FORMER RMU COACH DIES
Joe Walton, the father of Robert Morris football, died Sunday, the school announced.
Mr. Walton, a Beaver Falls native, was 85 years old.
“Coach Walton left an indelible mark on Robert Morris University,” Colonials athletic director Chris King said in a statement. “His name is synonymous with student-athlete development and competitive success. We were so fortunate to have him as part of the RMU family. He will be greatly missed.”
Mr. Walton built Robert Morris’ program from the ground up, becoming its first head coach in July 1993. He led the Colonials from their inaugural season in 1994 to 2013. In that span, Robert Morris tallied a 114-92-1 record, captured three outright Northeast Conference titles and earned a share of three other NEC crowns.
Mr. Walton guided Robert Morris to a 10-0 undefeated season in 2000 and helped secure the NEC’s inaugural bid to the Division I-AA playoffs in 2010. The Colonials’ current football stadium, which opened in 2005, was named after Mr. Walton. He was also inducted into the university’s athletics hall of fame in 2013.
“The first time I heard former student-athletes talk about Coach Walton, not one mentioned how good a football player he made them. They all spoke about the men he helped them become. That is the sign of a great teacher,” Robert Morris head coach Bernard Clark said in a statement.
“Patriarch, architect, mentor, friend: those are just some of the terms that come to mind when I think of Coach Joe Walton,” added Chris Shovlin, the Colonials’ longtime radio play-by-play announcer. “He didn’t just build a football program from scratch. He changed the lives of everyone who came in contact with him, molding players into men of character and positively impacting the entire RMU community.”
Mr. Walton arrived on Robert
Morris’ doorstep by way of Pitt and the NFL.
A former tight end, Mr. Walton was named an AllAmerican twice with the Panthers. He was drafted 14th overall in the 1957 NFL draft by Washington, spending seven years between the nation’s capital and the New York Giants.
After retiring as a player in 1964, Mr. Walton spent four years as a scout with the Giants. That launched a career at the next level that saw him serve as the New York Jets’ head coach from 1983-89. Mr. Walton’s final NFL stop was with the Steelers as their offensive coordinator in 1990 and 1991.
“On behalf of the Pitt football program, I want to extend our deepest sympathies to the family and many loved ones of Coach Joe Walton,” Pitt’s Pat Narduzzi said in a statement. “Coach Walton embodied the type of excellence we want our studentathletes to strive for every day. At Pitt, he was not only an All-American on the field but also an Academic AllAmerican in the classroom. As a coach, he was a true teacher of the game, both in the NFL and at Robert Morris. He leaves an unforgettable legacy as a player, coach and man.”
Mr. Walton returned to his hometown of Beaver Falls in 1990 with his late wife, Ginger, who died in Sept. 2007. He and Ginger had three children, daughters Jodi and Stacy and son Joe, as well as six grandchildren. Mr. Walton is also survived by his second wife, Patty Sheehan Walton.