Editing Jack Ham

{{Short description|American football player (born 1948)}}
{{Use American English|date=December 2019}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2019}}
{{Infobox NFL biography
| name        = Jack Ham
| image       =
| image_size  = 
| caption     = Ham in 1976
| position    = [[Linebacker]]
| number      = 59
| birth_date  = {{Birth date and age|1948|12|23|mf=y}}
| birth_place = [[Johnstown, Pennsylvania]], U.S.
| height_ft   = 6
| height_in   = 1
| weight_lbs  = 225
| draftyear   = 1971
| draftround  = 2
| draftpick   = 34
| high_school = [[Bishop McCort High School|Bishop McCort]] (Johnstown)
| college     = [[Penn State Nittany Lions football|Penn State]] (1968–1970)
| teams       =
* [[Pittsburgh Steelers]] (1971–1982)
| highlights  =
* 4× [[List of Super Bowl champions|Super Bowl champion]] ([[Super Bowl IX|IX]], [[Super Bowl X|X]], [[Super Bowl XIII|XIII]], [[Super Bowl XIV|XIV]])
* 6× First-team [[All-Pro]] ([[1974 All-Pro Team|1974]]–[[1979 All-Pro Team|1979]])
* 2× Second-team All-Pro ([[1973 All-Pro Team|1973]], [[1980 All-Pro Team|1980]])
* 8× [[Pro Bowl]] ([[1974 Pro Bowl|1973]]–[[1981 Pro Bowl|1980]])
* [[NFL 1970s All-Decade Team]]
* [[NFL 75th Anniversary All-Time Team]]
* [[NFL 100th Anniversary All-Time Team]]
* [[Pittsburgh Steelers All-Time Team]]
* [[Pittsburgh Steelers Hall of Honor]]
* [[Pittsburgh Pro Football Hall of Fame]]
* Consensus [[College Football All-America Team|All-American]] ([[1970 College Football All-America Team|1970]])
* 2× First-team All-East ([[1969 All-East football team|1969]], [[1970 All-East football team|1970]])
| statlabel1  = [[Interception]]s
| statvalue1  = 32
| statlabel2  = [[Touchdowns]]
| statvalue2  = 2
| pfr         = HamxJa00
| HOF         = jack-ham
| CollegeHOF  = 1864 
}}
'''Jack Raphael Ham Jr.''' (born December 23, 1948) is an American former professional [[American football|football]] player who was a [[linebacker]] for the [[Pittsburgh Steelers]] of the [[National Football League]] (NFL) from 1971 to 1982. He is considered one of the greatest outside linebackers in the history of the NFL.<ref name=hofbio/><ref name=sc/> Ham was inducted into the [[Pro Football Hall of Fame]] in 1988 and the [[College Football Hall of Fame]] in 1990. He played [[college football]] for the [[Penn State Nittany Lions football|Penn State Nittany Lions]]. In mid-2019 the newsletter of the PSU Alumni Association rated Ham first among the 100 greatest athletes, considering all sports and all previous football players, in University history.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Wilson |first1=Burt |title='Penn State's 100 Greatest Athletes:' Barney Ewell ranked No. 7 |url=https://lancasteronline.com/sports/penn-states-100-greatest-athletes-barney-ewell-ranked-no-7/article_a642fbba-9c15-11e9-bd4d-e3a6a4382ef7.html |website=LNP {{!}} Lancaster Online |date=July 2019 |access-date=10 October 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Pollock |first1=Chuck |title=Prescott's 61st of Penn State's all-time athletes. |url=https://www.oleantimesherald.com/olean/prescott-s-st-of-penn-state-s-all-time-athletes/article_33eb1bcd-52ae-5ae5-a26b-7e8bbe4f714e.html |website=Olean Times Herald |date=July 6, 2019 |publisher=Community Media Group |access-date=10 October 2020}}</ref>

==Early life==
Ham was born and raised in [[Johnstown, Pennsylvania]], where he attended [[Bishop McCort High School]]. He continued his education at [[Massanutten Military Academy]] in [[Woodstock, Virginia]] for a [[post-graduate season]].<ref name=psulib/>

==College career==
Ham played college ball at [[Pennsylvania State University]], where he also joined the [[Phi Delta Theta]] fraternity.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Jack Ham |url=https://museum.phideltatheta.org/famous/jack-ham/ |access-date=2025-01-06 |website=Phi Delta Theta Museum |language=en-US}}</ref> In his three years as a starting linebacker, the [[Penn State Nittany Lions football|Nittany Lions]] had records of 11–0, 11–0, and 7–3. In his senior year, 1970, Ham was co-captain, had 91 tackles, four interceptions, and was an [[1970 College Football All-America Team|All-American]]. He had 251 career tackles, 143 unassisted. He blocked three punts in 1968, setting a school record that was not tied until 1989.{{citation needed|date=January 2012}} He was inducted into the [[College Football Hall of Fame]] in 1990.<ref name=hofbio/><ref name=cfhof>{{College Football HoF|id=1864|name=Jack Ham|accessdate=May 24, 2010}}</ref>

On December 11, 2014, the [[Big Ten Network]] included Ham on "The Mount Rushmore of [[Penn State Football]]", as chosen by online fan voting. Ham was joined in the honor by [[John Cappelletti]], [[LaVar Arrington]] and [[Shane Conlan]].

==Professional career==
[[File:Jack ham cleats.jpg|thumb|left|Ham's cleats on display in the Steelers Hall of Honor Museum.]]
Ham was selected by the [[Pittsburgh Steelers]] in the second-round (34th overall) of the [[1971 NFL draft]]. He won the starting left [[linebacker]] job as a [[rookie]]. He was first-team All-Pro six years and was named to eight straight [[Pro Bowl]]s.<ref name=hofbio/> Ham was blessed with tremendous quickness — according to Steelers coach [[Chuck Noll]] and teammate [[Andy Russell (American football)|Andy Russell]] he was the "fastest Steeler for the first ten yards, including wide receivers and running backs".{{citation needed|date=January 2012}} He was one of the few outside linebackers who could play pass defense as well as the NFL's top safeties. Although he was a ferocious hitter, he was known as a player who could not be fooled and was seldom out of position.<ref name=sc/> [[Maxie Baughan]], a former NFL linebacker said of Ham, "He was one of the more intelligent players to ever play that position. He was able to diagnose plays. You couldn't ever fool him."{{citation needed|date=January 2012}} 

Ham's career statistics include 25 sacks, 21 fumbles recovered, and 32 interceptions<ref name=hofbio/> (although the sack numbers are unofficial since the NFL did not begin recording sacks until Ham's final year in the league, so he officially has just three sacks).<ref>{{cite news |last=Branch |first=John |title=Unofficially, Sack Record Doesn't Add Up |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/04/sports/football/04giants.html?fta=y |access-date=January 3, 2012 |newspaper=[[New York Times]] |date=November 4, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131224151900/http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/04/sports/football/04giants.html?fta=y |archive-date=December 24, 2013 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Jack Ham stats |url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/H/HamxJa00.htm |publisher=[[Pro-Football-Reference.com]] |access-date=January 3, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120103195143/http://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/H/HamxJa00.htm |archive-date=January 3, 2012 |url-status=live }}</ref> As these numbers indicate, Ham had a flair for the big play, guided by some of the best football instincts ever found in a linebacker. Ham was a member of four Super Bowl winning teams during his 12-year career (although he did not play in [[Super Bowl XIV]] due to an ankle injury), all of it spent with the Steelers.<ref name=hofbio>{{cite web|url=http://www.profootballhof.com/hof/member.jsp?player_id=86|title=Hall of Fame member bio|publisher=Pro Football Hall of Fame's official site}}</ref><ref name=sc>{{cite web|title=The Best Linebackers of All-Time|publisher=Sports Central|author=Oremland, Brad|date=February 24, 2010|url=http://www.sports-central.org/sports/2010/02/24/the_best_linebackers_of_alltime.php|access-date=May 26, 2010}}</ref> His 53 takeaways are the most in NFL history by a non-defensive back, while his 32 interceptions rank him 3rd all time among linebackers, behind [[Don Shinnick]] and [[Stan White (linebacker)|Stan White]].

"Dobre Shunka" (either [[Polish language|Polish]] or [[Slovak language|Slovak]] for "good ham") was Ham's nickname while playing, as well as the name of Ham's [[fan club]] in the 1970s.<ref name=psulib/>

==After retirement==
After announcing his retirement as an active player on February 17, 1983,<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/1983/02/18/sports/sports-people-ham-of-steelers-retires.html "Sports People: Ham of Steelers Retires", ''The New York Times'', Friday, February 18, 1983.] Retrieved November 20, 2020</ref> Ham began a career as a [[radio]] personality. He served as a color commentator for national radio broadcasts of NFL games, and later hosted a show in Pittsburgh with [[Mark Madden]] on [[ESPN Radio 1250]] during the NFL season. Ham is currently a sports analyst for Penn State Radio Network and also appears as an analyst on the [[Westwood One (1976–2011)|Westwood One]] radio network.<ref name=psulib>{{cite web|title=Jack Ham bio from PSU libraries|url=http://www.pabook.libraries.psu.edu/palitmap/bios/Ham__Jack.html|access-date=May 26, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120312032242/http://www.pabook.libraries.psu.edu/palitmap/bios/Ham__Jack.html|archive-date=March 12, 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Ham is a minority owner of the [[North American Hockey League]]'s [[Johnstown Tomahawks]]. On January 31, 2013, Ham was honored by the Tomahawks' organization with a [[bobblehead]] giveaway to the first 1,000 fans who entered the [[Cambria County War Memorial Arena]] for the Tomahawks' game against the [[Port Huron Fighting Falcons]].<ref>{{cite web | title=Jack Ham on Tomahawks: I'm glad to be involved | author=Mike Mastovich | publisher=Johnstown Tribune-Democrat | url=http://tribune-democrat.com/sports/x964883775/Jack-Ham-on-Tomahawks-I-m-glad-to-be-involved | date=January 24, 2013 | access-date=September 4, 2013}}</ref>

In 2017, Ham became an advocate of [[Medical cannabis|medical marijuana]], having studied the benefits of relieving [[Health issues in American football|symptoms related to playing football]], and wants the NFL to soften their stance on the use of [[Cannabis|marijuana]] in general. Ham felt inspired after seeing the cognitive decline of contemporary [[Nick Buoniconti]], as well as other current and former players including former teammate [[Mike Webster]], despite Ham himself being healthy. Ham also believes medical marijuana would help counter the ongoing [[opioid epidemic]] affecting society as a whole.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ftw.usatoday.com/2017/05/jack-ham-steelers-marijuana-nfl|title=Hall of Fame linebacker Jack Ham wants more research into use of medical marijuana|date=May 18, 2017}}</ref>

==Honors==
Ham was inducted into the [[Pro Football Hall of Fame]] in 1988<ref>{{cite web|title=Jack Ham player profile|work=NFL.com|url=http://www.nfl.com/players/profile?id=HAM025169|access-date=May 26, 2010}}</ref> and the [[College Football Hall of Fame]] in 1990.<ref name=cfhof/>  In 1999, he was ranked number 47 on ''[[The Sporting News]]''' list of the 100 Greatest Football Players.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20101012182409/http://polishsportshof.com/inductees/football/jack-ham/ National Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame]
*{{commonscatinline}}

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{{1970 College Football Consensus All-Americans}}
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{{Super Bowl IX}}
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{{NFL1970s}}
{{NFL75}}
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{{Pittsburgh Steelers}}
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{{Pittsburgh Steelers All-Time Team}}
{{Pittsburgh Steelers Hall of Honor}}
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{{Pro Football Hall of Fame members}}
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{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ham, Jack}}
[[Category:1948 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:American football outside linebackers]]
[[Category:College football announcers]]
[[Category:Penn State Nittany Lions football players]]
[[Category:Pittsburgh Steelers players]]
[[Category:NFL announcers]]
[[Category:United States Football League announcers]]
[[Category:All-American college football players]]
[[Category:American Conference Pro Bowl players]]
[[Category:College Football Hall of Fame inductees]]
[[Category:Pro Football Hall of Fame inductees]]
[[Category:Players of American football from Johnstown, Pennsylvania]]
[[Category:American people of Polish descent]]
[[Category:Phi Delta Theta members]]