Merril Hoge has a “first day of school” story that’s awfully hard to top. Former Steelers linebacker Arthur Moats released an interview he conducted with Hoge sometime over the past few weeks (perhaps during the team’s home finale against the Cincinnati Bengals) with Hoge talking about his initial experience meeting the team as a rookie. It’s as surreal of a day as any player or fan could have.
“This is my first day,” Hoge said via Moats’ YouTube channel. “I walk in the door and there’s the four Super Bowl trophies…when you walk in the locker room, I’d never been in the locker room before. But they have your nameplate up on where your locker is. That’s how you find where you’re going to be. So I walk in and the first person standing there is Joe Greene. I can’t even make this up, because I’m not smart enough to, but he’s standing there holding a Coke can. I’m like, ‘This is not happening.'”
Hoge said Greene welcomed him to the team and showed him where his locker was. A 10th-round pick out of Idaho State, Hoge shared a story he’s told in the past, believing the Steelers were the one team that wasn’t going to draft him. But they did, a small schooler from Idaho State, and after serving as a reserve his rookie year in 1987, he became a key cog to the team’s running game.
Hoge’s first day wasn’t done yet.
“I walk over and sat down at my locker,” he said. “And I’m there about two minutes and Donnie Shell walks in. And sits next to me. He lockered next to me.”
Shell worked his way up the ladder like Hoge did, undrafted and cutting his teeth on special teams his first three seasons before moving into the starting lineup and eventually becoming a Hall of Famer. Hoge didn’t have that kind of career, but he led the Steelers in rushing in 1988, 1990, and 1991. He took some inspiration from the locker he had, used by one of the all-time legends before him. Hoge found that out when equipment trainer Tony Parisi asked if he knew whose locker that used to be.
“‘This used to be Franco Harris’ locker,'” Hoge said of what Parisi told him. “That’s how my first day in Pittsburgh started.”
Harris’ final year with the team was in 1983, a few years before Hoge arrived, before he spent his last NFL season with the Seattle Seahawks in 1984 (a year Steelers’ fans try to forget happened). While Hoge and Harris were never teammates, there were still plenty of stars to line up next to in the huddle.
“Then I go to practice and the first person I stand in the huddle next to is Mike Webster,” Hoge said. “Who ends up being my roommate. And then John Stallworth stepped into the huddle. And that was my first practice.”
For Stallworth, 1987 was his final season in the NFL. At 35 years old, he was still productive, catching 41 passes for 521 yards and two touchdowns. Webster blocked for Hoge for two seasons, making his final Pro Bowl in 1987 before starting all 16 games in 1988 at age 36 (that’s why he was Iron Mike) before spending his final two seasons with Kansas City.
It’s a great story from Hoge, who has stayed close to the city and the team long after his playing days ended. Check out the whole interview with Moats below with a couple of other excellent stories from Hoge’s life and career.
