WVU Sports Hall of Fame

Inducted: 2013

Written by Bryan Messerly

Tom Woodeshick, a running back and three-year letterwinner in football from 1960-62, played 10 seasons in the National Football League from 1963-72.

As a senior at WVU playing for coach Gene Corum in 1962, he rushed for 433 yards with two touchdowns and had 141 receiving yards with one touchdown. For his WVU career, he rushed for 876 yards on 192 carries and posted 195 receiving yards on eight receptions. Woodeshick, who also had 183 yards on kickoff returns, posted four career touchdowns.

The Wilkes-Barre, Pa., native had a career-best 89 yards on 10 carries in the 15-8 win at Pitt on Oct. 13, 1962. Woodeshick had 82 yards receiving on two receptions in a 27-25 win over George Washington on Oct. 20, 1962.

Woodeshick led WVU to an 8-2 record in 1962, one of the best WVU teams to not be selected for a bowl. That team also became the first to win at Syracuse’s Archibald Stadium, 17-6, on Nov. 24, 1962.

He was picked to play in the 1963 Senior Bowl and is a member of the 1960-69 WVU All-Time football team.

Woodeshick was selected in the fourth round by the Buffalo Bills in the 1963 AFL Draft and in the eighth round by the Philadelphia Eagles in the 1963 NFL Draft. As a pro, he played nine seasons with the Eagles (1963-71) and one with the St. Louis Cardinals (1972). An ankle injury forced him to retire during the ’72 season.

Woodeshick had an outstanding 10-year NFL career at running back, playing in 115 career games. His best year came in 1968 when he rushed for a career-best 947 yards and was named to the 1968 Pro Bowl. Woodeshick was also named to various first and second All-Pro teams in 1968-69.

For his career, he gained 3,577 yards on 836 carries, averaging 4.3 yards per carry. Woodeshick had 1,175 yards receiving on 126 receptions, an average of 9.3 yards per catch. He had 27 career touchdowns.

Woodeshick graduated with a bachelor’s degree from West Virginia in 1963 and attended graduate school at Penn and Temple.

Following his career in the NFL, Woodeshick was a restaurant owner, wrote columns for The Philadelphia Inquirer, was a color analyst for the Philadelphia Bell team in the World Football League, was a stock broker and served as the football coach and intramurals athletic director at Moravian College. From 1985 until present, he has been in the casino marketing business. He was inducted into the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame in 2002.

Woodeshick and his companion, Juanita Krieger, live in the Pocano Mountains. Woodeshick has three sons – Karl, Klaus and Michael (deceased).