Former Steeler DB Dwayne Woodruff endorsed for seat on Pa. Supreme Court

… could follow in the footsteps of Alan Page 

Playing football in the NFL by day and attending law school by night is a challenging task in the best of times. However, that is what Dwayne Woodruff chose to do back in the 1980s.

A defensive back for the Steelers for 12 seasons, Woodruff earned his law degree before he finished his 12-year career with the Steelers. He then practiced law before running for and being elected to a seat on the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas. He was reelected in 2015, but has set his sights a little higher.

Despite being ignored by the Democratic Party for an endorsement for a seat on the Pa. Supreme Court two years ago, Woodruff was unanimously selected as their choice to run this fall for the prestigious seat that was vacated by the resignation of Justice J. Michael Eakin, a Republican who was the victim of the scandal known as "Porngate."

According to the Post-Gazette, Woodruff left Harrisburg yesterday with a very “different feeling today than two years ago.” It may not have been equivalent to earning a Super Bowl ring in his rookie season in 1979, but winning that seat this fall may rank up there with that accomplishment.

Importance of seat

The reason that the endorsement is so important is that the three nominees selected by Democrats two years ago all won their seats on the court, giving them a solid majority. If Woodruff wins, Democrats will have seven seats, and in addition to giving philosophical direction to the court, the party will have the control of the gerrymandering of the state that will take place after the 2020 census.

That has the potential to significantly alter the membership of the Pa. Congressional delegation in Washington as well as that in Harrisburg during the 2020s.

The endorsement does not mean that he will win the primary election, but it gives him a significant advantage over the other candidates.

Background

Woodruff hails from Ohio, graduated from New Richmond High School, and still provides a scholarship to a student from that school every year.

He matriculated at the University of Louisville, where he played for the Cardinals for four years before being drafted by the Steelers in the sixth round in 1979.

Career

A cornerback, Woodruff intercepted 37 passes in his career, which placed him fifth on the Steelers' all-time list.

Despite not being drafted until the sixth round, he earned a starting spot in 1979 and then picked off two passes in the Steelers run to the Super Bowl title.

He was the team MVP in 1982 and played until 1990.

Legal career

He enrolled at Duquesne Law School and graduated in 1988, something that made his coach, Chuck Noll, very proud. For three years, he concurrently practiced law at the Meyer Darragh law firm and played in the NFL, which was unprecedented at the time.

In 1997, he ventured out on his own and formed Woodruff & Flaherty, P.C., and practiced there until being elected as a judge in 2005.

Woodruff has presided in the Family Court Division during his years as a judge.

He and his wife, Joy, have raised three very successful children. Jillian is an Ob/Gyn M.D., Jenyce is a lawyer, and John is also a lawyer who is serving in the Marine Corps.

The couple is very active in community work in Pittsburgh, including The Do The Right Thing Challenge, which is a program to end violence in their schools, their homes, and their neighborhoods.

Conclusion

Were Woodruff to win this seat, he would follow in the steps of former Minnesota Vikings great Alan Page. The NFL Hall of Fame defensive lineman was a justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court from 1993 until he reached mandatory retirement age in 2015.

Who said that jocks cannot be successful in intellectual endeavors?