Jun 4, 2021 5 min read

Thursday was a sad day for the Pittsburgh sports world.

Tunch Ilkin retired as the color commentator for the Steelers so that he can concentrate all of his efforts on his battle with ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease.

A finer person you’d have a hard time finding on the face of the earth, let alone on the football field.

That’s why when he along with his wife, Karen, and constant companion/cohort Craig Wolfley visited with Steelers president Art Rooney II Thursday during the Steelers’ OTA session at the UPMC-Rooney Sports Complex following his announcement, it was a bittersweet moment.

The man who had spent 36 of the 37 years of his life as a player and commentator with the Steelers was watching what might be his final practice. You couldn’t help but be moved.

It was obviously a private moment for Ilkin, drafted by the Steelers in 1980 and the team’s color analyst on their radio broadcasts since 1998. He had played for this franchise for 13 seasons and then spent 23 more broadcasting games.

Even with that, at one point, he came over to the area where reporters were watching practice and greeted each of us. I took his hand, gave him a hug, and said, “Congratulations, I’ve always appreciated everything you’ve done.”

That Tunch would come over to us – in his moment – and give a greeting, even to some of the new reporters he didn’t really know was just so him. He has always been free with his time, kind words and knowledge.

But after he walked away from me, I realized I had just told a man with a deadly disease that had forced him to retire from what he loved doing, “congratulations.” I felt awful.

Then, as I drove home, I thought more about it. Congratulations fit. Tunch has spent more than half of his life doing what he loves. Playing football and then talking about it, all while helping anyone around him.

He should be congratulated for that.

As part of that job as a broadcaster, Ilkin would come in and watch film of the upcoming opponent on a regular basis. He also made a point of talking to and getting to know the players who had come after him, particularly the offensive linemen. They always held a special place in his heart, especially the guys who earned spots on the roster as longshots.

“Tunch is a titan, man,” said Steelers center B.J. Finney, one of those longshots. “He came in and worked with all of us when we wanted to work. He’s always talking to us about technique and things he’s learned. He’s just been a great friend and a great mentor to anybody and everybody who has asked him for help. It stinks because I love seeing him around the place. Now, I’m going to have to go visit him at his house on Mt. Washington. He and Wolf, always together. Now, we’re wondering what that’s going to look like ourselves.

“I love Tunch. I wish him the best in what he’s going to have to fight and go through. I hope he knows we all have his back and will do anything for him every step of the way.”

Ilkin had been a long shot. His parents had immigrated to the U.S. from Turkey and he had played football at Indiana State, which was better known as the school that produced Larry Bird than it was for its football. Heck, Ilkin, a sixth-round draft pick in 1980, had been released at the end of training camp that year, only to be called back later in the season.

His playing time with the Steelers came to an end in 1992. He spent the 1993 season with the Packers before calling it a career and moving on to broadcasting in 1995 for NBC. He could have stuck with that, but didn’t like how it took him away from his family.

Much the same way, he could have gotten into coaching. He was offered a number of times by a number of different teams, including the Steelers. But he continued to turn them down to spend time at home with his now late wife, Sharon, and children, Tanner, Natalie, and Clay.

Sharon, his college sweetheart who graced the cover of Sports Illustrated with the aforementioned Bird in 1977, died in 2012 after a lengthy battle with cancer. He would often joke that she was more famous than him. After all, he had never graced the cover of Sports Illustrated.

That’s Tunch.

“Off of the field, it’s his faith,” Finney said of what he learned from Ilkin away from the field. “His walk that he’s led. He will mentor anybody and everybody about what it means to have faith and the line that he’s had to walk and how he shares it so openly with guys who will listen. That was of immense impact to me because as we all know, Tunch hasn’t had the easiest line to walk, especially now.

“We gravitated to each other because I haven’t had the easiest walk in life, either. We’re kindred spirits, like-minded souls. Just being able to hang out with somebody who has been through very hard times and continues to go through very hard times, he’s a great mentor. You can’t really put it into words and describe it. I’m trying not to get emotional about it, but I love the man dearly.”

Everyone who knows him does.

So, while I felt awful for telling him congratulations in the moments after, it was fitting.