Bruce Van Dyke
Encyclopedia
Bruce Van Dyke is a former American football
guard
in the National Football League
who played eleven seasons for the Philadelphia Eagles
, Pittsburgh Steelers
, and the Green Bay Packers
.
, and attended Fort Osage High School
in Independence, Missouri
. He played college football
at the University of Missouri
, where he was a two way starter, playing on both the offensive and defensive lines under head coach Dan Devine
. As a first-team All-Big Eight Conference
defensive tackle in 1965, Van Dyke played on Tiger teams that went a combined 21-8-2 from 1963 to 1965. The 1965 squad on which he served as a captain, finished the year ranked sixth nationally, and closed the season with a win over the University of Florida
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.
in the 12th round of the 1966 NFL Draft
by the Philadelphia Eagles
. He was a key player for the Pittsburgh Steelers
for seven years. In 1967, during his first year with the Steelers, the team won only one game. Seven years later, in 1973, Pittsburgh won their first AFC Divisional title. In 2008, Van Dyke was named to the Steelers Legends Team.
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
guard
Guard (American football)
In American and Canadian football, a guard is a player that lines up between the center and the tackles on the offensive line of a football team....
in the National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
who played eleven seasons for the Philadelphia Eagles
Philadelphia Eagles
The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
, Pittsburgh Steelers
Pittsburgh Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team currently belongs to the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Founded in , the Steelers are the oldest franchise in the AFC...
, and the Green Bay Packers
Green Bay Packers
The Green Bay Packers are an American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Packers are the current NFL champions...
.
Early years
Van Dyke grew up in Buckner, MissouriBuckner, Missouri
Buckner is a city in Jackson County, Missouri, United States. The population was 2,725 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Buckner is located at . According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all of it land....
, and attended Fort Osage High School
Fort Osage High School
Fort Osage Senior High School is a high school located at 2101 N. Twyman Rd. in Independence, Missouri, belonging to the Fort Osage R-1 School District. It currently serves approximately 1,500 students from grades 9-12...
in Independence, Missouri
Independence, Missouri
Independence is the fourth largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri, and is contained within the counties of Jackson and Clay. It is part of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area...
. He played college football
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
at the University of Missouri
University of Missouri
The University of Missouri System is a state university system providing centralized administration for four universities, a health care system, an extension program, five research and technology parks, and a publishing press. More than 64,000 students are currently enrolled at its four campuses...
, where he was a two way starter, playing on both the offensive and defensive lines under head coach Dan Devine
Dan Devine
Daniel John Devine was an American football player and coach. He served as the head coach football coach at Arizona State University from 1955 to 1957, the University of Missouri from 1958 to 1970, and the University of Notre Dame from 1975 to 1980, compiling a career college football mark of...
. As a first-team All-Big Eight Conference
Big Eight Conference
The Big Eight Conference, a former NCAA-affiliated Division I-A college athletic association that sponsored football, was formed in January 1907 as the Missouri Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Association by its charter member schools: the University of Kansas, University of Missouri, University...
defensive tackle in 1965, Van Dyke played on Tiger teams that went a combined 21-8-2 from 1963 to 1965. The 1965 squad on which he served as a captain, finished the year ranked sixth nationally, and closed the season with a win over the University of Florida
University of Florida
The University of Florida is an American public land-grant, sea-grant, and space-grant research university located on a campus in Gainesville, Florida. The university traces its historical origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its present Gainesville campus since September 1906...
in the 1966 Sugar Bowl
1966 Sugar Bowl
The 1966 edition to the Sugar Bowl featured the sixth-ranked Missouri Tigers and the unranked Florida Gators.After a scoreless first quarter, Missouri went on a tear in the second quarter. Brown scored on a 16-yard touchdown run giving the Tigers a 7-0 lead. Roland threw an 11-yard touchdown pass...
. Van Dyke was selected to play in the Hula Bowl
Hula Bowl
The Hula Bowl was an independently administered post-season invitational college football game held each year in Hawaii from 1947 to 2008. The game was last played at Aloha Stadium in the Hālawa district of Honolulu, Hawaii. At one point the longest-running sporting event in Hawaii, it had been...
in 1966, and was inducted into the University of Missouri's Intercollegiate Hall of Fame in 2001.
Professional career
Van Dyke was draftedNFL Draft
The National Football League Draft is an annual event in which the National Football League teams select eligible college football players and it is their most common source of player recruitment. The basic design of the draft is each team is given a position in the drafting order in reverse order...
in the 12th round of the 1966 NFL Draft
1966 NFL Draft
The 1966 National Football League Draft was held on November 27, 1965. It was the last draft in which the NFL and the AFL drafted their players separate of one another. As a result, many players selected by teams from both leagues would choose to play for the more established NFL, or in a rarer...
by the Philadelphia Eagles
Philadelphia Eagles
The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
. He was a key player for the Pittsburgh Steelers
Pittsburgh Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team currently belongs to the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Founded in , the Steelers are the oldest franchise in the AFC...
for seven years. In 1967, during his first year with the Steelers, the team won only one game. Seven years later, in 1973, Pittsburgh won their first AFC Divisional title. In 2008, Van Dyke was named to the Steelers Legends Team.