955.[3]
Walker has spent most of his life coaching football. In the early 1960s, he compiled a record of 51–11–3 as head coach atBishop Watterson High School inColumbus, Ohio.[2] He got his first college coaching job in 1967 mentoring defensive backs at theUniversity of Toledo inToledo, Ohio. After two seasons at Toledo, he spent a year coaching at theU.S. Naval Academy inAnnapolis, Maryland.
TheNew England Patriots gave Walker his first professional football opportunity as their defensive backs coach in 1977. The following season, Walker took a similar position with thePittsburgh Steelers. Walker was on the staff of two Pittsburgh teams which won Super Bowls, in1978 and1979. He left the Steelers after the1981 season.
Walker later coached with theCanadian Football League'sMontreal Concordes[4] the short-livedUnited States Football League'sChicago Blitz[5] and at various high schools in Georgia and Las Vegas.
Walker was inducted into John Carroll University's Hall of Fame in 2006.[3]