Dierdorf’s Home Is Where The Hall Is

When Dan Dierdorf was 13 years old in 1962, he and his father, John, watched as Pete Rozelle, then the National Football League commissioner, broke ground for the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio.

It was located only a mile from their home on 36th Street, and young Dan used to walk over to watch the structure being built.

Every year, before he went away to college at Michigan, he attended the enshrinement ceremonies. The only pro football games Dierdorf saw when he was growing up were the annual Hall of Fame exhibitions.

“I would hang around to get a glimpse of the players,” Dierdorf said from his home in St. Louis earlier this week. “They seemed so God-like.”

Dierdorf, a big kid, dreamed of someday being an NFL player, but never in his wildest imagination did he think he would ever be inducted into the Hall of Fame.

“Some things are just too big to dream about,” Dierdorf said.

Something else Dierdorf never thought possible was someday occupying the same chair in ABC’s “Monday Night Football” booth as Howard Cosell.

But both are realities.

On Saturday, Dierdorf begins his 10th season in the “Monday Night” booth, working the Hall of Fame game with Al Michaels and Frank Gifford shortly after he is inducted into the Hall of Fame.

ESPN2 will televise the induction ceremonies live Saturday morning, followed by ABC carrying the game between the Indianapolis Colts and New Orleans Saints.

ABC offered Dierdorf the day off, but he chose to work, believing it would add to the whole experience.

“The highlight of my life?” Dierdorf said, repeating a question. “No question about that.

“Think about it. I’m being inducted into the Hall of Fame in my hometown. My mother will be there, my childhood friends will be there, my former teammates, my friends and colleagues at ABC. This is perfect.”

Well, not totally.

“It would have been great had my dad been alive to see this,” Dierdorf said.

John Dierdorf, retired after working most of his life for the Canton-based Hoover Vacuum Co., died 15 years ago at 68. Suffering from circulatory problems, the elder Dierdorf went in for routine tests, had an allergic reaction to dye that was injected into his system and died 3 hours later.

Dierdorf’s mother, Evelyn, 77, still lives in the house where Dan was born on June 29, 1949.

Dierdorf has four children: Dan, 25, and Kristen, 23, from a previous marriage, and he and wife Debbie have two daughters, Dana, 15, and Katie, 10. Another daughter, Kelly, died of crib death at the age of 2 months in January 1985.

Dierdorf, an offensive tackle with the St. Louis Cardinals for 13 seasons (1971-83), has selected his former coach, Jim Hanifan, who grew up on a chicken ranch in West Covina, to present him.

“Jim was my coach for 10 years, six as my line coach, four as my head coach,” Dierdorf said. “Jim is limited to 3 minutes, I’m limited to 7 or 8. I think Jim could go for an hour, and I could go forever.

“You know, I didn’t play for a glamour team, my teams lost more games than they won, I played in only three playoffs games and lost all three, yet despite all that I’m still being recognized for what I did on the football field. It is unbelievably flattering.”