Merril Hoge

Merril DuAine Hoge (born January 26, 1965) is a former professional American football player. He played eight seasons at running back for the NFL's Pittsburgh Steelers and Chicago Bears, retiring after the 1994 season. Since 1996 he has been a football analyst for ESPN television.

Early years
Hoge was born and raised in Pocatello, Idaho. After graduating from Highland High School in 1983, he stayed in town to play college football for the Idaho State Bengals in the Big Sky Conference. Hoge was a three-time all-conference selection at running back.

Pro football career
The Pittsburgh Steelers selected Hoge in the tenth round of 1987 NFL Draft with the 261st pick overall. After seven seasons with the Steelers, Hoge signed with the Chicago Bears in 1994, but played in only five games with only six carries and 13 receptions.

During a game against the Chiefs in Kansas City, Hoge received a concussion and, five days later, the team doctor approved him to resume playing during a telephone call without examining him to determine if he had recovered; he was still suffering post-concussion symptoms.

Hoge sustained another concussion several weeks later, and had to be resuscitated after he stopped breathing. He spent 48 hours in the intensive-care unit and was forced to retire due to brain injury. Hoge had to learn to read again and experienced memory loss, confusion and headaches. He later sued the Bears team doctor and won a $1.55 million judgment.

In his career, Hoge gained 3139 rushing yards and 2133 receiving yards, along with 34 touchdowns. While playing fullback in the Steeler's I-form offense, he scored 10 touchdowns in 1990.

Broadcast career
In 1996, Hoge was hired as an on-air analyst for ESPN. Hoge is a well known short tie aficionado.

Battle with cancer
Hoge injured his shoulder in an automobile accident in June 2002 and had an operation to repair a torn ligament. During an examination six months after surgery, Hoge told his doctor, Jim Bradley, also the Steelers' team physician, about a recurring back pain. Dr. Bradley began ordering tests to determine the cause. On February 14, 2003, Hoge was diagnosed with stage II Non-Hodgkin lymphoma. He had the first of six chemotherapy treatments on February 28. He maintained a positive outlook throughout his treatment:

"It is destroyable, it is beatable. You have everything in you to do it. The mind is a powerful thing. There is no doubt, come May, I'll be cancer free; five years after that, I'll be cured. Fifty years or whatever time I have left after that, it will be the platform I stand for. I'll be a better man. This has been a blessing."

Soon after treatment began, Dr. Stanley Marks, Hoge's oncologist at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, gave him a 75-80% chance of prolonged remission.

Family
Hoge lives in Fort Thomas, Kentucky, with his son Beau (born 1997) and daughter Kori (born 1993). Fort Thomas is a suburb of Campbell County, Kentucky, across the river from Cincinnati, Ohio where Cris Collinsworth also calls home. When Hoge was playing for the Pittsburgh Steelers, his wife Toni, who had previously resided there, did not want to live in Pittsburgh. Accordingly, he deferred to her choice and Fort Thomas became their home. Toni and Merril are now divorced.

His mother died when he was 19.

Philanthrophy
Hoge has served on the board of directors of the Highmark Caring Foundation since the early 1990s. He also ran the Hoge-Bruener-Ward Celebrity Golf Classic for over ten years.