WVU Sports Hall of Fame
Ron Wolfley was one of the top fullbacks to play at West Virginia, helping usher in the Don Nehlen era at WVU from 1981-84.
The native of Orchard Park, New York, helped the Mountaineers to three straight 9-3 seasons and an 8-4 record as a senior to amass a four-year mark of 35-13.
WVU played in four straight bowl games during that time, winning three of them (1981 Peach, 1983 Hall of Fame and 1984 Bluebonnet). Wolfley helped pave the way to four straight years in the national rankings, finishing in the top 20 in each of those years. He is the school’s seventh all-time leading rusher among fullbacks with 1,296 yards on 340 carries and 10 touchdowns.
Serving as captain as a senior in 1984, Wolfley led the Mountaineers in rushing with 475 yards on 127 carries. He had three catches for 55 yards and a touchdown and tied the team lead in touchdowns with five. That season, Wolfley had a season-high 19 carries for 88 yards against Maryland and had 40 yards on 13 carries and a touchdown in one of the greatest wins in school history over Penn State.
As a junior in 1983, Wolfley was the second-leading rusher with 485 yards on 122 carries and four touchdowns. He had a season-high 114 yards on 14 carries and a touchdown against Boston College. Wolfley posted 84 yards on 18 carries against Pitt. In 1982 as a sophomore, he was the second-leading rusher on the team with 355 yards and two touchdowns.
Wolfley was drafted in the fourth round of the 1985 NFL Draft by the St. Louis Cardinals. Known as a fearless special teams player, he earned four NFL Pro Bowl honors from 1986-89. Wolfley played two seasons for the Cleveland Browns from 1992-94 and returned to St. Louis with the Rams for a final season in 1995. He is the only player to have played in St. Louis for the Cardinals and the Rams. For his career, Wolfley finished with 263 yards on 86 carries and two touchdowns to go along with 26 catches for 200 yards and two touchdowns.
Wolfley is the younger brother of former NFL offensive lineman Craig Wolfley (Pittsburgh Steelers and Minnesota Vikings), and older brother of former Mountaineer offensive lineman Dale Wolfley.
He was inducted into the Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame in 2012. He co-hosts a morning, drive-time radio show in Phoenix, and serves as the color analyst for the Arizona Cardinals radio network with veteran sportscaster Dave Pasch.
Wolfley lives in Phoenix with his wife, Stephanie, and two children, Savannah and Vedder.
