American professional football player.
He was born in Istanbul, Turkey, the son of Mehmet and Ayten Ilkin. He emigrated to the United States with his parents when he was two years old and settled in the Chicago area. He attended Highland Park High School in Highland Park, Illinois, and won All-Conference and All-County honors in football. In 1975, he was granted an athletic scholarship to Indiana State University.
He was selected by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the sixth round of the 1980 NFL Draft. He played offensive tackle for the Steelers for 13 seasons from 1980–1992, for the Green Bay Packers for one season in 1993, and then retired. He was the first Turkish-born player in the NFL. While at Pittsburgh, he played in two Pro Bowl games: one in 1988, the other in 1989. During his career, he started 143 games out of 177 regular season games. He served as Vice President of the NFL Players' Association from 1989 to 1994.
After retiring from football, he moved into television and radio broadcasting. In 1998, he joined the official Steelers broadcasting team of Myron Cope and Bill Hillgrove as an analyst. After Cope's retirement following the 2004 season, he took over the color-commentary and analyst duties for the Steelers radio broadcasts. He also worked with sideline reporter and former teammate, Craig Wolfley, hosting a morning radio show called "In The Locker Room with Tunch and Wolf." He co-authored two books, "In The Locker Room," and "Forged In Steel." Since 2005, he was the Men's Pastor at The Bible Chapel, a non-denominational church in McMurray, Pennsylvania.
He was born in Istanbul, Turkey, the son of Mehmet and Ayten Ilkin. He emigrated to the United States with his parents when he was two years old and settled in the Chicago area. He attended Highland Park High School in Highland Park, Illinois, and won All-Conference and All-County honors in football. In 1975, he was granted an athletic scholarship to Indiana State University.
He was selected by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the sixth round of the 1980 NFL Draft. He played offensive tackle for the Steelers for 13 seasons from 1980–1992, for the Green Bay Packers for one season in 1993, and then retired. He was the first Turkish-born player in the NFL. While at Pittsburgh, he played in two Pro Bowl games: one in 1988, the other in 1989. During his career, he started 143 games out of 177 regular season games. He served as Vice President of the NFL Players' Association from 1989 to 1994.
After retiring from football, he moved into television and radio broadcasting. In 1998, he joined the official Steelers broadcasting team of Myron Cope and Bill Hillgrove as an analyst. After Cope's retirement following the 2004 season, he took over the color-commentary and analyst duties for the Steelers radio broadcasts. He also worked with sideline reporter and former teammate, Craig Wolfley, hosting a morning radio show called "In The Locker Room with Tunch and Wolf." He co-authored two books, "In The Locker Room," and "Forged In Steel." Since 2005, he was the Men's Pastor at The Bible Chapel, a non-denominational church in McMurray, Pennsylvania.
American professional football player.
He was born in Istanbul, Turkey, the son of Mehmet and Ayten Ilkin. He emigrated to the United States with his parents when he was two years old and settled in the Chicago area. He attended Highland Park High School in Highland Park, Illinois, and won All-Conference and All-County honors in football. In 1975, he was granted an athletic scholarship to Indiana State University.
He was selected by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the sixth round of the 1980 NFL Draft. He played offensive tackle for the Steelers for 13 seasons from 1980–1992, for the Green Bay Packers for one season in 1993, and then retired. He was the first Turkish-born player in the NFL. While at Pittsburgh, he played in two Pro Bowl games: one in 1988, the other in 1989. During his career, he started 143 games out of 177 regular season games. He served as Vice President of the NFL Players' Association from 1989 to 1994.
After retiring from football, he moved into television and radio broadcasting. In 1998, he joined the official Steelers broadcasting team of Myron Cope and Bill Hillgrove as an analyst. After Cope's retirement following the 2004 season, he took over the color-commentary and analyst duties for the Steelers radio broadcasts. He also worked with sideline reporter and former teammate, Craig Wolfley, hosting a morning radio show called "In The Locker Room with Tunch and Wolf." He co-authored two books, "In The Locker Room," and "Forged In Steel." Since 2005, he was the Men's Pastor at The Bible Chapel, a non-denominational church in McMurray, Pennsylvania.
He was born in Istanbul, Turkey, the son of Mehmet and Ayten Ilkin. He emigrated to the United States with his parents when he was two years old and settled in the Chicago area. He attended Highland Park High School in Highland Park, Illinois, and won All-Conference and All-County honors in football. In 1975, he was granted an athletic scholarship to Indiana State University.
He was selected by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the sixth round of the 1980 NFL Draft. He played offensive tackle for the Steelers for 13 seasons from 1980–1992, for the Green Bay Packers for one season in 1993, and then retired. He was the first Turkish-born player in the NFL. While at Pittsburgh, he played in two Pro Bowl games: one in 1988, the other in 1989. During his career, he started 143 games out of 177 regular season games. He served as Vice President of the NFL Players' Association from 1989 to 1994.
After retiring from football, he moved into television and radio broadcasting. In 1998, he joined the official Steelers broadcasting team of Myron Cope and Bill Hillgrove as an analyst. After Cope's retirement following the 2004 season, he took over the color-commentary and analyst duties for the Steelers radio broadcasts. He also worked with sideline reporter and former teammate, Craig Wolfley, hosting a morning radio show called "In The Locker Room with Tunch and Wolf." He co-authored two books, "In The Locker Room," and "Forged In Steel." Since 2005, he was the Men's Pastor at The Bible Chapel, a non-denominational church in McMurray, Pennsylvania.
Bio by: Angela
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