JOHN WILEY

An outstanding athlete, Jack Wiley is also an outstanding citizen as evidenced by the achievements and accomplishments he has compiled off, as well as on the gridiron. A 1936 graduate of Richhill Township High School in Wind Ridge, PA, Wiley went on to an outstanding football career at Waynesburg College, and then spent five years, 1946-1950, as a lineman with the Pittsburgh Steelers. He entered the US Army as a private in 1941 and was discharged a major in 1946.

Wiley spent much of his life as a salesman and business owner for the L.G. Balfour Company. and Taylor Publishing Company, retiring in 1983. He won Salesman of the Year and Sales Manager of the Year honors numerous times as well as other sales and marketing awards.

Displaying a talent for exceptional performance early in life, he was a national 4-H Livestock Judging Finalist in 1934. He went on to win Little All-American Football honors in 1939, and played in the first televised football game, Waynesburg vs. Fordham University, that year. He was included in Who’s Who in American Colleges and Universities in 1941. Later he was an All-Pro defensive tackle in 1948, and the following year, 1949, was one of 105 National Football League players selected for the Topps Cards initial pro football edition of collector cards.

In his coaching career at Waynesburg College, Wiley teams were 22-9-1. The school’s football stadium is named in his honor.

He spent more than 20 years actively involved in lay activities with the Pleasant Hills United Presbyterian Church, has served on the Board of Trustees for Waynesburg College since 1970, is a Past President of the Waynesburg College Alumni Association and received an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from the college. Jack and his wife, Helen Grace, have three children, 11 grandchildren and three great grandchildren. The children are Mr. and Mrs. John F. Wiley II, McMurray, PA; Dr. and Mrs. David Graft, Edina. MN: and Mr. and Mrs. Alan C. Wiley, Colorado Springs, CO.