Jan. 17, 1937 - Feb. 29, 2008
Wednesday, March 05, 2008
By Ed Bouchette, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Buddy Dial played only five seasons for the Steelers, but he made such a lasting impression that he remains high in their record book and on their highlights films.
"He came at a time when you were really switching over to the modern-day game," Steelers chairman Dan Rooney said. "He was a great receiver for us and played extremely well and gave us an opportunity to play in that transition."
Mr. Dial, 71, will be buried today in Magnolia, in his native Texas, where he lived most of his life. He died Friday in a Houston hospital, where he had been receiving treatment for cancer and pneumonia. He also had a long history of kidney problems and recently discontinued his dialysis treatment.
Acquired in a trade from the New York Giants after they drafted him in the second round in 1959 from Rice University, where he was an All-American, Gilbert Leroy Dial played from 1959-63 with the Steelers. He was traded to Dallas, where he retired after the '66 season.
But it was with the Steelers where Mr. Dial made an impact. Even though the NFL has turned to a more prolific passing game the past 30 years, Mr. Dial set the Steelers' record for most touchdown receptions in a season, 12, in 1961 -- it has since been equaled by Louis Lipps and Hines Ward. Mr. Dial also ranks 11th in team history with 229 receptions and sixth with 4,723 receiving yards. His 235 yards receiving against Cleveland in 1961 are second in Steelers history. His 1,295 yards receiving in '63 rank sixth highest on the team in a season, and his 42 career touchdowns are fourth.
"Buddy Dial was a heck of a receiver," said former Steelers halfback and teammate Dick Hoak. "He was the real deal. He had some speed, the moves, had great hands and no fear -- he could catch the ball over the middle. He had all the things you want in a receiver. He had pretty good size [6-1, 194] too for the position. He was very good."
Although the Steelers never won a playoff game until 1972, their best seasons until the 1970s occurred when Mr. Dial played for them. They had three winning seasons in his five years, made the old Playoff Bowl in '62 and came within a last-game loss of playing for the NFL championship the next season.
Mr. Dial, born in Oklahoma, was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1992 and the National High School Hall of Fame in 2002. His 20.8-yard average per catch over his career still ranks second in NFL history.
Although he was among the league's most accomplished receivers, an enduring vision of Mr. Dial remains on one of NFL Films' blooper films. After he caught a touchdown pass in a 1962 game, Mr. Dial was startled in the end zone when the Steelers male cheerleaders, called the Ingots, fired a cannon packed with powder seemingly right into Mr. Dial's face.
A theatrical man by nature, Mr. Dial leaped as if he were truly shot.
"He jumped up in the air and dropped the ball," Mr. Hoak said. "Only he would think of doing that. He was a funny guy. He was a buddy of [playboy quarterback] Bobby Layne's, even though he didn't drink like those guys did. He was a clean-living religious guy, really."
"He was somewhat of a showman," Mr. Rooney said.
Former cheerleader Bill Hunt recalled for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette last year that "I went up to Buddy to apologize to him after it happened, and he said, 'Aw, shucks, it wasn't nothing. Just scared me, that's all.' "
After his playing career, according to The Associated Press, Mr. Dial settled in the Houston suburb of Tomball, where he was a prominent speaker for civic, church and charity groups.
Survivors, according to the Houston Chronicle, include sons Darren Dial of Katy, Texas, and David of Tyler, Texas; a daughter, Sherri Dial of Houston; and five grandchildren.
Ed Bouchette can be reached at ebouchette@post-gazette.com.
First published on March 5, 2008 at 12:00 am
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