Hines Edward Ward Jr. (born March 8, 1976) is an American

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly ...

coach and former wide receiver of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the majo ...

(NFL). He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football in the United States, American football rules first gained populari ...

at the

University of Georgia , mottoeng = "To teach, to serve, and to inquire into the nature of things.""To serve" was later added to the motto without changing the seal; the Latin motto directly translates as "To teach and to inquire into the nature of things." , establ ...

and was drafted by the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...

in the third round of the 1998 NFL Draft. He is currently the Head Coach of the San Antonio Brahmas. Ward played his entire professional career for the Steelers and he became the team's all-time leader in receptions, receiving yardage and touchdown receptions. Ward was voted MVP of

Super Bowl XL Super Bowl XL was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Seattle Seahawks and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Pittsburgh Steelers to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion f ...

and upon retirement was one of eleven NFL players to have at least 1,000 career receptions. Ward is often regarded as one of the best wide receivers of the 2000s, as well as one of key figures for the Steelers success during the 2000s. Aside from his career in the NFL, Ward has appeared in various forms of film and television media, including the

reality TV Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 19 ...

series ''

Dancing With The Stars ''Dancing with the Stars'' is the name of various international television series based on the format of the British TV series '' Strictly Come Dancing'', which is distributed by BBC Studios, the commercial arm of the BBC. Currently the form ...

'' and brief cameos in the 2012 film ''

The Dark Knight Rises ''The Dark Knight Rises'' is a 2012 superhero film directed by Christopher Nolan, who co-wrote the screenplay with his brother Jonathan Nolan, and the story with David S. Goyer. The film is based on the DC Comics character Batman, it is th ...

'' and in the television series '' The Walking Dead''. He was a studio analyst for NBC's '' Football Night in America'' from 2012 to 2015. Ward joined CNN and HLN in May 2016. He was the player relations executive of the

Alliance of American Football The Alliance of American Football (AAF) was a professional American football minor league. The AAF consisted of eight centrally owned and operated teams in the southern and western United States, seven of which were located in metropolitan area ...

. In 2019, Ward began his coaching career as an offensive assistant for the

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The ...

, working with wide receivers coach Shawn Jefferson. In 2021, Ward was hired by

Florida Atlantic Florida Atlantic University (Florida Atlantic or FAU) is a public research university with its main campus in Boca Raton, Florida, and satellite campuses in Dania Beach, Davie, Fort Lauderdale, Jupiter, and Fort Pierce. FAU belongs to the 12-ca ...

as special assistant to the head coach. Born in

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the Capital city, capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the North Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea ...

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

to a Korean mother and

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ensl ...

father, Ward grew up in the

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,7 ...

area. He has become an advocate for the social acceptance of

foreigners in Korea Following the division of Korea in the aftermath of the Korean War, the percent of foreigners in South Korea has risen to 3.4%, or about two million of the total population (half of them Chinese, with Americans and Vietnamese tied for second plac ...

, especially blended or

mixed race Mixed race people are people of more than one race or ethnicity. A variety of terms have been used both historically and presently for mixed race people in a variety of contexts, including ''multiethnic'', ''polyethnic'', occasionally ''bi-ethn ...

youth.Branch, John
"Ward Helps Biracial Youths on Journey Toward Acceptance"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', Monday, November 9, 2009.

Early life

Ward was born in

to a Korean mother, Kim Younghee () and

father, Hines Ward Sr. His family moved to

and

East Point, Georgia East Point is a suburban city located southwest of Atlanta in Fulton County, Georgia, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 38,358. The city name is derived from being at the opposite end of the former Atlanta & Wes ...

, when Hines Jr. was one year old and Hines Sr. went to

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 ...

to serve a

tour of duty For military personnel, a tour of duty is usually a period of time spent in combat or in a hostile environment. In an army, for instance, soldiers on active duty serve 24 hours a day, seven days a week for the length of their service commitment. ...

. The next year, Ward's parents divorced, with Ward living with his mother and then with his paternal grandmother after Hines Sr. pleaded in family court that Kim could not easily raise Hines Jr. independently as she did not speak English sufficiently. At the age of 7, Ward was reunited with his mother. For reasons not disclosed to the public, during this time, Hines Ward Sr. did not support Ward with

child support Child support (or child maintenance) is an ongoing, periodic payment made by a parent for the financial benefit of a child (or parent, caregiver, guardian) following the end of a marriage or other similar relationship. Child maintenance is paid d ...

or visit him regularly. Ward has stated that he talks with his father about once every two years. Ward has stated that he has yet to reconcile with his father who left Hines Jr. when he was two years old.Corbett, Jeff
"Ward eager to win Super Bowl XL for 'Bus' and mom"
''

USA Today ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgini ...

'', February 1, 2006. Under the guidance of coach Mike Parris at Forest Park High School in

Forest Park, Georgia Forest Park is a city in Clayton County, Georgia, United States. It is located approximately nine miles (14 km) south of Atlanta and is part of the Atlanta– Sandy Springs– Marietta Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2020 ce ...

, Ward showcased his athletic skills as a

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Am ...

and was two-time Clayton County Offensive Player of the Year. He also excelled in baseball and was selected by the

Florida Marlins The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The club's home ballpark is LoanDepot Park. The fran ...

in the 73rd round (1,646th overall) of the 1994 MLB Draft.

Playing career

College

As a wide receiver for the

Bulldogs The Bulldog is a British breed of dog of mastiff type. It may also be known as the English Bulldog or British Bulldog. It is of medium size, a muscular, hefty dog with a wrinkled face and a distinctive pushed-in nose.tailback and totaled 3,870 all-purpose yards, second only to

Herschel Walker Herschel Junior Walker (born March 3, 1962) is an American former football running back who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 12 seasons. He was also the Republican nominee in the 2022 United States Senate election in Georgia. ...

in Bulldogs history. In 1996, Ward had 52 receptions for 900 yards, and also ran 26 times for 170 yards. In 1997, he hauled in 55 passes for 715 yards and scored six touchdowns while, and also ran 30 times for 223 yards, getting All-SEC honors in the process. Ward played some quarterback his sophomore year, and holds Georgia bowl game records for pass attempts, pass completions, and passing yards in the 1995 Peach Bowl in which he completed 31 of 59 passes for 413 yards. Despite his performance at the quarterback position as a Sophomore, Ward primarily played receiver his final two years of college play only attempting a handful of passes during those seasons. When he came out of college, it was discovered that Ward was missing an

anterior cruciate ligament The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is one of a pair of cruciate ligaments (the other being the posterior cruciate ligament) in the human knee. The two ligaments are also called "cruciform" ligaments, as they are arranged in a crossed formati ...

(ACL) in his left knee, which he lost during a bicycle accident during childhood. According to a

Yahoo! Sports Yahoo! Sports is a sports news website launched by Yahoo! on December 8, 1997. It receives a majority of its information from STATS, Inc. It employs numerous writers, and has team pages for teams in almost every North American major sport. B ...

article, Ward broke his kneecap in the fourth grade and the doctors never accounted for the ligament.

National Football League

Coming out of the University of Georgia, Ward was regarded as one of the top five receivers in the 1998 NFL Draft, along with

Kevin Dyson Kevin Tyree Dyson (born June 23, 1975) is a former American football wide receiver of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Tennessee Oilers 16th overall in the 1998 NFL Draft. He played college football at Utah. Dyson is bes ...

and

Randy Moss Randy Gene Moss (born February 13, 1977) is an American former professional football wide receiver who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 14 seasons with the Minnesota Vikings, Oakland Raiders, New England Patriots, Tennesse ...

. He was projected to be selected at the end of the first round or beginning of the second. The

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The cl ...

and

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) South division. Since the 2008 ...

expressed major interest in him, visiting him multiple times to meet with him. After it was discovered Ward did not have an ACL in one of his legs, his value dropped. The Buccaneers chose to draft Jacquez Green (34th overall) and the Colts chose

Jerome Pathon Jerome Pathon (born December 16, 1975) is a South African-born Canadian American football coach and former wide receiver who played eight seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He later was a position coach for both the University of So ...

(32nd overall) instead, both wide receivers.

Pittsburgh Steelers

1998 season

Ward was selected by the

in the third round (92nd overall) of the 1998 NFL Draft. On July 20, 1998, the Steelers signed him to a three-year, $885,000 contract. Ward began his rookie season as the fourth receiver on the Steelers' depth chart. He played in his first career game on September 6, 1998, against the

Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore, Maryland. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The team plays its ...

, catching a 12-yard pass from Kordell Stewart. During a Week 10 contest against the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. It is the t ...

, he caught a season-high 2 passes for 56 yards. Although he appeared in every game during his first season, he finished with only 15 receptions for 246 receiving yards.

1999 season

In 1999, he saw more action after former starting wide receiver Charles Johnson departed for

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...

during the off-season. He began the season as the starting wide receiver in the season opener against the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conferenc ...

. Ward caught his first career touchdown from Mike Tomczak and finished the game with a total of 3 catches for 51 yards. On October 10, 1999, he had 6 receptions for 67 receiving yards, and caught a touchdown from Kordell Stewart. In Week 12, he accounted for a season-high 7 receptions and 89 receiving yards, and caught a 34-yard touchdown in a 20–27 loss to the

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The club's home ...

. During the first quarter of a Week 14 matchup against the Ravens, Ward caught a 21-yard touchdown pass from Jerome Bettis. Ward finished his second season with 61 catches, 638 receiving yards, and 7 touchdowns in 16 games and 14 starts.

2000 season

He began his third season with Pittsburgh, making 2 receptions for 20 yards in the Steelers' home opener against the

. On September 17, 2000, he received his first start of the season at the Browns and had 5 receptions for 75 receiving yards. In a Week 7 win over Cincinnati, he accumulated a season-high 91 receiving yards on 2 catches, while scoring a 77-yard touchdown, his first of the season. On December 10, 2000, he caught a season-high 6 passes for 64 receiving yards in a 10–30 loss at the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisio ...

. In his last season under offensive coordinator

Kevin Gilbride Kevin Bernard Gilbride (born August 27, 1951) is an American football head coach. He was a coach for twenty years in the NFL, spending seven of them as the offensive coordinator for the New York Giants, with whom he earned two Super Bowl rings. ...

, Ward finished with a total of 48 receptions for 672 yards and 4 touchdowns.

2001 season

On September 8, 2001, Ward was signed to a four-year, $9.5 million contract extension. In his first year under new offensive coordinator Mike Mularkey, Ward had his best season of his career to that point. While starting in the season opener at

Jacksonville Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the List of United States cities by area, largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the co ...

, he made 7 catches for 82 receiving yards. In their second game against the Jaguars in Week 10, Ward came away with 9 receptions for 112 yards and scored a 28-yard touchdown in a 20–7 victory. This also marked his first game with over 100 receiving yards in his career. On December 9, 2001, against the

, Ward accumulated a season-high 10 catches for 124 receiving yards. He played in his first playoff game of his career in 2001, making 3 receptions for 37 yards in a 27–10 divisional win over the Ravens. The next week, as the Steelers played the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...

, he caught 6 passes for 64 receiving yards in a 17–24 loss to the eventual

Super Bowl XXXVI Super Bowl XXXVI was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion St. Louis Rams and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion New England Patriots to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion ...

Champions. 2001 marked his first season with 16 starts and over 1,000 receiving yards, as he finished with 94 catches for 1,003 receiving yards and 4 touchdown catches. Along with Jerome Bettis, Kordell Stewart,

Alan Faneca Alan Joseph Faneca (; born December 7, 1976) is an American former professional football player who was a guard in the National Football League (NFL) for 13 seasons. He played college football for Louisiana State University (LSU), and earne ...

Jason Gildon Jason Larue Gildon (born July 31, 1972) is a former outside linebacker for the National Football League's Pittsburgh Steelers (1994–2003) and Jacksonville Jaguars (2004). He was selected to three Pro Bowl teams from 2000, 2001, and 2002, and i ...

, and Kendrell Bell, he was voted to the 2001 Pro Bowl, making it the first of his career.

2002 season

During the 2002 season opener, he had eight catches for 90 yards and a touchdown, in an AFC Championship rematch against the Patriots. The next game, he caught 7 passes for 92 receiving yards and 2 touchdowns in a 17–30 loss to the

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team that played in Oakland from its founding in 1960 to 1981 and again from 1995 to 2019 before relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan area where they now play as the Las Vegas Ra ...

. It was his first game with more than a single touchdown in his career. During a Week 5 matchup at

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

, Ward made 5 receptions for 45 yards and caught his first touchdown reception from new quarterback Tommy Maddox. On November 10, 2002, Ward had his best game of the season, making a season-high 11 receptions, 139 receiving yards, and a touchdown during a 34–34 tie with the

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The Falcon ...

. The following week, he caught 10 passes for a season-high 168 receiving yards and caught 2 touchdowns in a 23–31 loss to the Titans. It was his third game of the season with 2 touchdown receptions. He continued to dominate the next game against the Bengals, as he had 125 yards on 10 receptions, while also scoring a 64-yard touchdown during the 29–21 victory. This was Ward's third consecutive game with over 100 receiving yards and a touchdown. The Steelers finished the season 10–5–1 and made the playoffs for the second year in a row. On January 5, 2003, they played the Browns in the AFC Wild-card game. Ward finished the game with 11 catches, 104 receiving yards, and also caught his first career postseason touchdown in the 36–33 victory. The following week, the Steelers played at Tennessee in the divisional playoff game. Although they lost 31–34, Ward finished with 7 catches for 82 receiving yards and 2 touchdowns. Along with teammate Alan Faneca, Ward was selected to play in his second consecutive Pro Bowl. In the Pro Bowl, he caught 2 passes for 45 yards and scored a 32-yard touchdown. He finished his fifth season with 1,329 receiving yards, 112 receptions, and 12 touchdown receptions, all career-highs. This also was his only season with over 100 receptions.

2003 season

After having the best season of his career, Ward returned in 2003 to make 9 catches for 91 receiving yards and 2 touchdowns in the season-opening win over the Ravens. The following game, he caught another 9 passes for 146 yards in a 20–41 loss at the

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The t ...

. On November 30, 2003, Ward caught a career-high 13 passes for 149 receiving yards and a touchdown in a loss to the Bengals. In 2003, the Steelers voted him their team MVP as he caught a total of 95 receptions for 1,163 yards and 10 touchdowns for the season. He was voted, along with Faneca, to his third consecutive Pro Bowl.

2004 season

After three successful years with Mike Mularkey, Ward began the season under new offensive coordinator Ken Whisenhunt and new wide receivers coach

Bruce Arians Bruce Charles Arians (born October 3, 1952) is an American football executive and former coach in the National Football League (NFL). Since 2022, he has been a senior football consultant for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Arians was previously the h ...

. On September 19, 2004, he caught 6 passes for 151 receiving yards and a touchdown in a 13–30 loss at Baltimore. During the 4th quarter, starting quarterback Tommy Maddox was injured and replaced by rookie quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. After replacing Maddox, Roethlisberger threw a touchdown pass to Ward, making it the first one of their career together. During a Week 3 contest at the

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team p ...

, Ward caught 9 passes for 96 yards and a touchdown. After replacing Maddox, Roethlisberger led the Steelers to 14 wins in a row. On December 18, 2004, Ward made 9 catches for a season-high 134 yards as Pittsburgh beat the Giants 33–30 for their 13th consecutive victory. After finishing the season 15–1, the Steelers played the Jets for the divisional championship. During the 20–17 win, Ward racked up 10 catches for 105 receiving yards and a touchdown. On January 23, 2005, the Steelers lost 27–41 to the eventual

Super Bowl XXXIX Super Bowl XXXIX was an American football game played between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion New England Patriots and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Philadelphia Eagles to decide the National Football League ...

Champions, the New England Patriots. In the AFC Championship game, Ward pulled in 5 catches for 109 yards and a touchdown. For the fourth year in a row, he was voted to the Pro Bowl along with Alan Faneca. In the game, he had 63 receiving yards on 3 receptions and scored a touchdown. He finished the season having caught 80 passes for 1,004 receiving yards and 4 touchdowns. This also marked his fourth year with over 1,000 receiving yards.

2005 season

In 2005, Ward missed the first two weeks of training camp in a holdout for a contract extension that would increase his salary. Ward had considered holding out before camp in 2004, but had been persuaded after meeting with the Steelers' owner

Dan Rooney Daniel Milton Rooney (July 20, 1932 – April 13, 2017) was an American executive and diplomat best known for his association with the Pittsburgh Steelers, an American football team in the National Football League (NFL), and son of the Steelers ...

and Jerome Bettis. He was told they could work out an extension during the year and he'd be paid fairly. With a great relationship with Dan Rooney, he conceded and eventually showed up on August 15, 2005, on the sidelines for Pittsburgh's first preseason game against the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team play ...

. That night, though, he did not play in that game. On September 5, 2005, the Steelers announced that they had reached an agreement on a four-year contract extension worth $25.83 million with Ward. On September 18, 2005, he caught 6 passes for 84 receiving yards and 2 touchdowns in a 27–7 victory over the Texans. The next week, Ward had 4 catches for 110 receiving yards and 2 touchdowns, including an 85-yard touchdown reception, against the Patriots. Although they lost to the defending Super Bowl Champions 20–23, this marked Ward's first back-to-back games with 2 touchdown receptions. After starting 88 consecutive games, Ward missed the game against the Jaguars on October 16. On November 13, 2005, Ward became the Steelers' all-time leading receiver with his 538th catch against the Browns on

ESPN Sunday Night Football ''ESPN Sunday Night Football'' is the ESPN cable network's weekly television broadcasts of Sunday evening National Football League (NFL) games. The first ESPN Sunday night broadcast occurred on November 8, 1987, while the last one aired on January ...

surpassing John Stallworth's record. The Steelers won 34–21. In Week 13 against the Bengals, Ward hauled in a season-high 9 receptions for 135 receiving yards and 2 touchdown receptions. After finishing the season 11–5, the Steelers played the Bengals for the AFC Wild Card on January 8, 2006. Ward finished the Steelers playoff victory over Cincinnati with only 2 catches for 10 yards, and also scored a 5-yard touchdown. The next week, he caught 3 passes for 68 receiving yards as the Steelers beat the

21–18. In the 2005

AFC Championship The AFC Championship Game is the annual championship game of the American Football Conference (AFC) and one of the two semi-final playoff games of the National Football League (NFL), the largest professional American football league in the world. ...

game at the Denver Broncos, he had 59 receiving yards on 5 receptions while also making a touchdown catch, as the Steelers won 34–17. On February 5, 2006, Ward played in his first career Super Bowl. In

, he accumulated 5 receptions, 123 receiving yards, and caught a 43-yard touchdown reception from wide receiver Antwaan Randle El to seal the Steelers' 21–10 victory over the

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) West, which they rejoined in 2002 a ...

. He was named the MVP in

. This made him the second foreign-born player to earn the accolade. The Steelers also named Ward their co-MVP of the season along with

Casey Hampton Casey Hampton Jr. (born September 3, 1977) is a former American football nose tackle who played twelve seasons for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the University of Texas, and recei ...

. Immediately following Super Bowl XL, Ward was videotaped for the "I'm Going to Disney World!" television commercial, adding "...and I'm taking The Bus!" Ward and Steelers teammate Jerome "The Bus" Bettis appeared in a victory parade at the

Magic Kingdom Magic Kingdom Park, previously known as Walt Disney World Magic Kingdom (1971–1994) and The Magic Kingdom (1994–2017), is a theme park at the Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida, near Orlando, Florida. Owned and operated by The ...

theme park on February 6 along with

Emmitt Smith Emmitt James Smith III (born May 15, 1969) is an American former professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL) for 15 seasons, primarily with the Dallas Cowboys. Among other accolades, he is the le ...

2006 season

After 2005, he returned to start in the Steelers' season opener against the Dolphins and caught 5 passes for 53 yards and a touchdown, as they beat Miami, 28–16. On October 22, 2006, Ward caught 8 receptions for 171 receiving yards and caught 3 touchdowns for the first time in his career, as they lost 38–41 to the Atlanta Falcons. During the season, he missed Weeks 13 and 14 and only finished his second season in a row with exactly 975 receiving yards. After the Steelers finished 8–8 and missed the playoffs, Head Coach Bill Cowher announced he was retiring.

2007 season

After eight years under Bill Cowher, Ward had the second coach of his career, as the Steelers organization hired Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator

Mike Tomlin Michael Pettaway Tomlin (born March 15, 1972) is an American football coach who is the head coach for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). Since joining the Steelers in 2007, he has led the team to ten playoff runs, s ...

as their new head coach. This also marked his first season under offensive coordinator Bruce Arians, as Ken Whisenhunt left to become the Arizona Cardinals head coach. As the Steelers played the Bengals on October 28, 2007, Ward hauled in 8 passes for 88 yards and 2 touchdowns. On December 2, 2007, he caught a season-high 11 passes for 90 receiving yards and 2 touchdown receptions during the 24–10 victory over the Bengals. The 2 touchdowns against the Bengals made Ward the Steelers' all-time touchdown receptions leader with his 64th touchdown reception. Then on December 20, 2007, Ward became the Steelers' all-time receiving yardage leader in a game against the St. Louis Rams. Hines Ward vs

In his first year under Mike Tomlin, the Steelers finished 10–6 and made the playoffs. Although they lost the AFC wild card game 29–31 to Jacksonville, Ward made 10 receptions for 135 receiving yards. Ward finished his ninth season with 71 receptions, 732 receiving yards, and 7 touchdowns. During the season, he missed Weeks 4, 5, and 17, making it the most games he missed in a single season.

2008 season

Ward began the 2008 NFL season with 6 receptions, 76 receiving yards, and 2 touchdown catches in a 38–16 victory over the Texans. On November 16, 2008, he caught a season-high 11 passes for 124 yards against the

San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team that played in San Diego from 1961 until the end of the 2016 season, before relocating to Los Angeles, where the franchise had played its inaugural 1960 season. The team is now ...

. During a Week 16 contest at the Tennessee Titans, Ward racked up a total of 7 receptions for 109 receiving yards and scored a touchdown as the Steelers lost 14–31. The next week on December 28, 2008, Ward caught his 800th NFL reception, extending his record for receptions by a Steelers receiver. Also in this game, Ward achieved his first 1000-yard season since 2004, finishing with 81 receptions for 1043 yards and 7 touchdowns on the year. The Steelers finished the 2008 regular season with a 12–4 record and made the playoffs. During the AFC divisional game against the San Diego Chargers, Ward caught 4 passes for 70 yards. The following week in the AFC Championship, he made 3 receptions for 55 yards as they beat the Ravens 23–14 to go on to

Super Bowl XLIII Super Bowl XLIII was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champions Pittsburgh Steelers and the National Football Conference (NFC) champions Arizona Cardinals to decide the National Football League (NFL) champ ...

. On February 1, 2009, the Steelers played the Arizona Cardinals, led by the Steelers' former offensive coordinator Ken Whisenhunt. During the game, Ward played a supporting role behind Santonio Holmes, who was the game's MVP, but made 2 receptions for 43 yards, as the Steelers won 27–23 on a last-minute touchdown reception by Holmes. He played the game with a sprained right MCL. Ward completed the season with 81 receptions, 1,043 receiving yards, and 7 touchdown receptions.

2009 season

On April 25, 2009, the Steelers signed Ward to a four-year, $22 million extension with a signing bonus of $3 million. In the Steelers' home opener, he had 8 catches for 103 receiving yards. On September 27, 2009, during a game against Cincinnati, Ward's four catches for 82 yards earned him 10,000 career receiving yards and made him the first wide receiver in Steelers' history to achieve that milestone. On third-and-two Ben Roethlisberger hit Ward for a 14-yard gain, giving Ward 10,001 career receiving yards. During a Week 6 contest against the Browns, Ward accumulated 8 receptions, 159 receiving yards, and a touchdown. The game marked his third game of the season with over 100 receiving yards. He had his fourth game with over a hundred yards on November 22, as he had a season-high 10 catches for 128 yards and a touchdown against the Kansas City Chiefs. On December 20, 2009, Ward caught 7 passes for 126 receiving yards in a 37–36 victory over the

. This was the first time Ward had 5 games with over 100 receiving yards in a single season. Ward finished the 2009 season with 95 receptions for 1,167 yards and 6 touchdowns as the Steelers finished 9–7.

2010 season

After the Steelers drafted

Mike Wallace Myron Leon Wallace (May 9, 1918 – April 7, 2012) was an American journalist, game show host, actor, and media personality. He interviewed a wide range of prominent newsmakers during his seven-decade career. He was one of the original correspo ...

in 2009 and Emmanuel Sanders and Antonio Brown in

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

, Ward began to have a decline in his receptions. In the 2010 home opener against the Falcons, Ward caught 6 passes for 108 receiving yards as the Steelers won 15–9. In the game against the

, Ward became the first player in Steelers history to surpass 11,000 receiving yards. He caught 108 yards worth of passes in that game to pass Hall of Fame Steelers receiver John Stallworth for the most 100-yard receiving games all-time for the Steelers with his 26th. His 6 catches against the Falcons gave him 901 for his career, making him only the 12th NFL player of all time to surpass 900 career receptions. On October 24, 2010, he had a season-high 131 receiving yards on 7 receptions and scored a touchdown against the Miami Dolphins. In Week 14 against the Bengals, he hauled in a season-high 8 passes for 115 yards. Ward's streak of 186 consecutive games with at least one reception came to an end in a 39–26 loss against the

in Week 10 of the 2010 season. A short catch by Ward was knocked loose when he was tackled by safeties

Patrick Chung Patrick Christopher Chung (born August 19, 1987) is a Jamaican-American former football safety who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 12 seasons, primarily with the New England Patriots. He played college football at Oregon and wa ...

and James Sanders, and was knocked out of the rest of the game; the Patriots challenged the call, and the pass was ruled incomplete on review, ending the streak. On January 15, 2011, the Steelers played the Baltimore Ravens in the divisional playoffs. Ward finished the contest with 3 receptions for 25 yards and a touchdown, as the Steelers won 31–24. The next week in the AFC Championship, he had 2 catches for 14 yards as the Steelers beat the New York Jets 24–19 to advance to

Super Bowl XLV Super Bowl XLV was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Pittsburgh Steelers and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Green Bay Packers to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion ...

. On February 6, 2011, Ward appeared in his third Super Bowl with the Steelers against the Green Bay Packers. In his first career Super Bowl loss, he caught 7 passes for 78 receiving yards and a touchdown. He finished the 2010 season with 59 receptions, 755 receiving yards, and 5 receiving touchdowns. He had not had a season below 60 catches since 2000.

2011 season

Ward began the 2011 NFL season, making 5 receptions for 67 yards in the Steelers' season opener against the Ravens. On October 9, 2011, he had 7 catches for 54 receiving yards and 2 touchdown reception. In this game, he caught the last touchdown of his career on an 8-yard touchdown pass from Ben Roethlisberger in the second quarter. On December 4, 2011, in a 35–7 home victory against the

, Ward became the 19th player in NFL history to reach 12,000 receiving yards. On January 1, 2012, in a game against the Cleveland Browns, Ward caught his 1000th reception, becoming the eighth player in NFL history to do so. He also caught his last career reception during the game. He appeared in his last game with the Steelers on January 8, 2012, as the Steelers lost 23–29 to the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquar ...

in the AFC Wildcard Game. He finished his last season with a total of 46 receptions, 381 receiving yards, and only 2 touchdowns in 15 games and 9 starts. On March 7, 2012, the Steelers announced their intention to cut and release Ward, which they did two days later. On March 20, 2012, Ward announced his retirement from professional football stating, "Without the support over the past 14 years this game wouldn't be the same to me. It wouldn't be as fun for me. You guys meant the world to me. The city and this organization means the world to me. So today as sadly as it feels for me right now, I hope it will be a good day for everyone here." At the time of his retirement, Ward was the last remaining player from the Steelers to have played with the team during the 1990s. In addition, he was also their last player to have played for them in Three Rivers Stadium. Ward accumulated 76 receptions, 1,064 yards, and eight receiving touchdowns in 14 post-season appearances. Although the Steelers have not officially retired Ward's #86, they have not reissued it since his retirement and it is understood that no Steeler will ever wear it again.

Legacy

Ward's versatility, hands, and willingness to block served him well as a professional wide receiver. Since being drafted by the Steelers in the third round of the 1998 NFL Draft, he earned three team

Most Valuable Player In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a partic ...

(MVP) selections. He was also a four-time NFL

Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (starting in 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's star players. The format has changed thro ...

selection (2001–2004). Ward also had a streak of 4 consecutive 1,000-yard seasons. The streak was broken in the 2005 NFL season during which he missed a game due to injury. In 2002, he set a Steelers franchise record for receptions (112) and touchdowns (12) (both since broken by Antonio Brown) and was named to his first of two consecutive All-NFL teams. Although he was considered one of the best blocking receivers in the NFL, Ward often faced criticism for his style of blocking, particularly for his propensity to hit defenders on their blind side. During a game on October 19, 2008, Ward put a vicious downfield blindsid
block
on rookie

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, ...

Keith Rivers Keith Rivers (born May 5, 1986) is a former American football linebacker. He was drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals ninth overall in the 2008 NFL Draft and also played for the New York Giants and Buffalo Bills. He played college football at US ...

. The impact of the block left Rivers with a broken jaw, and caused him to miss the remainder of the 2008 season. Ward was not penalized for this block, nor was he fined by the league as the hit was deemed legal. The league, however, later passed a new rule banning such hits. The so-called "Hines Ward Rule" made a blindside block illegal if the block came from the blocker's helmet, forearm or shoulder and lands to the head or neck area of a defender. In a Sports Illustrated poll of NFL players in 2009, he was voted the "dirtiest player in the NFL."

NFL career statistics

Regular season

Coaching career

Pittsburgh Steelers

In August 2017, Ward served as an offensive intern with the

, working with their wide receivers.

New York Jets

In September 2019, Ward began his coaching career and was hired by the

as a full-time offensive assistant.

Florida Atlantic Owls

In 2021, the Florida Atlantic University Owls hired Ward as special assistant to the head coach. He also worked alongside wide receivers coach Joey Thomas. He was later promoted to the position of wide receivers coach.

XFL

In June 2021, Ward was announced as one of the eight XFL Head Coaches. He was announced as Head Coach of San Antonio in July 2022 when Team Locations were revealed.

Personal life

Ward resides in

Sandy Springs, Georgia Sandy Springs is a city in northern Fulton County, Georgia and an inner ring suburb of Atlanta. The city's population was 108,080 at the 2020 census, making it Georgia's seventh-largest city. It is the site of several corporate headquarters, ...

with his wife Lindsey Georgalas-Ward and has a son named Jaden and a daughter named Londyn. On his upper right arm he has a tattoo of

Mickey Mouse Mickey Mouse is an animated cartoon Character (arts), character co-created in 1928 by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks. The longtime mascot of The Walt Disney Company, Mickey is an Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic mouse who typically wears red sho ...

in the

Heisman The Heisman Memorial Trophy (usually known colloquially as the Heisman Trophy or The Heisman) is awarded annually to the most outstanding player in college football. Winners epitomize great ability combined with diligence, perseverance, and har ...

pose, just below a tattoo of his name in Korean.

Business and media enterprises

Ward co-owned a bar in Pittsburgh's South Side called The Locker Room. The bar sustained serious water damage in February 2007, due to flooding from a malfunctioning boiler, and it was closed for repairs until June of that year. The bar received an insurance settlement of $500,000, which subsequently became an issue during a legal dispute between the bar's owners. On September 11, 2007, co-owner Nicholas Lettieri withdrew the entirety of the bar's funds, approximately $19,000, from a corporate account, causing it to miss a large number of scheduled payments. The company filed suit for the return of the money, and Lettieri subsequently justified his actions by claiming that the money was owed to him, also voicing the belief that the other co-owners, Ward and Kimberly Pitts, as well as Pitts' husband, Korry Pitts, had falsified invoices and diverted company funds to their own bank accounts. Company attorney Thomas Castello dismissed Lettieri's allegations as "baseless, ridiculous and unfounded," and the matter currently is before the court. The Locker Room reopened under the name South Side 86 (because of Ward's jersey number), and is owned entirely by Ward, who bought out his co-owners. Ward hosted the ''Hines Ward Show'' on Pittsburgh CBS O&O

KDKA-TV KDKA-TV (channel 2) is a television station in Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States, airing programming from the CBS network. It is owned-and-operated station, owned and operated by the network's CBS News and Stations division a ...

from 2006 to 2012. In 2012, shortly after announcing his retirement, it was announced that Ward had signed on with

NBC Sports NBC Sports is an American programming division of the broadcast network NBC, owned and operated by NBC Sports Group division of NBCUniversal and subsidiary of Comcast. The division is responsible for sports broadcasts on the network, and its ...

to be a football analyst, highlighted by his role on the ''

Sunday Night Football Sunday Night Football may refer to: * ''NBC Sunday Night Football'', the Sunday night broadcast of American NFL games by NBC since 2006 * ''ESPN Sunday Night Football'', the Sunday night broadcast of American NFL games from 1987 to 2005 by ESPN * ...

'' pregame show '' Football Night in America''. He opened a restaurant called Table 86 and a

wine bar A wine bar is a tavern-like business focusing on selling wine, rather than liquor or beer. A typical feature of many wine bars is a wide selection of wines available by the glass. Some wine bars are profiled on wines of a certain type of origin, ...

named Vines in

Seven Fields Seven Fields is a borough in Butler County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 2,887 at the 2010 census, an increase from the figure of 1,986 tabulated in 2000. Geography Seven Fields is located in southwestern Butler County at (40 ...

with Howard A Shiller from

Fort Lauderdale A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facer ...

in August 2015. The restaurant closed in March 2019 due to a lawsuit surrounding the partnership dispute for the businesses. Ward joined CNN and HLN in May 2016. He is a current CNN studio analyst. In 2018, he joined the

as the Player Relations Executive.

As a figure for social change

In 2006, Ward became the first

Korean American Korean Americans are Americans of Korean ancestry (mostly from South Korea). In 2015, the Korean-American community constituted about 0.56% of the United States population, or about 1.82 million people, and was the fifth-largest Asian America ...

to win the

Super Bowl The Super Bowl is the annual final playoff game of the National Football League (NFL) to determine the league champion. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966, replacing the NFL Championship Game. Since 2022, the gam ...

MVP award. This achievement threw him into the spotlight of

media in South Korea The South Korean mass media consist of several different types of public communication of news: television, radio, cinema, newspapers, magazines, and Internet-based websites. Modern Korean journalism began after the opening of Korea in the late 1 ...

. From April 3 through May 30, 2006, Ward returned to his birthplace of

for the first time since his parents moved to the United States when he was one year old. Ward used his celebrity status to arrange "hope-sharing" meetings with

multiracial Mixed race people are people of more than one race or ethnicity. A variety of terms have been used both historically and presently for mixed race people in a variety of contexts, including ''multiethnic'', ''polyethnic'', occasionally ''bi-eth ...

Korean children and to encourage social and political reform. At one hope-sharing meeting, he told a group of children, "If the country can accept me for who I am and accept me for being a Korean, I'm pretty sure that this country can change and accept you for who you are." On his final day in Korea, he donated US$1 million to create the Hines Ward Helping Hands Foundation, which the AP called "a foundation to help mixed-race children like himself in South Korea, where they have suffered discrimination." In September 2010, President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, Obama was the first Af ...

appointed Ward as a member of the President's Advisory Commission on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.

DUI arrest

On July 9, 2011, Ward was arrested for driving under the influence in

DeKalb County, Georgia DeKalb County (, , ) is located in the north central portion of the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 764,382, making it Georgia's fourth-most populous county. Its county seat is Decatur. DeKalb County is inc ...

, after being witnessed by a

MARTA Marta may refer to: People * Marta (given name), a feminine given name * Märta, a feminine given name * Marta (surname) : István Márta composer * Marta (footballer) (born 1986), Brazilian professional footballer Places * Marta (river ...

police officer failing to maintain his lane and subsequently hitting a curb. An officer of the DeKalb County Police Department responded which led to the investigation and Ward's arrest. On February 22, 2012, the DUI charge was dropped as part of a plea agreement. Ward agreed to plead guilty to reckless driving and received a sentence of one year of probation, 80 hours of community service and a $2,000 fine.

Film and TV appearances

Ward made an appearance as a member of the fictional Gotham Rogues football team in the 2012 film ''

'', and was one of the members of "Team Rachael" in the second season of

Food Network Food Network is an American basic cable channel owned by Television Food Network, G.P., a joint venture and general partnership between Warner Bros. Discovery Networks (which holds a 69% ownership stake of the network) and Nexstar Media Group ( ...

's '' Rachael vs. Guy: Celebrity Cook-Off''. He appeared in the ninth episode of the third season of '' The Walking Dead'', appearing as a walker.

Other sporting appearances

Dancing with the Stars performance

On May 24, 2011, Ward and his partner Kym Johnson won season 12 of the American TV dance competition ''

Dancing with the Stars ''Dancing with the Stars'' is the name of various international television series based on the format of the British TV series '' Strictly Come Dancing'', which is distributed by BBC Studios, the commercial arm of the BBC. Currently the form ...

''. * In week 7, Donnie Burns was the guest judge and scored the dances as well (first score listed is Burns').

Triathlon

In 2012, Ward began training for the 2013

Ironman World Championships The Ironman World Championship has been held annually in Hawaii since 1978, with an additional race in 1982. It is owned and organized by the World Triathlon Corporation. It is the annual culmination of a series of Ironman triathlon qualification ...

, enlisting the help of triathlon legend

Paula Newby-Fraser Paula Newby-Fraser (born 2 June 1962 in Harare) is an Ironman triathlete and duathlete. Biography Newby-Fraser was born in Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) and raised in South Africa, where she was a nationally ranked swimmer as ...

. On June 9, 2013, he competed in the Ironman Kansas 70.3. His finish time was 5:53:18, which earned him the overall rank of 623. On October 12, 2013, Ward completed the Ironman World Championships. He finished with a time of 13:08:15. Upon completion, he told

Mike Florio Michael James Florio (born June 8, 1965) is an American sportswriter, author, radio host, and television commentator. He writes for '' Profootballtalk.com'' which he created and owns. He also hosts the daily NFL talk show ''PFT Live'' on Peacock ...

at NBC that he will "never" compete in another triathlon and that he was "one and done".

2018 Winter Olympics Honorary Ambassador

Ward was named an honorary ambassador for the

2018 Winter Olympics , nations = 93 , athletes = 2,922 (1,680 men and 1,242 women) , events = 102 in 7 sports (15 disciplines) , opening = , closing = , opened_by = President Moon Jae-in , cauldron = Kim Yun-a , stadium = Pyeongchang Olympic Stadium , wint ...

Pyeongchang Pyeongchang (; in full, ''Pyeongchang-gun'' ; ) is a county in the province of Gangwon-do, South Korea, located in the Taebaek Mountains region. It is home to several Buddhist temples, including Woljeongsa. It is about east southeast of Se ...

References

External links

Official websitePittsburgh Steelers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ward, Hines 1976 births Living people 10,000 receiving yards club African-American businesspeople African-American players of American football Alliance of American Football executives American civil rights activists American Conference Pro Bowl players American football quarterbacks American football wide receivers American philanthropists American restaurateurs American sportspeople of Korean descent Businesspeople from Atlanta Businesspeople from Pittsburgh Businesspeople from Seoul College football announcers Dancing with the Stars (American TV series) winners Florida Atlantic Owls football coaches Georgia Bulldogs football players National Football League announcers New York Jets coaches Nightclub owners Notre Dame Fighting Irish football announcers Participants in American reality television series People from East Point, Georgia People from Forest Park, Georgia People from Sandy Springs, Georgia Pittsburgh Steelers players Players of American football from Atlanta Players of American football from Pittsburgh South Korean emigrants to the United States South Korean players of American football Sportspeople from Pittsburgh Sportspeople from Seoul Super Bowl MVPs