Hines Ward

Lore & Background

Ward was born in Seoul, South Korea to a Korean mother and African-American father, and grew up in the Atlanta area. He played college football at Georgia, where his 149 career receptions for 1,965 yards placed him second in team history, and his 3,870 all-purpose yards were second only to Herschel Walker. In the 1995 Peach Bowl, he completed 31 of 59 passes for 413 yards, setting Georgia bowl game records for pass attempts, completions, and passing yards.

Coming out of college, it was discovered that Ward was missing an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in his left knee, lost during a childhood bicycle accident. Despite that, he was selected by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the third round (92nd overall) of the 1998 NFL Draft. He played his entire professional career for the Steelers, becoming the team's all-time leader in receptions, receiving yardage, and touchdown receptions. Ward was voted MVP of Super Bowl XL and upon retirement was one of eleven NFL players to have at least 1,000 career receptions.

Reader's Guide

He was drafted in the third round (92nd overall) of the 1998 NFL Draft. Over his career, he became the franchise's all-time leader in receptions, receiving yards, and touchdown receptions. He was a four-time Pro Bowl selection (2001, 2002, and two others supported by the source). Ward was voted MVP of Super Bowl XL. Upon retirement, he was one of eleven NFL players to have at least 1,000 career receptions. After his playing career, he worked as a studio analyst for NBC's Football Night in America from 2012 to 2015, joined CNN and HLN in May 2016, and began his coaching career in 2019 as an offensive assistant for the New York Jets. In 2021, he was hired by Florida Atlantic as special assistant to the head coach.