Craig Alan Wolfley (May 19, 1958 – March 10, 2025) was an American 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 and

color analyst A color commentator or expert commentator is a sports commentator who assists the main (play-by-play) commentator, typically by filling in when play is not in progress. The person may also be referred to as a summariser (outside North America) ...

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

of 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). He played in the NFL as an

offensive lineman In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line (OL), while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line ( ...

, spending most of his career with the Steelers before finishing with the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. The Vikings compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. Founded in 1960 as ...

. Along with fellow Steeler

Max Starks Maximillian Weisner Starks IV (born January 10, 1982) is an American former professional American football, football player who was an offensive tackle for 10 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Flo ...

, he hosted a show on 970 ESPN.

College career

Wolfley attended

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York, United States. It was established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church but has been nonsectarian since 1920 ...

from 1976 to 1979. He was a four-year letter winner as an offensive lineman. In 1999, Wolfley was named to the Syracuse University Football All Century team.

Professional career

A fifth round NFL draft pick, he played

offensive guard Offensive may refer to: * Offensive (military), type of military operation * Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative (Netherlands), Socialist Alternative * Fighting words, spoken words which would have a tende ...

and

offensive tackle Offensive may refer to: * Offensive (military), type of military operation * Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative * Fighting words, spoken words which would have a tendency to cause acts of violence by the ...

for the

from 1980 to 1989. He ended his career with the

from 1990 to 1991. Wolfley started 104 games, the majority at left guard.

Broadcasting career

Following his retirement, Wolfley began a broadcasting career with the Steelers. Wolfley served as a sideline reporter until 2021. In addition, he hosted a daily radio show, mostly with his Steelers teammate and longtime friend

Tunch Ilkin Tunch Ilkin (; September 23, 1957 – September 4, 2021) was a Turkish-American professional American football, football player and sports broadcaster. A two-time Pro Bowl selection as an offensive tackle with the Pittsburgh Steelers, he was th ...

. Following Ilkin's death in 2021, Wolfley replaced him as the team's

color commentator A color commentator or expert commentator is a sports commentator who assists the main (play-by-play) commentator, typically by filling in when play is not in progress. The person may also be referred to as a summariser (outside North America) ...

on radio broadcasts. Former Steeler

replaced Ilkin on Wolfley's daily show.

Other sports

In addition to football, Wolfley competed in weight lifting, boxing, sumo wrestling and martial arts. In 1981, he placed fifth in the World's Strongest Man competition. In 2002, Wolfley lost a four-round boxing match to Butterbean. He also held a black belt in jiu jitsu.

Personal life

Wolfley was an evangelical

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

. He attended South Hills Bible Chapel under the pastoral leadership of John Hay Munro with two other notable Steelers,

Mike Webster Michael Lewis Webster (March 18, 1952September 24, 2002) was an American professional football center in the National Football League (NFL) from 1974 to 1990 with the Pittsburgh Steelers and Kansas City Chiefs. He is a member of the Pro Footb ...

and

. Ilkin has credited Wolfley with leading him to follow

Jesus Christ Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...

. Wolfley had three daughters with his wife, Faith, Megan, Hannah, and Esther, and three sons, Kyle, 'CJ', and Max. Two of those children are from a previous marriage. He and Faith were the former owners of the Wolfpack Boxing Club in

Carnegie, Pennsylvania Carnegie () is a borough in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 8,134 in the 2020 census. It is part of the Pittsburgh metropolitan area. History Carnegie is named after Andrew Carnegie, who donated one of his libr ...

, where they taught boxing, martial arts and other athletics. He was the brother of Ron Wolfley, former

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)#Offense ...

of the

Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The ...

and later their color analyst. In 2025, Wolfley wrote and released an autobiography, If These Walls Could Talk: Stories from the Pittsburgh Steelers, which recounts his life story, from his NFL career to his radio broadcasting career. Wolfley died from cancer on March 10, 2025, at the age of 66.

Publications

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Wolfley, Craig 1958 births 2025 deaths Players of American football from Buffalo, New York NFL announcers American football offensive linemen Minnesota Vikings players Pittsburgh Steelers players Syracuse Orange football players Radio personalities from Pittsburgh