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WEIRTON – Dwayne Woodruff, Allegheny Court of Common Pleas judge and former Pittsburgh Steeler, visited Weir High School Thursday to present a Super Bowl 50th anniversary commemorative football in recognition of Weir High alum and former Green Bay Packer Bob Jeter’s participation in Super Bowls I and II.
Jeter attended the segregated Dunbar High School until his senior year, when the schools integrated and he began playing at Weir High School, where he was named an All-American. Jeter attended the University of Iowa, where he participated in the Rose Bowl and set the record of 194 yards on nine carries, which still stands today.
“He averaged 21.6 yards per carry,” Woodruff said. “The football players in the room know what an accomplishment that is.”
Jeter was drafted in the second round by the Green Bay Packers in 1960 and briefly played in the Canadian Football League before playing with the Packers in three NFL championship games and Super Bowls I and II. He was inducted into the Packers Hall of Fame in 1985.
Woodruff, who obtained his juris doctorate in 1988 while still a professional football player and was the first National Football League player to practice law during his football career, also spoke to the senior class and football team about his initiative, “Do the Write Thing,” to combat violence among youth, as part of the National Campaign to Stop Violence initiative. Middle school-aged children are challenged to write an essay about what they believe to be the causes of violence in their communities and to propose solutions. The grassroots program empowers children to discuss the violence in their communities and give adults insight and tools to address it.
“We hear what the kids have to say,” Woodruff said. “They’re on the front lines. They have great ideas about the causes and even better ideas to solve it.”
In addition to the essay, children make a pledge to stay away from violence. Two ambassadors, a boy and a girl, are chosen based on their essays and they receive prizes and are given the opportunity to speak to legislators.
Weir High presented a donation to the foundation and football coach Tony Filberto, and the football team presented Woodruff with a gift, naming him an honorary Red Rider.
Teachers Elaine Kimmins, Scott Wiley and Donna Ferguson collaborated to bring Woodruff to the school.
“Elaine Kimmins’ husband works with Judge Woodruff in Pittsburgh, and he let us know about ‘Do the Write Thing,'” Principal Dan Enich said. “We’ve been trying to bring him here for a few years, and we were lucky to get him.”
Woodruff recounted the highlights of Jeter’s career while presenting the commemorative football, which was personalized with Jeter’s and the school’s names. Woodruff played in Super Bowl XIII, his rookie year, with the Steelers.
Woodruff stressed the importance of education and the ability of anyone to succeed, no matter their starting point.
“The size of your school is irrelevant,” he said.
“It’s the size of your heart that counts. You can do amazing things in life.
“Get all you can out of your education. Look at how many (Weir High graduates) have had success, not just in sports, but in business.”
He began his career as a three-sport All-American at New Richmond High School, about 20 miles outside of Cincinnati. It was a small school, but Woodruff was being heavily recruited – until he had a serious ankle injury in the latter half of his senior season.
“All the scholarships dried up except Muskingum College,” he said. “I was going to try to walk on at Texas (A&M). (Virginia Military Institute) was interested, but my father was in the Army and I felt like I’d already been in the military.
“One of the coaches at VMI was hired at (the University of) Louisville and said, ‘on your way down to Texas, stop in Louisville.’ I had a Toyota Corolla – it was yellow – it was all I had, and I drove down, stopped in Louisville, they offered me a scholarship. It was the first time I’d been that far away from home.”
Woodruff didn’t get the playing time he had hoped for in his freshman year, and he went from being top 10 in his graduating class to having a 1.8 grade-point average and being placed on academic probation.
“Tennessee-Chattanooga was the only game I suited up for all year, and that was because it was homecoming,” he said.
Woodruff decided to go home.
“I got most of the way to Cincinnati, then I remembered my father was at home,” he said. “I turned that little yellow Toyota around.”
Woodruff re-committed himself to his studies.
“I had forgotten why I was going to school – to get an education,” he said.
“I was going to work and study. Two things happened – my grades went up and I met a young lady who I hadn’t seen, because she went to the University of Kentucky the year before and she had just transferred.
“We met at a dorm council meeting, and I never let her out of my sight again, and tomorrow, we will celebrate our 38th year of marriage.
“I was getting an education, and if I played football, that was OK, but if I didn’t play football, that was still OK.” Woodruff began law school as a professional football player, fitting classes and studying around his pro career.
“I’ve always been a very structured person,” he said of balancing his football career and his education. “I’m good at keeping scheduled. When I started (law school), I’d been in (the NFL) for eight or nine years and knew the playbook.
“I’d go to practice, then I’d go to the library and study or I would go to (Meyer Darragh law firm) and do a little work in the evenings or Sunday after a game. I had a great wife who took care of the kids.”
Woodruff became a founding member of Woodruff and Flaherty in 1997 and elected a court of common pleas judge in 2005. He works primarily in the family court.