Craig William "Ironhead" Heyward (September 26, 1966 – May 27, 2006) was an American professional

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 c ...

player who was a fullback in 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 ...

(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 rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

for the

Pittsburgh Panthers The Pittsburgh Panthers, commonly also referred to as the Pitt Panthers, are the athletic teams representing the University of Pittsburgh, although the term is colloquially used to refer to other aspects of the university such as alumni, facu ...

. He then played for the

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine NF ...

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) South division. The Falcons joined th ...

St. Louis Rams The St. Louis Rams were a professional American football team of the National Football League (NFL). They played in St. Louis from 1995 to the 2015 season, before moving back to Los Angeles, where the team had played from 1946 to 1994. The arr ...

, 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 ...

in an 11-year NFL career.

Professional career

He was selected by the New Orleans Saints in the first round (24th pick overall) of the

1988 NFL Draft The 1988 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 24–25, 1988, at the Marriot Marq ...

out of the

University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a public state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The university is composed of 17 undergraduate and graduate schools and colleges at its urban Pittsburgh campus, home to the universit ...

. Heyward's 3,086 career rushing yards rank third all-time at Pitt in only three seasons. He declared himself eligible for the 1988 draft after his junior year. In 1987 at

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

, Heyward rushed for 1,791 yards to earn consensus

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...

honors and finish fifth in the

Heisman Trophy 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 hard ...

balloting. Heyward was widely regarded as a nightmare for opposing defenses because he was often as big, and sometimes bigger, than the defenders who had to stop him, and had surprising quickness and agility. One of the NFL's best "big man" running backs in the vein of

Earl Campbell Earl Christian Campbell (born March 29, 1955), nicknamed "the Tyler Rose", is an American former professional football player who played as a running back in the National Football League (NFL) for the Houston Oilers and New Orleans Saints. Kn ...

, Heyward, at 5' 11" and reportedly weighing 330 pounds, was a punishing runner who was also a devastating blocker and good receiver. Heyward slimmed down to closer to 280. In 1997, Heyward showcased his sense of humor in a series of

television commercial A television advertisement (also called a television commercial, TV commercial, commercial, spot, television spot, TV spot, advert, television advert, TV advert, television ad, TV ad or simply an ad) is a span of television programming produce ...

s for

Zest Zest may refer to: Common usage * Zest (ingredient), the outer peel of a citrus fruit ** Zester, a tool for preparing zest ** Twist (cocktail garnish), a piece of zest * Zest (positive psychology), a component of character Brands * Zest (brand ...

body wash, introducing a generation of American men to the modern version of the

Luffa ''Luffa'' is a genus of tropical and subtropical vines in the cucumber family (Cucurbitaceae). In everyday non-technical usage, the luffa, also spelled loofah, usually refers to the fruits of the species ''Luffa aegyptiaca'' and ''Luffa acutang ...

that is now a fixture in many showers and bathtubs. The "lather-builder" and Heyward's tough-guy image created a humorous contrast in the advertisement, culminating in a voting campaign that named it the "thingy". In November 1998, Heyward reported blurred vision in his right eye, and was diagnosed with a

malignant Malignancy () is the tendency of a medical condition to become progressively worse. Malignancy is most familiar as a characterization of cancer. A ''malignant'' tumor contrasts with a non-cancerous ''benign'' tumor in that a malignancy is not s ...

bone cancer A bone tumor is an abnormal growth of tissue in bone, traditionally classified as noncancerous (benign) or cancerous (malignant). Cancerous bone tumors usually originate from a cancer in another part of the body such as from lung, breast, thyro ...

, reportedly a

chordoma Chordoma is a rare slow-growing neoplasm thought to arise from cellular remnants of the notochord. The evidence for this is the location of the tumors (along the neuraxis), the similar immunohistochemical staining patterns, and the demonstration ...

, at the base of his skull that was pressing on the

optic nerve In neuroanatomy, the optic nerve, also known as the second cranial nerve, cranial nerve II, or simply CN II, is a paired cranial nerve that transmits visual system, visual information from the retina to the brain. In humans, the optic nerve i ...

. After it was partially removed in a 12-hour operation, he underwent 40 rounds of radiation treatments and was later pronounced cancer-free; the diagnosis nonetheless ended his playing career. To this day, his 1995 season is the last time a fullback rushed for 1,000 yards.

NFL career statistics

Personal life

Nickname

When Heyward was "12 or 13," according to his son,

Cameron Heyward Cameron Phillip Heyward (born May 6, 1989) is an American football defensive tackle for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Steelers in the first round of the 2011 NFL Draft. He played college ...

, a defensive lineman for 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 ...

writing for the Players' Tribune, he was at the Boys & Girls Club in

Passaic, New Jersey Passaic ( or ) is a city in Passaic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the city had a total population of 70,537, ranking as the 16th largest municipality in New Jersey and an increase of 656 from the 69,78 ...

, when another boy approached him and ultimately broke a pool cue over Heyward's head. Heyward barely flinched, and after relating the story later, his grandmother called him "Ironhead," and the nickname stuck. Heyward carried the nickname through

Passaic High School Passaic High School is a four-year community public high school, serving students in ninth through twelfth grades from Passaic, in Passaic County, New Jersey, United States, operating as part of the Passaic City School District. The school has ...

, where it also became a reference to his wild-man strength and the fact that he had to wear a

hat size A hat is a head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorporate mecha ...

of 8¾. Heyward's obituary in ''

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 ...

'' made an additional reference; that in street football games he would lower his head into the stomach of the tackler and one opponent said it hurt so much that Heyward's head must be made of iron.

Family

Heyward had four sons named Craig, Jr., Cameron, Corey, and Connor. All four played sports in high school. Craig Jr. played for his father's alma mater in New Jersey while his three brothers played for

Peachtree Ridge High School Peachtree Ridge High School (PRHS) is a public high school in Gwinnett County, in Suwanee, Georgia, United States. It is a part of Gwinnett County Public Schools. It is one of two public schools in the county to use block scheduling, the other b ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

. Heyward's son Cameron plays

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...

for the Pittsburgh Steelers. He played for the

Ohio State Buckeyes The Ohio State Buckeyes are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Ohio State University, located in Columbus, Ohio. The athletic programs are named after the colloquial term for people from the state of Ohio and after the state tree ...

, where he was named a freshman All-American in 2007 and honored as a team captain. He was drafted by the Steelers in the first round (31st pick overall) in the

2011 NFL Draft The 2011 NFL Draft was the 76th installment of the annual NFL Draft, where the franchises of the National Football League select newly eligible football players. Like the 2010 draft, the 2011 draft was held at Radio City Music Hall in New York C ...

. He would write the words "IRON HEAD" on his

eye black Eye black is a grease or strip applied under the eyes to reduce glare, although studies have not conclusively proven its effectiveness. It is often used by American football, baseball, softball, and lacrosse players to mitigate the effects of b ...

as a tribute to his father. Heyward's oldest son, Craig Jr., played high school football for Passaic High School as he did and later was a walk-on at

Middle Tennessee State Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU or MT) is a public university in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. Founded in 1911 as a normal school, the university consists of eight undergraduate colleges as well as a college of graduate studies, together of ...

, where he played primarily on

special teams In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their "position". Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...

. He was signed to the

Trenton Steel The Trenton Steel was a professional indoor football team that began play in the Southern Indoor Football League (SIFL) in the 2011 season. The team suspended operations December 27, 2011. The Steel were based in Trenton, New Jersey, with home gam ...

of the SIFL where he was a

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offen ...

. After his playing career ended, Heyward Jr. entered coaching as an assistant for

Nutley High School Nutley High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school in the Township of Nutley, in Essex County, New Jersey, United States, serving students in ninth through twelfth grades as the lone secondary school of the Nutley Public Sch ...

in his native northern New Jersey. Heyward's son Corey graduated from

and played

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

for

Georgia Tech The Georgia Institute of Technology, commonly referred to as Georgia Tech or, in the state of Georgia, as Tech or The Institute, is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia. Established in 1885, it is part of ...

. His youngest son, Connor, elected to play college football at

Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the fi ...

in 2017. He was also drafted in the 6th round by the

in the

2022 NFL Draft The 2022 NFL Draft was the 87th edition of the National Football League's annual draft and was held from April 28–30, 2022, at the Caesars Forum on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. The first round was held on Thursday, April 28, and w ...

Cancer and death

Heyward died on May 27, 2006, at the age of 39, a year after another cancerous tumor developed that had metastasized to his brain; the recurrence of the tumor proved to be inoperable. Heyward had also experienced a stroke in the years prior to his death.

References

External links

*
''Pittsburgh Post-Gazette'' remembrance of Pittsburgh great Craig Heyward

''Seattle Post-Intelligencer "Former fullback Craig "Ironhead" Heyward dies" May 27, 2006 accessed May 28, 2006

Heyward lived by big heart, By Thomas George, Denver Post Staff Columnist

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Heyward, Craig 1966 births 2006 deaths Players of American football from New Jersey All-American college football players American football running backs Atlanta Falcons players Chicago Bears players Deaths from bone cancer Indianapolis Colts players National Conference Pro Bowl players New Orleans Saints players Passaic High School alumni Sportspeople from Passaic, New Jersey Pittsburgh Panthers football players St. Louis Rams players Deaths from cancer in Georgia (U.S. state) Ed Block Courage Award recipients