Steelers Great Tunch Ilkin Was Once The Victim Of 'Friendly Fire' From The Most Unexpected Teammate

The Pittsburgh Steelers have a reputation for fielding tough, gritty players who earn the respect of their teammates and their opponents. This was especially true of the teams from before the 2000s. That was a different era of football, regardless of whether you see it as good or bad. The rules were far more lax, and players admitted that they generally sought to knock someone out of the game. Unfortunately, players were hit by “friendly fire” in practice or games because of that aggression.

In football, friendly fire refers to two or more players from the same team colliding with each other. Sometimes, these collisions result in injury, and sometimes, it causes a turnover. Pittsburgh great Tunch Ilkin, once the victim of friendly fire during a game, didn’t even know it was a teammate and his best friend who hit him. Ilkin was blaming the enemy.

In 2018, Ilkin, an offensive tackle, co-authored a book with Scott Brown, about his time with the Steelers called In the Locker Room. Ilkin said it contained stories about his journey from making the team, to becoming a Steelers broadcaster. For most of that ride, he had his best pal, an offensive guard, Craig Wolfley, beside him.

The two entered the league the same year, 1980. Wolfley was the team’s fifth-round pick, and Ilkin was their sixth-round pick. While it wasn’t easy, they had each other. 

Like nearly every other Steelers player in history, Ilkin talks about the brotherhood they experienced. It created a protective bond both on and off the field. This certainly shines through in Illkin's book, as he tells more stories about Wolfley than anyone else. If any opponents came after one of them on the line, they got them all, including legendary center Mike Webster. There are, however, exceptions to every rule. 

"But Wolf blew me up pretty good one time and didn't even own up to it. We were playing the Los Angles Raiders at the Coliseum in the last game of the 1984 season and we had to beat them to get into the playoffs," said Ilkin. 

In the early '80s, the Los Angeles Raiders were still considered the Steelers' mortal enemies, and playoff implications or not, these games mattered. That game, just over a week before Christmas, was no different. The Steelers took an early lead with a field goal in the first quarter, but the game, as always, was a battle of defenses.  

Ilkin said he was playing right tackle, and his orders were to block legendary defensive end Howie Long if he came up field. If Long went to the inside, then Ilkin said he was to go against linebacker Matt Millen.

"I was pass protecting, and Long rammed inside and I slammed into Millen. All of the sudden, I got drilled in the tailbone. It was Wolf, and he realized that he had blocked the wrong guy. He jumped up and got back to the huddle, and I was still on the ground. When I finally got back to the huddle, I said, 'Someone cheap-shotted me!' Wolf then said, 'Uh, did you get a number?' I said, 'No, I don't know who it was.'"

The Steelers won that game 13-7, holding off the Raiders' late-game comeback attempt. But Ilkin was miserable. He said he spent the whole flight home from Los Angeles sitting on a bag of ice.

The team had Monday off, as usual, after a Sunday game, and no one said anything more about the hit. Ilkin said he was excited when Tuesday rolled around because he'd be able to see who the culprit was during the film review.

"I said to Wolf, 'You turd, it was you all along.' He and Webby [Mike Webster] were cracking up, just laughing so hard. He will tell you he made a very athletic move, but he made a mental mistake."

Ilkin's book has sections called "Wolf's Words," where Wolfley explains what happened from his perspective. Regarding the friendly fire on Ilkin, he said he couldn't help it. He saw the 62 of Ilkin's jersey flash in front of him just a moment before impact, but he had already launched himself at Millen. 

He said Ilkin barely made it to the huddle, but he somehow got through the rest of the game. Ilkin was dragging his leg and in obvious pain on the flight home. Wolfley said he didn't think much about it after that. He was just looking forward to his day off. 

"It was a darned thing if you had to go to the stadium for treatment because that would have been your only day being away from the stadium and away from football. Tunch had to go in for treatment while I was at home living large on the couch with my remote control. I totally forgot about the hit until we went into meetings on Tuesday," said Wolfley. "It just didn't occur to me the play was going to come up and be shown in graphic detail. They showed the play in regular speed. They showed it in slow motion. They showed it in forward. They showed it backward. Tunch looked over and just eviscerated me."

Wolfley and Ilkin stayed the best of friends, and their brotherhood continued long after they left the field for the final time. Both linemen had trouble letting the game go. Ilkin went off to spend a single season, 1993, with the Green Bay Packers before he realized he was done and retired. Wolfley spent 1990-1991 with the Minnesota Vikings before hanging up his cleats. 

It didn't surprise many when the two players' orbits synced again. Shortly after leaving football, Ilkin began working as a commentator and reporter for the Steelers' official broadcasting team. After the incredible Myron Cope retired in 2004, Wolfley came to join him. Once again, the two teammates were partners. 

Steelers' Tunch Ilkin Got The Last Laugh

Ilkin said it didn't take long for him to get a chuckle at Wolfley's expense. On a different flight home, after a different game, Wolfley complained about a broken thumb, asking how he could play with it like that. Ilkin said Wolfley knew he could go to the "block party," which was the player's code for getting a Novocain shot that would block the pain.