Episode #100
Pittsburgh Steelers Super Bowl Champion Dwayne Woodruff: From the NFL to the Judge’s Bench
Pittsburgh Steelers Super Bowl champion Dwayne Woodruff joins Erin Egnatz on Plot Twist Radio to share the remarkable story of his journey from the NFL to the judge’s bench. Woodruff spent 12 seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers, beginning his career as a rookie on the legendary 1979 team that defeated the Los Angeles Rams in Super Bowl XIV. He takes us inside one of the greatest eras in Steelers history, remembering what it was like to play alongside NFL icons including Mean Joe Greene, Mel Blount, Donnie Shell, Jack Lambert, and L.C. Greenwood. But Woodruff’s story didn’t end when he left the football field. While still playing in the NFL, he attended Duquesne University School of Law at night, balancing Steelers practices, games, travel, and legal studies before launching an entirely new career. Now a longtime juvenile court judge in Pittsburgh, Woodruff discusses how the discipline, preparation, teamwork, and perseverance he learned in football shaped his approach to the law and his work with young people. He also reveals which accomplishment means even more to him than winning a Super Bowl, reflects on Pittsburgh’s legendary championship teams, and answers the important question: when Steelers fans recognize a former NFL player who became a judge, do they ask about football…or how to get out of jury duty? It’s a conversation about football, reinvention, public service, and what happens when one extraordinary chapter becomes the beginning of another.
