Hines Ward's #86 Official Biography
- Position: WR
- Height: 6-0
- Weight: 205
- Born: 03/08/1976
- College: Georgia
- NFL Experience: 12
When you talk about Hines Ward, you are talking about perhaps the greatest wide receiver in Steelers' history and certainly the best blocking wide receiver in NFL history. If you have any doubts, let's go over his accomplishments: he owns every receiving record in franchise history, he is a 2-time Super Bowl Champion, the MVP of Super Bowl XL, a 4-time Pro Bowler, all-time team leader in receptions, receiving yards, and receiving touchdowns, he is the only receiver in Steeler history to surpass 1,000 receiving yards for four straight seasons, and was named to the Steelers' 75th Season All-Time Team, to name just a few.
And in case you are wondering about the man off the field, Hines Ward has been equally impressive as a man of character in his community both locally and worldwide. He was named the Steelers' "2008 Walter Payton Man of the Year", was featured as ABC's "Person of the Week," has met and befriended four world leaders (two U.S. Presidents and two Korean Presidents), has founded and drives his Helping Hands Foundations both in the U.S. and Korea, is active with numerous other foundations (The Caring Foundation, the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, Pearl S. Buck International), and has started his own after school itpod education program for kids in his home state of Georgia, among just a few of his community accomplishments. He has been featured on the cover of numerous publications (Newsweek, Time Magazine, Esquire, Sports Illustrated, Moves Magazine, Whirl to name a few) and was featured as one of GQ's 2009 "Men of the Year."
Tough. Confident. Passionate. Intense. Uncompromising. Persistent. All these words apply when you talk about Hines Ward, particularly when it comes to the game of football and life in general. Nobody in the game is as willing to sacrifice himself and do all it takes to win a football game, and nobody plays the game or enjoys life with more unbridled joy. Pure and simple, Hines Ward is special.
Born on March 8, 1976 in Seoul, South Korea to a Korean mother and an African American father, Hines E. Ward Jr.'s journey to the NFL was far from typical, and more a blueprint for overachievement. Moving to the Atlanta area when Hines was just 1 year old, he was raised by his single mom, Young-He Ward, who eventually managed to provide for her son despite coming to the US without any friends and not knowing English. Over time, Hines began to appreciate the sacrifices Young-He made for him and the determination she had to make a life for them. He took that sense of sacrifice and determination and embodied that in his heart and soul.
Hines became a top scholar-athlete in Georgia, not only as quarterback on the gridiron at Forest Park High School earning numerous all-county and all-American honors, but also on the baseball diamond. He was even drafted at the end of his senior year by the Florida Marlins, who offered a $25,000 bonus to sign. But Hines chose to pursue his first love, going on to play college football for the hometown Georgia Bulldogs.
True to his nature, Hines proved he would do anything to get playing time at Georgia. Though recruited as a quarterback, Hines was so successful with spot roles at tailback (for an injured Terrell Davis) and at wideout (volunteering in his Sophomore year to join a weak receiving corps), he eventually stopped practicing with the quarterbacks altogether. Whatever Hines was asked or volunteered to do, he gave his all and helped the team. When temporarily pressed back to the quarterback position in his second year when starter Mike Bobo was injured, Hines was able to make valuable contributions to the Bulldogs, even getting the nod as the staring QB in the Peach Bowl that year where he still holds the records for the most passing yards.
By his junior year however, Hines was finally made a full-time receiver by Goff's replacement that year, Jim Donnan. Part of the reason for that commitment on Donnan's part was because of the fact that Hines was the first player to come to see him when he took over the helm, and in that first conversation with his new coach, Hines told Donnan that he would do whatever it took to help the Bulldogs. And did he ever shine as a receiver, developing an uncanny sense for getting separation on his routes and using his quick feet to make up for what he lacked in speed and size. At the end of his senior year he was bestowed All-SEC honors and finished his college career as Georgia's second all-time receiver with 144 receptions. His total yards of 3,870 ranked second in Bulldogs history to Herschel Walker.
Worried that his varied college career might hinder his entry as a top pick in the 1998 NFL draft, Hines' was dealt another blow to his hopes when a pre-draft physical revealed he was missing an ACL in his left knee, the result of a childhood bicycle accident. Relieved when the Pittsburgh Steelers finally took him in the 3rd round as the 92nd pick overall, Hines made it his mission to let the Steelers know they made a great choice and to make the other teams sorry that they had passed him up. Used at first on special teams by Coach Bill Cower, the epitome of doing anything to help the team, it soon became clear that Hines played the game of football with unmatched intensity. As Hines eventually worked his way into the Steelers receiving corps, it also became clear that he could be depended on to get open and make the big catch, but beyond that he NEVER took a down off, and without the ball he blocked with the ferocity of an offensive lineman. The rest, as they say, is history - Steelers history that is, including:
- Four-time consecutive NFL Pro Bowl selection (2001-2004)
- Two-time All-NFL team selections (2002-2003)
- Super Bowl XL MVP
- Two Super Bowl Rings (XL and XLIII)
- Four consecutive 1000 yard seasons (2001-2004)
- Six 1000 yard seasons overall (2001-2004, 2008-2009)
- Steelers franchise record holder for receptions, touchdowns, and receiving yardage
Perhaps former Steelers offensive coordinator and current Arizona Cardinals coach Ken Whisenhunt put it best in describing Hines' Super Bowl XL MVP performance:
In his own words, Hines, speaking of his desire to close out his career as a Steeler, sums up what he is all about:
On the upper right arm of Hines E. Ward, Jr. is a tattoo of Mighty Mouse in the Heisman pose - the perfect overachiever symbol for the ultimate overachiever - a smiling overachiever at that. That tattoo not only speaks to the joy and passion Hines has for the game of football, it also speaks to his passion for helping others. Though he makes no claim to being a super hero, that same tattooed arm that is perfectly capable of delivering a crushing block on an opposing player is also capable of cradling his young son Jaden, or reaching out to children in need.
In 2006, Hines returned to South Korea for the first time since he moved to the US, and spent 2 months there on a mission to use his celebrity status to encourage social and political reform in the country, focusing on the discrimination that mixed-racial children endure there. On his final day in South Korea, he donated $1 million to create the Hines Ward Helping Hands Foundation to further that cause. His message to those children was:
Hopefully just like how a child among men was able to find a place in the NFL.
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