NRHS welcomes back Dwayne Woodruff

New Richmond High School Hall of Famer Dwayne Woodruff returns to his hometown during Homecoming on Oct. 2 to present his Dwayne Woodruff Scholarship to 2015 recipient James Mahan.

Woodruff, who was a three-sport star at New Richmond and led the Lions to the 1974 Clermont County League championship, went on to play college football at the University of Louisville and an 11-year career in the NFL as a cornerback for the Pittsburg Steelers, where  he accumulated 37 interceptions after being drafted in the sixth round in 1979.


As a rookie in 1079, he played in all 16 games and won a Super Bowl ring with the Steelers in Super Bowl XIV. He made at least 10 starts in nine of his 11 seasons with the Steelers, including 1982 when he was named Pittsburgh Steelers Team MVP. During two of his 11 seasons with the Steelers, Woodruff was rated as the fastest player in the NFL.

The University of Louisville named its academic center within the Howard Schnellenberger Football Complex after Woodruff in 2007. Woodruff’s No. 10 jersey was retired by Louisville and now hangs in Papa John Stadium. Woodruff played for the Cardinals from 1976-78 and collected 161 career tackles, while intercepting three passes. He recorded a career-best 97 tackles in 1977 as the Cardinals advanced to the Independence Bowl.

While playing football during the day for the Steelers, Woodruff prepared for his life’s work at night and obtained his Juris Doctor from Duquesne University School of Law and became a founding member of the law firm Woodruff & Flaherty, P.C. (now Flaherty Fardo, LLC) out of Shadyside in Pittsburgh.

While in law school, Woodruff was nicknamed ‘The Judge’ by Steeler owner Art Rooney and 15 years after his retirement from pro football, Woodruff lived up to his nickname and became Judge Dwayne Woodruff after being elected to the Common Pleas Court of Allegheny County. He was a candidate for the Pennsylvania Supreme Court but lost in the 2015 primary election.

Woodruff is married to Joy Maxberry Woodruff. They are the parents of three children; Jillian an Ob/Gyn Physician, Jenyce an attorney and John a law student at the Duquesne University School of Law.

The Woodruffs have shared their success with Dwayne’s hometown by sponsoring the Dwayne Woodruff Scholarship which gives $2000 annually to a deserving New Richmond High School graduate.

Woodruff and his wife Joy are currently chairpersons of the "Do The Write Thing" in Pittsburgh. The program is an Initiative of the National Campaign to Stop Violence (NCSV). The Do the Write Thing Challenge gives middle school students an opportunity to examine the impact of youth violence on their lives in classroom discussions and in written form by communicating what they think should be done to change our culture of violence.