Bruce Van Dyke (born August 6, 1944) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player who was a

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison gu ...

for eleven seasons in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL) for 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 of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The team plays its ...

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 of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. Founded in 1933 P ...

, and 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 of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They ar ...

. He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

Missouri Tigers The Missouri Tigers intercollegiate athletics programs represent the University of Missouri, located in Columbia. The name comes from a band of armed Union Home Guards called the "Fighting Tigers of Columbia" who, in 1864, protected Columbia ...

Early life

Van Dyke grew up in

Buckner, Missouri Buckner is a city in Jackson County, Missouri, United States. The population was 2,945 at the 2020 census. For decades it was best known for TV and radio commercials promoting local automobile dealership Lasater Ford, run by the Lasater brothers ...

, and attended

Fort Osage High School Fort Osage High School is a high school located at 2101 N. Twyman Rd. in unincorporated Jackson County, Missouri, in the Kansas City metropolitan area, adjacent to Independence. It belongs to the Fort Osage R-1 School District and serves a se ...

Independence, Missouri Independence is a city in and one of two county seats of Jackson County, Missouri, United States. It is a satellite city of Kansas City, Missouri, and is the largest suburb on the Missouri side of the Kansas City metropolitan area. In 2020 Unite ...

. He played

at the

University of Missouri The University of Missouri (Mizzou or MU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri, United States. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus Univers ...

, where he was a two way starter, playing on both the offensive and defensive lines under head coach

Dan Devine Daniel John Devine (December 23, 1924 – May 9, 2002) was an American football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at Arizona State University from 1955 to 1957, the University of Missouri from 1958 to 1970, and the Universi ...

. As a first-team All-

Big Eight Conference The Big Eight Conference was a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)-affiliated Division I-A college athletic association that sponsored American football, football. It was formed in January 1907 as the Missouri Valley Intercollegiate ...

defensive tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that typically lines up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the Guard (American football), offensive guards; however, he may also line up opposite one of the offensive Tackle (gridir ...

in 1965, Van Dyke played on Tigers teams that went a combined 21–8–2 from 1963 to 1965. The 1965 Missouri squad, on which he served as a captain, finished the year ranked sixth nationally, with a win over the

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

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.

Professional career

Van Dyke was selected in the 12th round of the

1966 NFL draft The 1966 NFL draft was held at the 569 Lexington Avenue, Summit Hotel in New York City on Saturday, November 27, 1965. The expansion 1966 Atlanta Falcons season, Atlanta Falcons were awarded the first pick in each round as well as the final pick ...

by the

and in the 15th round of the

1966 AFL Draft The 1966 American Football League draft was held on Saturday, November 27, 1965. The AFL added the Miami Dolphins as an expansion team in 1966 to bring its total to nine franchises for its seventh season. The Dolphins were awarded the first over ...

by 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 of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division. Established in 1959 ...

. He signed with the Eagles and played there his rookie year. The following season he was traded to the

where he played right guard for the next seven seasons. His first year with the Steelers the team had won only one game. In 1972 Pittsburgh finished the season with an 11–3 record and won the

AFC Central The American Football Conference – Northern Division or AFC North is one of the four divisions of the American Football Conference (AFC) in the National Football League (NFL). The division was created after the NFL realigned its divisions u ...

title. In week 8 of the 1972 Steelers season Van Dyke was named A.P. Offensive player of the week after a 40–17 win over 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 of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its h ...

. That same year the Steelers made their first playoff appearance since the 1947 season and won their first franchise playoff game beating the

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team based in Oakland, California, from its founding in 1960 to 1981, and again from 1995 to 2019 before Oakland Raiders relocation to Las Vegas, relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan ...

13–7. During that game, one of the most memorable plays in both Van Dyke's career and NFL history occurred. Trailing 7–6 with 22 seconds left in the game,

Franco Harris Franco Dok Harris (March 7, 1950 – December 20, 2022) was an American professional football player who was a fullback for 13 seasons in the National Football League (NFL), primarily with the Pittsburgh Steelers. He played college football fo ...

scored the winning touchdown on the final play of the game. This play, of course, is known as the

Immaculate Reception The Immaculate Reception is one of the most famous plays in the history of American football. It was a touchdown which occurred in the AFC divisional playoff game of the National Football League (NFL), between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Oa ...

. In 1974, Van Dyke was traded to the

, where he was reunited with his former college coach Dan Devine. While in Green Bay, he switched to left guard and retired from football after the 1976 season. In 2008, Van Dyke was named to the Pittsburgh Steelers Legends team.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Van Dyke, Bruce 1944 births Living people American football offensive guards Green Bay Packers players Missouri Tigers football players Philadelphia Eagles players Pittsburgh Steelers players American Conference Pro Bowl players Sportspeople from Independence, Missouri Players of American football from Lancaster, California Players of American football from Jackson County, Missouri 20th-century American sportsmen