John Franklin "Smiling Jack" Wiley (April 18, 1920 – March 25, 2013) was an

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

player and coach. He played professionally a tackle 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) from 1946 to 1950. Willey served as the head football coach at his alma mater, Waynesburg College—now known as

Waynesburg University Waynesburg University is a private Christian university in Waynesburg, Pennsylvania, United States. It was established in 1850 and offers undergraduate and graduate programs in more than 70 academic concentrations. The university enrolls aroun ...

—in

Waynesburg, Pennsylvania Waynesburg is a borough in Greene County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. The population was 4,001 at the 2020 census. It is located about south of Pittsburgh. The region around Waynesburg is underlaid with several layers o ...

, from 1951 to 1954, compiling a record of 22–9–1.

Playing career and miltitary service

Wiley 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 ...

as a tackle at Waynesburg College—now known as

—in

and appeared in the

1939 Waynesburg vs. Fordham football game This year also marks the start of the Second World War, the largest and deadliest conflict in human history. Events Events related to World War II have a "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 ** Coming into effect in Nazi Germany of: *** T ...

, the first televised American football game. His three older brothers—Robert,

Asa Asa may refer to: People and fictional characters * Asa (given name), a given name, including a list of people and fictional characters so named * Asa people, an ethnic group based in Tanzania * Aṣa, Nigerian-French singer, songwriter, and reco ...

, and Bill—also played football as Waynesburg. The youngest Wiley brother graduated from Waynesburg in 1941. He served in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, attaining the rank of captain. After World War II, Wiley played for the

of the

(NFL) from 1946 to 1950, under head coaches

Jock Sutherland John Bain Sutherland (March 21, 1889 – April 11, 1948) was an American football player and coach. He coached college football at Lafayette College (1919–1923) and the University of Pittsburgh (1924–1938) and professional football for the ...

and

John Michelosen John Pollock Michelosen (February 13, 1916 – October 17, 1982) was an American football player and coach. He served as the head coach for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL) from 1948 to 1951, compiling a record of 2 ...

Coaching career

Wiley was the head football coach at his alma mater, Waynesburg, for four seasons, from 1951 to 1954, compiling a record of 22–9–1. Wiley left Waynesburg to become an assistant at Pitt, where he is credited with recruiting

Mike Ditka Michael Keller Ditka ( ; born Michael Dyczko; October 18, 1939) is an American former professional American football, football player, coach, and television commentator. During his playing career, he was UPI NFL-NFC Rookie of the Year, UPI NFL R ...

and

Marty Schottenheimer Martin Edward Schottenheimer (; September 23, 1943 – February 8, 2021) was an American professional football linebacker and coach who served as a head coach in the National Football League (NFL) for 21 seasons. He was the head coach of the Cl ...

Late life and death

Waynesburg left coaching in 1961 to become a salesman and later regional manager for the L.G. Balfour Jewelry & Taylor Publishing Company. He died on March 25, 2013, in

Rock Hill, South Carolina Rock Hill is the most populous city in York County, South Carolina, United States, and the List of municipalities in South Carolina, 5th-most populous city in the state. It is also the 4th-most populous city of the Charlotte metropolitan area, be ...

Head coaching record

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wiley, Jack 1920 births 2013 deaths American football tackles Pittsburgh Panthers football coaches Pittsburgh Steelers players Waynesburg Yellow Jackets football coaches Waynesburg Yellow Jackets football players United States Army officers United States Army personnel of World War II People from Greene County, Pennsylvania Coaches of American football from Pennsylvania Players of American football from Pennsylvania Military personnel from Pennsylvania